Apparently this writer’s niche is creating black mirror-esque sci-fi thriller plots, with focus on multiple characters united by the one common Social Experiment. I read Family Experiment (where you raise an AI baby) first, which is his latest, and The One (where you meet your soulmate through a DNA match), after this and there’s a stark difference in the writing.
I’ve read several reviews and it’s a 50-50 on John Marrs. It’s an easy to read thriller, predictable with creating multiple twists in each chapter. I enjoyed the pacing in TFE but The One was SO annoying I wanted to scream. Everyone was an evil mastermind manipulator who somehow problem solve within 1 paragraph.
My problem with the writing is how convenient it is. On one hand it tells me that stuff doesn’t have to be a big deal & thrillers can still be thrillers even with the surface level narration Marrs adopts. The other hand it does leave me with a lot of “how” questions. Marrs just conveniently skips through time, reveals a deep dark secret never to touch it again, changes POV names as if it’s the most obvious thing. There is no EMOTION in the characters; they’re just puppets he is moving across the stage as he wants. The concept is thrilling— he chooses some highly plausible scenarios as a plot device. But I don’t care for his characters. Some of them just die and it’s apparently devastating but he just moves through like it’s no big deal.
Still, I’m reading his other books; currently pursuing The Marriage Act. Open to thoughts from anyone else who’s read his books.
by medusagets_youstoned