The Marriage Act: The unmissable speculative thriller from the author of The One

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Brilliant writing, John Marrs has a sure winner with this,it is one of the best books I have ever read The Marriage Act could have been used to make some really interesting point, about policy-making, about surveillance, about patriarchal institutions… but instead, there was no critical thought to accompany the concept, beyond “Wouldn’t be scary if the government used Alexa to listen to our marital spats?”. That, along with some very obvious plot “twists”, made for a rather disappointing read. Set in a near-future Britain where automated driverless cars have replaced traditional vehicles, this enjoyable, if flawed, techno-thriller from Marrs (The One) plunges eight people into a Continue reading » Arthur's perspective was very sad, Corinne's made my blood boil, I felt sympathy for Anthony, and Jeffrey was... is it okay to say fun? Anyways, I applaud Marrs for thinking outside the box on this one. It was MUCH more "intellectual" than Keep It In The Drafts (Family). And there were no skulls with hair attached, so that's a plus too. In my irrelevant opinni, it wasn't written subtly enough to be hittin. I would like to see this kind of premise taken on by an author like Iain Reid aka king of sparse prose 'n spooky vibez.

If we deem it necessary, we will send a marriage counselor as well to stay with you and monitor your behavior. I thought that the first half of the book was excellent, but the second half felt rushed and it was a bit over the top.One of these rules includes having a device called The Audite in your home which listens to everything you say and decides if your marriage needs outside help. The interventions come in stages and if the goverment think your marriage is in trouble they send in the professionals (Marital First Responders) to help save or dissolve your marriage. I guess everyone searches for the perfect mate, the perfect, partner one who would compliment you in everyday life. Truthfully I really didn't give two rats asses about any of characters. I found myself annoyed by their selfishness. Corrine was a massive hypocrite who embodied: "how dare I face the consequences of my own actions." Noah should've been single, forever. Jeffrey and Roxi needed in-patient psychiatric care. Owen and Luca were inconsequential. Mitchell was a Disney villain (I literally pictured Elon Musk at times). Oh yeah, forgot about Arthur. He was a blend between inconsequential but also needing therapy.

This is like the popcorn thriller version of 1984. John Marrs was feeling particularly ambitious when he decided to write this novel. Although his author's note talks about how the idea was born from a discussion about how smart device monitoring would alter our romantic relationships, he ended up biting off a lot more than this. It's not so much about relationships, but about how constant monitoring impacts individuals on every level and as a society. The effect of continuous monitoring and AI extends beyond the constraints of the four couples' relationships and bleeds into everything from social media and work to their children's education and personal finances. Overall, another immersive well written and well thought out novel that is thought provoking as well as entertaining.

From the bestselling author of The One, now an eight-part NETFLIX series. Set in the same world as The One, The Marriage Act is a dark, high-concept thriller. Britain. The near future. A right wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills – the Sanctity of Marriage Act which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single. This title will be out in January 2023, but I just couldn't wait to read it so here's my first Netgalley review for 2023! this is so similar to THE ONE which is my favorite book of his, and quite honestly hard to beat. i loved those characters so much!

This was my third book by this author. My first book was “The one” (which has been adapted for a tv series) and “The Passengers”, both highly entertaining.From the bestselling author of THE ONE, now an eight part NETFLIX series. Set in the same world as THE ONE, THE MARRIAGE ACT is a dark, high concept thriller.