Review | The Passengers by John Marrs

In a distant future, the United Kingdom has moved towards driverless vehicles on the road and plan to gradually ban other types of vehicles. A Hacker targets eight people in these driverless cars and set them on a collision course. If they try to escape or if anyone interferes in their journey, the cars will explode. As the passengers try to figure out a way to save themselves, the public and a select jury will decide their fate.

”I need you to listen carefully, Jude,” the voice continued calmly. “In approximately two and a half hours’ time, you are going to die.”

A fast-paced read, I couldn’t put The Passengers down because I was dying to know what happens next! While the technology of driverless cars doesn’t appear that far away from where we are now, the way their use is put into law and applied to people’s lives is definitely futuristic – even sinister. It makes me think of the show Black Mirror in the best way! The snippets of websites, news reports, social media trends, etc., are a great way to build the world without relying on expositions. Social media plays a huge part and it feels painfully close to real life at times in where people interact without thinking of consequences.

I thought the characters are entertaining. They each have their own secrets so that makes it more suspenseful. While the eight characters are in the spotlight, the book also focused on the characters on a select jury. The jury is put together to decide on cases where accidents happen, and find the guilty party. I found the characters’ motivations believable and while there are obvious good vs bad guys, it isn’t always clear.

The only snag is that I wish the ending is less drawn out. A few storylines end too neatly and lose the sharp cynicism from the first half. But this is a super relevant read and makes you think twice about putting your entire life in technology’s hands. While humans are still controlling the machines, The Passengers shows that our reliance allows for easier manipulation. In the end, we still have to be responsible for what we release into the world.

About the author: John Marrs

Photo by Arthur Aldyrkhanov