Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Hanover Square Press (2023), Edition: Original, 432 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman's The Power in this dark, high-concept novel by the bestselling author of The One. 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. But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives�??monitoring every word, every minor disagreement...and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and
User reviews
LibraryThing member CelticLibrarian
Excellent speculative fiction that will make you pay much closer attention to what's going on in the tech industry and the political arena.
In the near future, in Britain, The Sanctity of Marriage Act is law. Everything possible is done to encourage marriage and those who sign up are rewarded while
This was super good and I really enjoyed it. It is sort of a companion to the previous novels by this author, The One (DNA love match), and The Passengers (autonomous vehicles). The character development was excellent, and the writing style and pace were perfect. I had such a powerful reaction to the situations that occurred in the novel and fearful about how much of the plot could be taken from the headlines today. Scary stuff here. As someone who is very leery of AI and its potential for misuse, my fears were not alleviated but heightened. I am already also concerned with government intrusion and overreach into personal and private life. This was all too believable and the absolute chill I felt while reading the last paragraph was undeniable and alarming.
What a great discussion this would create for book clubs and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this e-book ARC to read and review. Don't miss it!
In the near future, in Britain, The Sanctity of Marriage Act is law. Everything possible is done to encourage marriage and those who sign up are rewarded while
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those who refuse are punished. Everyone is strongly urged to marry and to get the maximum benefits by agreeing to a Smart Marriage. A wide chasm between the haves and have-nots has formed and growing larger every day. The government controls the lives and relationships of those citizens and monitors them 24 hours a day. Several couples whose activities and communication indicate that they are in trouble will soon learn just how far the proponents will go and how impossible it is to escape. This was super good and I really enjoyed it. It is sort of a companion to the previous novels by this author, The One (DNA love match), and The Passengers (autonomous vehicles). The character development was excellent, and the writing style and pace were perfect. I had such a powerful reaction to the situations that occurred in the novel and fearful about how much of the plot could be taken from the headlines today. Scary stuff here. As someone who is very leery of AI and its potential for misuse, my fears were not alleviated but heightened. I am already also concerned with government intrusion and overreach into personal and private life. This was all too believable and the absolute chill I felt while reading the last paragraph was undeniable and alarming.
What a great discussion this would create for book clubs and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this e-book ARC to read and review. Don't miss it!
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LibraryThing member capewood
2023 book #31. 2023. It's 2040 Britian. The gov't promotes 'Smart Marriages" with incentives and surveillance, augmented with AI. The stories of how ordinary people contrive to take advantage of the incentives while subverting the surveillance. Pretty good.
LibraryThing member DebTat2
John Marrs has smashed it out the park yet again!
The Marriage Act returns us to the world of his previous books, ‘The One’ and ‘The Passangers’, two of his best books, The One, where you find your soulmate through dna and The Passangers, where driverless cars are the norm.
Now AI has
With advantages such as better healthcare, better homes, tax breaks but with the benefits of a Smart Marriage comes the Audites, the mandatory Artificial Intelligence- powered personal assistants installed in all Smart Marriage homes to monitor their relationships through listening to random conversations. If the AI devices determines that a marriage maybe heading in the wrong direction it can dispatch a Relationship Responder to stage an intervention and save the marriage.
The book follows the lives of several couples as their marriages play out, some coming under scrutiny as well as supporters of the FFA, ‘Freedom for All’ as they oppose the government’s Smart Marriages.
As lives play out across the pages the stakes get higher and things begin to spiral out of control, culminating in a very clever ending.
Even though the subjects from the two other books are brought up in this book it doesn’t mean that you have to have read them to fully understand or enjoy this book. There is a little bit of backstory explaining everything you need to know to be fully invested in this storyline.
But, personally I would definitely read them at some point as they are amazing books!
The writing is flawless, they plot line very clever and combined it culminates into a highly captivating read.
It is the best book I have read all year – it is that good!
I can’t wait for his next book and I really hope he takes us back to this version of the world
The Marriage Act returns us to the world of his previous books, ‘The One’ and ‘The Passangers’, two of his best books, The One, where you find your soulmate through dna and The Passangers, where driverless cars are the norm.
Now AI has
Show More
infiltrated marriage’s and the British government are pushing couples to upgrade their marriages to ‘smart marriages’ through the Sanctity of Marriage Act.With advantages such as better healthcare, better homes, tax breaks but with the benefits of a Smart Marriage comes the Audites, the mandatory Artificial Intelligence- powered personal assistants installed in all Smart Marriage homes to monitor their relationships through listening to random conversations. If the AI devices determines that a marriage maybe heading in the wrong direction it can dispatch a Relationship Responder to stage an intervention and save the marriage.
The book follows the lives of several couples as their marriages play out, some coming under scrutiny as well as supporters of the FFA, ‘Freedom for All’ as they oppose the government’s Smart Marriages.
As lives play out across the pages the stakes get higher and things begin to spiral out of control, culminating in a very clever ending.
Even though the subjects from the two other books are brought up in this book it doesn’t mean that you have to have read them to fully understand or enjoy this book. There is a little bit of backstory explaining everything you need to know to be fully invested in this storyline.
But, personally I would definitely read them at some point as they are amazing books!
The writing is flawless, they plot line very clever and combined it culminates into a highly captivating read.
It is the best book I have read all year – it is that good!
I can’t wait for his next book and I really hope he takes us back to this version of the world
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LibraryThing member isabelx
Depending on who you listened too, Jem was either a tragic heroine, a saviour, the ultimate feminist, a warrior, an everywoman, a campaigner a sacrificial lamb, the devil's mouthpiece, a victim or a saint. And to Anthony, she was all of them and more.
This is the fourth of John Marrs' books that I
This is the fourth of John Marrs' books that I
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have read; they are near future science fiction about how technology and government could combine to change our lives (similar to the Black Mirror television series). This one is about the UK government's decision to regulate marriage, penalising single people and couples who do not upgrade to a smart marriage. Show Less
LibraryThing member authorjanebnight
Synopsis: Britain has created a marriage upgrade called the Marriage Act. If couples choose this upgrade their relationship will be monitored and there will be interventions including therapy and, in extreme cases, mandatory divorce, for couples who aren't getting along. There are perks for those
The book follows various individuals and couples effected by the Act.
My Rating:
3 of 5 Stars
I had expected this book to primarily focus on how the marriage act effected couples. While we get glimpses of that throughout the book that isn't at the center of the story. This book is largely about the corruption in the government that is connected with the Act.
This book has very firm ideas about it's stance on the Act and the reader isn't given a well-rounded view of the pros and cons that come from this Act beyond the superficial things such as wealth.
There are several stories and plots we are following in this book and as such I didn't think any of them got more than glimpses. I never felt connected to any characters though I did worry about the fate of a few of them.
I think this book is a cool look at what happens when government overreach happens and when personal surveillance impedes on liberty. It also looks shows the dangers of letting the government have to much say in such personal things as marriage.
While I thought there were many really interesting and valuable conversations I just didn't love it and I think that was mostly due to an abundance of characters and the inability to deeply connect with any individual.
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who upgrade such as better housing and cars. The book follows various individuals and couples effected by the Act.
My Rating:
3 of 5 Stars
I had expected this book to primarily focus on how the marriage act effected couples. While we get glimpses of that throughout the book that isn't at the center of the story. This book is largely about the corruption in the government that is connected with the Act.
This book has very firm ideas about it's stance on the Act and the reader isn't given a well-rounded view of the pros and cons that come from this Act beyond the superficial things such as wealth.
There are several stories and plots we are following in this book and as such I didn't think any of them got more than glimpses. I never felt connected to any characters though I did worry about the fate of a few of them.
I think this book is a cool look at what happens when government overreach happens and when personal surveillance impedes on liberty. It also looks shows the dangers of letting the government have to much say in such personal things as marriage.
While I thought there were many really interesting and valuable conversations I just didn't love it and I think that was mostly due to an abundance of characters and the inability to deeply connect with any individual.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
432 p.; 9.23 inches
ISBN
1335005935 / 9781335005939