THE PASSENGERS

released 30 May (ebook out now) 406 pages | Paperback/ebook

Author John Marrs Publisher del rey

Crammed with pageturning hooks, The Passengers is literary heroin, an irresistible combination of high-concept scenario, technofear, conspiracy thriller, social satire and lurid personal tales. None of it particularly subtle, but all of it hugely entertaining.

In the near future, the UK has become the first country in the world to operate a completely driverless car road network, with the government ignoring fears about how the vehicles’ AIs have been programmed to react in the event of potential collisions. That is until a terrorist called the Hacker hacks into eight of the allegedly unhackable cars, sealing in their passengers and setting them on a collision course. He then demands that the members of a corrupt government committee set-up to oversee driverless AI choose which passenger survives. With each specially chosen passenger having a dark secret that the Hacker is only too ready to reveal and exploit, the tragedy soon becomes a global social media circus, and the sickest ever reality show.

Full of twists, vividly drawn characters you’ll love or love to loathe, and pacy action, the book occasionally suffers from using didactic dialogue to make its political points, while the final revelations are near ludicrously contrived. But this is a story about the journey, not the destination, and it’s a hell of a ride.