Sumit RK's Reviews > The Passengers

In the near future, government-mandated self-driving cars become the norm in Britain—They were supposed to make the roads 95% safer for both passengers and pedestrians. Then one morning, someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars with their passengers, and they are set on a fatal collision course. They are told that they will probably be dead in several hours. All of this, of course, unfolds over social media, and the world finds itself captivated—particularly when the Hacker begins asking the audience, to vote on who lives and who dies. Almost everyone who has been kidnapped has a secret they don’t want to reveal—but the Hacker has secrets of his own. Now the public has to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?

The Passengers has all the ingredients of an exciting thriller: A brilliant plot, some interesting characters who will keep you guessing, and some nice twist and turns which will keep you hooked till the end. The story uses technology as a backdrop and it feels like an episode straight out of Dark Mirror. Marrs taps into the most basic fears about the dark side of technology from the invasion of privacy to the mob mentality of social media, technology overriding laws of nature, and so on. This book asks many uncomfortable questions forcing you to think about the role of tech in our lives.

The story is fast-paced and the next shocking twist is always right around the corner. Despite technology playing a crucial part, the different characters are what really make the story really interesting. Another hallmark of John Marrs novels is that none of the characters are what they really seem, so you’ll be kept guessing what each character really is. Just when you think, you have sorted out the story, another twist will change the entire story.

The story goes on smoothly till the climax. I felt the climax was marred by too many twists than needed, so there were some plot holes, illogical explanations, and unanswered questions. But the story as a whole is highly entertaining so it did not matter too much in the end.

Overall, The Passengers is a well-paced sci-fi thriller with some fascinating characters. It has a very unique premise and an action-packed story that will keep you entertained right till the end.

Many thanks to the publisher Penguin Publishing Group and Eddelweiss for the ARC.