Another stunning book from one of my favourite authors, John Marrs.
I was really grateful to be approved for this book as I've been reading Marrs' books for years now.
Unsurprisingly, this book was brilliant.
The way Marrs weaves original stories through different perspectives always creates a page turning read.
The concept to this story is fascinating, thought provoking and heart breaking all at the same Time.
Each chapter is told from a rotating set of characters and ends on a cliffhanger, making me desperate to find out more and unsure of who's story I'm most invested in.
If you haven't read anything by John Marrs, go do so.

Why leave it to chance or genetics when you can have the perfect baby you've always dreamed of?
Re:Born allows customers to create MetaBabies - children that exist entirely in the Metaverse.
A reality TV show called The Family Experiment documents nine months where eleven carefully selected childless British contestants competes to raise the world's first fully interactive children in the Metaverse.

Marrs really is a genius at making you think. At first, it’s laughable at how he imagines this technology-infused future. But then you think about it, and you realise we are already on our way there.
This asks what we consider a soul. What we would do if AI’s start developing self-awareness and an emotional intelligence that rivals humans. How our technology use is turning into an addiction.
Most importantly, he consistently demonstrates how our world is being dominated by capitalism.

“I kept animals on a Facebook farm when I was a kid, but the novelty soon wore off and they starved to death.”

Is this yet another way technology is creeping into our lives to destroy the fabric of society?

There is shout-outs and references to Marr’s previous work which expands on the ethical debates and the fallouts from each one. This high-tech future with all these new laws doesn’t seem so strange right now.

Like his other books, this engages with many different formats, keeping it fresh and very meta.
What always brings down my enjoyment in Marr’s books is the amount of characters that feel stuffed in. It’s hard to create a collection and distinguish between such a large vast with extremely short and perspective-changing chapters.

Thank you to MacMillan for providing an arc in exchange for a review.

John Marrs has done it again! This is a rollercoaster ride of a thriller that has a strong grip on the reader from start to finish. Getting to know each of the contestants in the eponymous programme was done in a measured, clever way, leaving questions in the reader's mind about every character. As with Marrs' other speculative fiction, it raises questions about where technology is taking us and what that might look like in a few years. Equal parts compelling and concerning, this is one you're not going to want to miss.

I recieved a copy of this book from netgalley for an honest review.
This book was amazing. So well written and I think I went through every emotion reading it.
The book starts with a competition through a reality TV show, where couples are given the opportunity to raise an AI child, they have £250,000 to use to raise that child, they can choose a prize of keeping the child a d any remaining funds from the initial money or deleting the child and keeping the full £250,000 to gave the opportunity to have a real world child. The couples all seem to have a secret, some are not very serious, but some are very serious. I had a few oooh that's interesting to some very WTF moments reading this one. Every time you think the roller coaster ride is finished we go for another turn.
Will definitely be recommending this one, absolutely loved it

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

John Marrs has done it again. I really don't know where he gets the ideas and inspiration for his books. Another unique narrative with nods to previous books that fit perfectly.

In an age of overcrowding, economic disasters, housing and social problems the nation are struggling to afford to have children. A new AI initiative will, for a monthly fee, let couples choose an AI version of the child they would love and raise it via a metaverse headset. In a world of reality TV and social media living the idea is put forward for carefully selected couples to be the first experiment for the new initiative. Live streamed 24/7 and audience participation as well as task nominating takes place. The baby will reach the age of 18 in just 9 months but who will be left in the process and get to keep their much loved child or give it up for the chance of a real one? And are all the participants who they seem?

Brilliant. Loved it. Every new John Marrs book is my favourite! Massive 5 stars.

A solid mystery thriller for sure. Written in classic John Marrs style, it did not disappoint.

What I love about his writing is he takes something that is so close to being a reality and turns it into a scary dystopian premonition of what could be.

This was a fast-paced read with interesting human dynamics and twists and turns.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

Publication Day : 9th May 2024

10/10 ⭐️

Set in the John Marrs dystopian world of The One, The Passengers and The Marriage Act, 4 couples and singleton enter The Family Experiment. A televised virtual world competition to start their families, with the opportunity for winners to keep their digital child or cash prize to start their own Real World family they all have something to fight for, and something to hide.

John Marrs does it again with this newest additions to Marrs dystopian world. The feelings this book made me feel was…something else! Especially towards the end as secrets were unravelling and the terminations from the competition were being thrown around like confetti!

Switching chapters of each character/couple keeps you thrown in and wanting to know more and also get back to the cliffhanger you just left with everything all coming together in time. I love Marrs’ writing style, world building and accessible imagination! It feels new and fresh every time and I can’t wait for the next thing to come!

Thank you @johnmarrs.author and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this early!

If you haven’t already please go and follow John Marrs and see his post about his 2 worlds of books, I 100% recommend his books and especially his dystopian books, where it feels totally possible and not that far out of reach from our reality and what’s to come…

With the cost of having children rising, the idea of having children in the Metaverse is getting more and more popular, so what better way of getting the world involved is there, than creating a reality show where contestants compete against each other?
This was another mind bend of a book from author John Marrs, there is always just enough truth in these speculative fiction books to make things believable and my gosh this one had me invested.
So many twists and turns, moral dilemmas and talking points, would make this an excellent book club read, but also will leave you questioning everything.
Highly recommend this one.

The Family Experiment was the fourth John Marrs book I read, and so far the one that captured me most. I read this book in a little over a day, and I only put it down for any significant amount of time because what was going on in the book really got to me - due to no fault of John Marrs. The book itself is not upsetting, and any potentially upsetting happenings are written in a way that conveys what's going on without hammering the details in. The alternate reality this book takes place in works well, as a reader you understand the structure of the world and feel right at ease. As with every good John Marrs book, there is a twist or three. I thought for sure I'd figured it out - I was wrong. I'm glad I read this book and will recommend it.

You don’t need to have read any other book by John Marrs to absolute love this latest offering. However to achieve maximum smugness and to understand the throwback references to The One and The Passengers I would thoroughly recommend immersing yourself in the back catalogue before going for this beauty.
There is so much to ponder and in savour in this book; a reality show with people raising metababies, the cost of living crisis forcing parents to traffic their children to Europe, and the idea that those big tech companies may not be in it for the moral satisfaction.
Fabulous near future dystopian fiction.

The premise of this book really intrigued me and I'm happy to say it did not disappoint. The metaverse and AI is very relevant at the moment, and this concept of AI generated children is an interesting one that I felt JM dealt with very well. The revelations throughout kept me on my toes, overall a highly enjoyable read

I can't rate this one highly enough! If you need a book to drag you out of a reading slump, look no further than The Family Experiment.

Set in a future not too far from the present day, in a world of pandemics and major societal decline, the metaverse is taking over. Enter a social experiment/reality show depicting the metaverse lives of contestants who have been given the chance to compete in raising 'meta-babies' over a period of nine months where the children experience accelerated growth. Only one 'family' will win at the end and get the chance to either keep their virtual child or take home the prize fund.

The stakes are so high in this book from the very beginning and only get higher as we move through the nine month period with the contestants. I loved getting multiple POVs where it becomes clear every family unit is hidng a dark past that they have been working to keep hidden. This was an exciting read from start to finish and I found it hard to put the book down!

I've been getting more and more into dystopian novels and this one is now firmly at the top of my recommendation list!
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for the advanced copy of this book!

'The Family Experiment' is probably the most satisfying novel in recent years in terms of being up to its concept. Making people fight live for maternity, is the perfect match between 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Hunger Games', and it is interesting to note that contrarily to these two extremely perceptive books, 'The Family Experiment' is written by a man. John Marrs achieved such a great novel, he really dove deep into questions that often seem to fly over men's head (reality TV or motherhood usually being labeled feminine matters) and he did it so well!

Indeed, this is such a brilliant contemporary fiction. It is so very fascinating how reality TV intertwines so well with a subject as speculative as AI babies; not only does it work, but it tackles family as a philosophical idea in the most modern way I have ever read.
The author's way of criticizing the world without sounding condescending or patronizing is truly astonishing. He exposes many character flaws as the reason behind society's downward spiral, not targeting anyone in particular, everyone being selfish in his own way. Each couple has its own problems which they project onto the program, and each motive for them to participate is well-thought, some looking for healing, others for a reason to keep going, others by pure egotism. The diverse cast is undeniably refreshing, and gives the readers so many possibilities to root or despise characters. Moreover, it had the efficacy of a 'Black Mirror' episode, with inevitable plot twists and the ability to make the reader face some shameful truths.

To conclude, I am convinced that it will appeal to a wide range of readers: those who enjoy family drama, those who read domestic thrillers, sci-fi readers, and overall anyone who enjoys fiction, because there is just so much to think about reading it, with the book being extremely accessible and yet very smart. I am desperate to see his work translated to French, it truly is criminal that such a special writer has not yet very much crossed the Channel. My favourite speculative fiction in a while!

Amazing read; dark, original, entertaining, full of twists & surprises. Exactly what I have come to expect from this author.
As other readers have mentioned, it does take a little while to get to grips with the characters and names in the beginning- and I did restart the book after thirty pages to help with this, but get past this initial stage, and this book develops beautifully. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.

Every time you pick up a John Marrs book you are gaureented an entertaining read. The idea of this story line is so modern bringing the AI technology of everyone's guilty pleasure of reality TV. I like the way John links parts of the story to his past books but still keeps them as stand alone books. The story takes you along with separate couples and a single Dad, each chapter is an update of each family as they move through the experiment. No Spoliers but the twist and turns through out the story is great.
John it's another 5star from me

Really enjoyed this book. Took while to get into. Premise of the book reminds me of the one by John marrs a bit. Was thrilling and fun ride.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs made me feel like I was actually watching a reality tv show

Nine couples and single dad Hudson, have all entered a new reality show called The Family Experiment, where they will be given a virtual baby, to raise in the metaverse from birth until young adulthood over a 9 month period. The losers of the competition will have to watch their virtual child be deleted. However the winners can either keep their meta child or delete them and take a bigger cash prize to use to start a real family. At the end of the show viewers can pay a monthly subscription fee and raise their own virtual child.

As I stated above this book made me feel like I was watching a new reality show. And as it is with any reality show it can start a little slow. With the introduction to the characters, getting to know them and the meta world. However the pace soon picked up and my jaw was hitting the floor with every twist and turn. One of the main things I loved about this book is even though you can read it as a standalone novel it does take place in the same world as some of John Marrs other works (the marriage act, the one and the passengers).

I would highly recommend you check this book out when it is released in may this year. If you need something to tie you over until then John Marrs has lots of other amazing books. I rated this book 4* and will definitely be reading the other books set in this world. Thank you so much John Marrs, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

John Marrs was already an auto-buy author for me and this is just another absolutely amazing book from him! The Family Experiment just blew my mind because once again Marrs hit the nail on the head with a believable vision what life could actually be like in the not so distant future and the problems we could face. And even though each of his speculative fiction books are standalones I love all the little Easter Eggs in them referring to his other books.

This format where we jump from character to character showing different perspectives with really short chapters is becoming a classic Marrs thing and it's genuinely fantastic. He pulls it off brilliantly and it makes such compelling reading. I think the way that each character had their storyline finished off was done really well and I wasn't left wondering what had happened to them.

Speaking of characters..... Hudson!! He seemed quite boring and bland for most of the book then all of a sudden he fast became super intriguing. Pretty sure I shouted 'Just tell me' at the book at least a handful of times following another hint about him knowing something or having a secret plan!

So now I'm back to having to find something to do with my life until John Marrs writes another book. Hurry up John mate!

I'm yet to read a John Marrs book that doesn't leave me clutching my head and wondering how on earth someone could come up with such a story. This was sensational. The premise of the metaverse child was already leaving me mind blown before I'd even read a few chapters. But the depth of each pairing in the experiment, the backstories and the subsequent actions of every character was just breath-taking. One of my favourite reads of this year already, and I imagine it'll stay that way!

This was fun, I love a good sci-fi thriller and this one was pretty unique and interesting. The worldbuilding was fun and I liked the mixed-media storytelling, it made this a super easy read.

I wasn't a big fan of the characters and didn't really care for their individual stories, which was an issue I had with the author's previous novel as well. I also found this one pretty similar storywise to the last book, which didn't make it an especially suspenseful read. But it was still enjoyable and a quick and easy read.