The Family Experiment – John Marrs

Some families are virtually perfect . . .

The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality tv show. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby . . .

Set in the same universe as John Marrs’s bestselling novel The One and The Marriage ActThe Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate ‘tamagotchi’ – a virtual baby.

Book Info: Print length: 400 pages. Publisher: Macmillan. Publication date: 9 May 2024

My Thoughts:

Just when you think John Marrs can’t possibly come up with any more speculative fiction, he writes THE FAMILY EXPERIMENT!

Set again in the same world at The One, The Marriage Act and The Passengers, The Family Experiment looks at parenting in ways that any normal person wouldn’t, but that’s what we love about John Marrs – he is definitely NOT normal.

Imagine a world where people can no longer afford to start a family, cities are overcrowded and we are in the midst of an economic crisis (hang on.. I thought this was speculative fiction!). There is now another option… you can have a virtual child – all you have to do is take part in a reality show (Squid Games meets Big Brother), raise a child from birth to 18 in front of a live audience who will judge your parenting skills and then vote. The winning couple can either keep their virtual child or take the cash and try for their own real life baby. (If it were up to me, I’d take the cash and go travelling).

As in previous Marrs’ books, there is a large cast of characters, each telling their own story throughout the book. Initially all the couples appear to have nothing in common, but the author has a skill of weaving them together seamlessly.

If you loved this author’s previous books – then you will absolutely LOVE this one. Another clever, original and thought-provoking thriller which easily gets 5 stars from me.

Rating: 5 out of 5.