'Murakami meets Ready Player One' - Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld 'A twisted trip through a cool digital wilderness of a mystery. This book sticks to your brain' - Norman Reedus, star of The Walking Dead What happens in the game, stays in the game . . . Rabbits is a secret, dangerous and sometimes fatal underground game. The rewards for winning are unclear, but there are rumours of money, CIA recruitment or even immortality. Or it might unlock the universe's greatest secrets. But everyone knows that the ...
Read More
'Murakami meets Ready Player One' - Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld 'A twisted trip through a cool digital wilderness of a mystery. This book sticks to your brain' - Norman Reedus, star of The Walking Dead What happens in the game, stays in the game . . . Rabbits is a secret, dangerous and sometimes fatal underground game. The rewards for winning are unclear, but there are rumours of money, CIA recruitment or even immortality. Or it might unlock the universe's greatest secrets. But everyone knows that the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes - and the body count is rising. Since the game first started, ten iterations have taken place . . . and the eleventh round is about to begin. K can't get enough of the game and has been trying to find a way in for years. Then Alan Scarpio, reclusive billionaire and alleged Rabbits winner, shows up out of nowhere. And he charges K with a desperate mission. Something has gone badly wrong with the game and K needs to fix it - before Eleven starts - or the world will pay the price. Five days later, Scarpio is declared missing. Two weeks after that Eleven begins, so K blows the deadline. And suddenly, the fate of the entire universe is at stake. Rabbits by Terry Miles is an electrifying, compulsive read based on the hit podcast from the Public Radio Alliance - perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Black Mirror.
Read Less
'Some true stories are easier to accept if you can convince yourself that at least part of them are fictional. This is one of these stories.'
Where to begin with Rabbits? With one of my all-time favourite books being Ready Player One I was really excited to start this read. I think I need to learn to tailor my enthusiasm and adjust expectations though as that never seems to be a great starting point for a novel!
I tried to briefly explain the plot to my partner when I finished the book and I really struggled. There's a mysterious game that's focussed on things being... not quite right (think cryptic clues in the shape of items that haven't been invented yet appearing in old games etc) and players are going missing. K is drafted by a famous billionaire into helping to win the game and save the world.
Rabbits was one of those rides that made (enough) sense while you were reading it and you were able to follow the logic along to the next step, however whenever you stopped reading and pulled yourself out of the world you didn't really understand why all of those steps needed to be done to get to where we were. The action does rattle along at speed, and yet there were a lot of details and descriptions which were not needed and could have easily been edited down.
The plot is very much focused on the game and the ideas behind it and less about the characters and it really shows. K has so many odd quirks and problems but he doesn't really seem to feel real in spite of these. I was annoyed that Chloe didn't have a personality either; she's the 'hot gamer girl' who was just used as 'The Watson' of the group to ask questions and help the reader understand what was going on. There is another female character introduced later in a kind of love-triangle, however she is written in exactly the same way so we didn't feel ourselves routing strongly for either of them.
I personally got a little bit lost as to which elements were the game and which elements were the world ending - I would have perhaps liked a little more backstory into what the 'normal' iterations of the game were like so we had something to compare it to. I had a handle on the plot to about 80% when there' a shift and it started to get complicated. When I got to around 90% I was wondering how it was going to wrap up and was half dreading it would end on a cliff hanger and a sequel. Then, all of a sudden we had a very neat ending in an almost 'it was all a dream... or was it?' kind of a fashion which I didn't really enjoy and didn't sit right with the rest of the book.
Overall Rabbits was a disappointment for me - it's an intriguing premise but I don't think it was executed on the same level to make it a stand-out read which is a shame. I'll perhaps give the podcast a try instead! Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sarah D
Jun 8, 2021
Such an experience to read, loved it
I was approved to receive an e-Galley ARC of Rabbits, authored by Terry Miles, from the publisher Del Rey, and NetGalley, for review consideration. What follows below is my honest review, freely given.
I rated this novel 5 stars. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people are not out to get you", is a saying that feels right at home with a story like this; anything is possible and everything can have meaning. Deja vu, the Mandela effect, every dance down the rabbit hole of internet conspiracy theory may have a place within an iteration of Rabbits.
The first rule of Rabbits is that you are not supposed to talk about Rabbits, not by its name, at least not too directly, which would draw attention to yourself. It's basically full on bonkers from the get go and I loved it. You're riding shoulder of the MC, who knows enough about Rabbits to get into trouble while waiting for the next round to happen. It's a dense read, but in the best way because the author tucked everything up nice and neat for us readers by the end; just magic and sorrow, hollowed chests and static minds. I got to the end and wanted to the throw my Kindle, a first for me. Not in anger, but just the build up of emotion from the story, and how it all played out... I cannot put spoilers, I will not put spoilers... but this story grows and becomes more than just about a game, obviously. The end, man, the whole novel is this wonderful, gorgeous story that makes you think; it's a person-changing story. Maybe not for everyone, but for some people, this is going to hit you by surprise. I'm going to get this in hardcover, I'm going to have to own a physical copy.
