The Passengers

By: John Marrs

Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Roy McMillan, Tom Bateman, Shaheen Khan, Kristin Atherton, Patience Tomlinson

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”

Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man. 

From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save? ...And who should we kill first?"

Read by Clare Corbett, Roy McMillan, Tom Bateman, Shaheen Khan, Kristin Atherton, and Patience Tomlinson

©2019 John Marrs (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A fast-paced thriller that offers a discourse on morality and ethics…Marrs excels at thrilling readers by creating a real sense of tension and delivering a believeable, harsh criticism of modern society through this dark and entertaining story. Driving…will never feel quite the same.” (LA Times)

"One can almost hear the Hollywood music in the background as the action unfolds; the plot twists are truly gripping…Summer blockbuster entertainment at its best. All that's missing is a slo-mo pre-disaster montage.” (Kirkus Reviews)  

“I absolutely loved it. It sucked me right in and kept me gripped right until the end. With some real jaw dropping moments, it was an edge of your seat read.” (Claire Allen, USA Today best-selling author of Her Name is Rose) 

Not a long shelf life on this one

This is 2019, wrapped up in one quick, fun listen. Get it now, because by 2021, it probably will have aged horribly (I certainly hope so at least). At the center of the plot is a UK in the very near future where autonomous cars are mandatory. That technology is new and not perfected yet, and outright scary for a lot of us, so it lays a good groundwork for a fast paced thriller. But it is so much more than driverless cars. It's a scathing portrait of society - our blood thirsty, mob mentality nature, how pervasive social media and technology is, and a not very flattering portrait of the views on immigration, racism, etc. Even men's rights made an appearance.

While the plot was nice and unique and made for a good beach listen, it deserved an author with a little bit more skill than John Marrs. The twists really depended on subtlety and nuance - Marrs cannot deliver either. The twists became extraordinarily predictable. And most of the characters had about as much depth as a rain puddle. One, in particular, Jack, should have been twirling his cartoon mustache. It was eye rolling and cringeworthy that the author couldn't have made him a villian by using a little bit of nuance instead of over the top obnoxiousness and antagonism that came out of left field.

The performance was better than most. I always appreciate when multiple narrators are used for different characters instead of a single one trying to affect different tones. It worked well in this book. Minus one star because a handful of the narrators pronounced the name "Jude" with such a quick, hard "J" that it sounded more like "Dude". It was nails on a chalkboard for me.

2 halves don’t make a whole!!

This book started strong and kept me engaged throughout the “journey”. Unfortunately things took a detour when the “journey” ended. The second half of the book seemed to delve into how things ultimately turned out for the passengers and while I was interested in some of them, I didn’t think the second half of the book needed to be devoted to the “aftermath”.
I would give the first half 4 stars and the second half 3 stars. I guess that ultimately ends up at 3.5.

Fast paced and keeps you guessing

This audiobook was fantastic! It takes the saying don’t judge a book by its cover to a whole new meaning. It is a roller coaster of emotions and each and every chapter as you hating and liking new characters. Then in the next chapter it totally switches. Then you get that big reveal at the end and it just makes everything worthwhile, the entire ride is definitely worth it! It has some pretty futuristic and fancy technology that actually seems quite possible and will be here one day. The main characters the story follows come from all walks of life and you really learn a lot about them throughout the entire story. Don’t be quick to judge, as I was, you will soon find out there are many secrets in this story. This is a full cast production and each performer brings his or her own flair to the reading. Let’s not mention that this book takes place in England and each and every performer has an English accent. Each character is so well performed they fall seamlessly together, each chapter is read by a different performer and follows a different characters perspective. What a wild ride and just when you think you figured it all out there’s another plot twist. They just keep coming right out of left field and they don’t let up until the end. The production even has newscast stories and headlines at the beginning of some chapters which are accompanied by little sound effects, which typically I don’t like but in this case were quite well with the story. Definitely do yourself a favour and pick this one up you won’t be disappointed.

Thought provoking

I enjoyed the first part of the novel, it was suspenseful and very interesting. The last section lost me- it was very good up until then. The narrators were great and well chosen for their parts.

I love this author!

I am a huge fan of his books. He is perfect at throwing you a curveball after the book seems to be resolved. He always manages another moment that forces me to say, "SHUT UP! THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN!?!!" This story is perfect for Black Mirror fans like me!

Fast paced and twisty

John Marrs is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I’m an author myself, so that’s not something I simply say. I’ve read both this book and The One, and both are great and full of twists. The Passengers surprised me more, but I think I liked The One slightly better. With that said, The Passengers was excellent to listen to. It kept me engaged, and it surprised me several times along the way. Loved it.

5 stars- then 2 stars

I agree with many of the other reviewers. This book started out AMAZING. It was fast paced and kept my full interest for 3/4 of the book. Then the last part was agony to get through. I’m writing this review with 10 minutes left in the book, that’s how little attention I’m paying at this point. Definitely worth a credit despite the last few chapters.

Excellent Story!

The story was great. The characters VERY interesting!
However, when they gave the character the wedding and a baby I wanted to throw the whole book out. Happy endings don’t have to be that BS for women.

This Book is Amazing!

Marrs did it again. The story is complex and almost too real. His characters are incredibly well developed with the narrators' exceptional talents bringing them alive. It is a strong, yet entertaining commentary on how powerful social media and reality television have become in our world. I also enjoyed how he wove his storyline from The One into this as well. This audible book is superb in every way!

loved it!

This is the 3rd John Mars book I have read, all in the last few months. And, it is the 3rd time I have stopped all else I could to keep reading.