The family experiment

John Marrs has developed some really fine books based on some out-there premises: a lunatic holds people hostage in their self-driving cars (The Passengers, 2019), top-secret government information is stored in people's brains (The Minders, 2021), breakthroughs in DNA-matching make falling in love obsolete (The One, 2018). His latest novel follows that trend. For a fee, prospective parents will be able to create a virtual reality child, to see whether child-rearing is really for them. In the simulated VR world, the experience is uncannily realistic, as the nine contestants in the reality show designed to launch this new service will soon discover. And, like all reality shows, this one is not what you might call smooth sailing for its participants. Marrs seems to especially enjoy challenging his readers to accept a premise that is, at first glance, highly unlikely, and then to show them that the premise is not only plausible, but frighteningly possible. Expect avid interest from the author's ever-growing fan base.