Rabbits by Terry Miles ~ a Review

by MK French

Rabbits is an alternate reality game that began in 1959, using the entire world as its canvas. Ten editions had come out since its beginning, with nine winners that no one can identify, and no one knows what they actually won. Now it's the eleventh iteration, and the millionaire Scarpio, rumored to be the sixth winner, hires the Rabbits obsessive K to fix what went wrong with the game. But Scarpio goes missing before K can figure it out, and the world may pay the price.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 2021; Del Rey; 978-1984819659
audio, ebook, print (432 pages); technothriller

Rabbits reminds me quite a bit of the show Fringe in early seasons. In the show, fringe sciences and conspiracy theory have some merit, and revealed secrets and a parallel world.  This novel reminds me of that because K, who has anxiety and is neurodiverse, sees things in the world that shift and change: a building alternately has four or five stories, a restaurant he swears closed years ago, and a movie he swore he saw that apparently doesn't exist. These are the kinds of discrepancies that are clues in Rabbits, leading to other clues all around the world.  It relies on synchronicity, seeming coincidence, and the ability to deep dive into the internet and photos to look for connections, something K has always been good at, even as a child. Reports of people dying or disappearing all over the world don't slow him down because of his need to know, even at risk of harming himself.

The story sucked me in harder than I thought it would and buzzes in the back of my head still. I had to know how it ended, had to see what happened to the characters, and how the different iterations of reality would resolve. The ending was a tense race to the finish line, with an abrupt crash. Once I saw the author's bio at the end, I understood. Terry Miles is involved with the creation of the podcasts Tanis and The Black Tapes, both of which are fantastic and reality-bending. There are fun gaming and creepy game shout-outs in the text, adding another layer of "What if this is true?" to the text. It's fantastically head trippy, and a great read.

Buy Rabbits at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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