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The Family Experiment

by John Marrs

Parenthood, made virtual

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Parenthood, made virtual

In a near-future UK facing overcrowding and economic strain, a subscription service offers clients a virtual child to raise through a VR headset. The company turns the idea into a reality show: ten couples guide their virtual children from birth to eighteen in nine months, competing for the right to keep the child—or for the chance at a real baby. John Marrs frames this speculative thriller around the collision of family life, technology and entertainment, with parenthood shaped by both economic pressure and a televised contest. Set in the same universe as The One and The Marriage Act, it extends that setting through a premise built on the boundaries between simulated and real family experience.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in speculative thrillers involving technology and family life.
  • Readers drawn to reality-show competitions as a central premise.
  • Readers familiar with the shared universe of The One and The Marriage Act.

Themes

Virtual parenthoodFamily and economic pressureTechnology and simulationReality television

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From the bestselling author of The One, the BookTok sensation now re-released with exclusive content in The One Expanded Edition, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted speculative thriller set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, about the ultimate "tamagotchi"--a virtual baby.

Some families are virtually perfect...

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a virtual child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby...

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi--a virtual baby.

Don't miss other suspenseful reads from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!):
  • The Marriage Act
  • The Vacation
  • The Family Experiment
  • The One

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