Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies?
You decide.
When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course.
The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem?
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for The Passengers by John Marrs today. Many thanks to the author, Del Rey and Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and for my advance copy of the book received through Netgalley.
In the near future, many of the cars on Britain's roads are autonomous and driver controlled cars are expected to be outlawed within ten years. There are six levels of cars in the country, in Level 0 vehicles, drivers perform all tasks but as the level numbers increase so the functions carried out by the driver decreases until Level Five, which are completely autonomous with no manual brakes or a steering wheel. I don't drive and until now driverless cars sounded quite tempting - just program in a destination and the car will take you there, choosing the best route and leaving you free to relax, check emails, read or watch a film. However, John Marrs has adroitly destroyed that little daydream as The Passengers follows eight people for whom stepping into an autonomous car becomes the worst move they ever make.
As each of the eight Passengers are introduced, it soon becomes apparent they are a diverse bunch with nothing obvious connecting them. They include a pregnant woman, an ageing actor, an abused wife and a married couple who are travelling in separate cars. Each are given the same devastating news - that in two and a half hour's time, they will very likely be dead. Meanwhile, a Vehicle Inquest Jury are sitting to decide whether man or machine is to blame in fatal collisions involving driverless cars. It's hardly a transparent process; verdicts are almost always in favour of the car, how the jury reach their decisions is kept secret from the public and there is no right to appeal. Most of the jurors are Government appointed individuals but one - in this case, Libby - is a member of the public who is randomly selected to serve a compulsory five day term.
Libby, a mental health nurse is opposed to autonomous cars and in the past attended marches and demonstrations protesting against Level Five cars becoming mandatory. It's this panel who are chosen to decide what the fate of the eight Passengers should be - with the public given an extra collective voice through social media. Each of the Passengers is given the opportunity to talk to the jury and public for ten minutes and they are all potentially able to make a compelling case for themselves as to why they should survive. However, the mysterious Hacker is ruthless and having already shown the watching world of his readiness to carry out his threats, he soon reveals secrets about the unfortunate hostages which may rapidly alter how they are perceived.
The Passengers is an insightful examination of public opinion and how quickly people are persuaded to make judgements, with virtual and actual mob rule deciding the fate of their fellow humans. The Hacker is able to manipulate their choices by giving them only limited and often one-sided information with decisions over something as fundamental as life or death chillingly shown to quickly become reduced to mere hashtags. With very little information, people's morals and prejudices lead them to reach snap decisions; too caught up in the furore to consider how they have come to a point where they are assessing who is more worthy of life via an online poll. The thought-provoking and provocative storyline will undoubtedly make readers wonder how they would respond if compelled - as the jury understandably believe they are - to pick which Passenger should be saved. Some of them are definitely more sympathetic than others but nevertheless, even with more of the facts to hand, it's still not a straightforward or comfortable choice.
As the book progresses Libby is often the voice of humanity, frequently clashing with John, the pompous and loathsome MP in charge of the jury. She has her own reasons for mistrusting autonomous vehicles and even when under extreme personal pressure retains her principled nature. Despite her hatred of the cars, she isn't completely averse to AI and as the Hacker's campaign grows increasingly disturbing, she is the conduit through which readers can examine their own feelings towards the technology - is it man or machine we should really be fearing?
I was engrossed by this a gripping story throughout; there are plenty of surprising twists and a few touches of dark humour too. John Marrs has written a terrifying cautionary tale which recognises that artificial intelligence is likely to become inevitable and will often prove invaluable but transparency and safeguards should be absolutely vital. (I'll definitely think twice before getting in driverless car in the future!) It's also a perceptive and often damning exploration of the power of social media and how it encourages mass culpability over individual integrity. The Passengers is undoubtedly one of the most compelling, original and memorable books I've read this year. Highly recommended.
The Passengers is published by Del Rey. It is out now as an ebook and published in paperback on 30th May 2019. Purchasing links can be found here.
Don't miss the other stops on the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
John Marrs is a former journalist from Northamptonshire, England, who spent 25 years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines. He wrote for publications including The Guardian’s Guide and Guardian Online; OK! Magazine; Total Film; Empire; Q; GT; The Independent; Star; Reveal; Company; Daily Star and News of the World’s Sunday Magazine. He recently gave up his job to write novels full time. His first car at the age of seventeen was a three-door, Ford Escort with a Batman sticker in the rear windscreen. He thought the sticker was cool at the time.
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