If all of my favorite books crawled into a blender together and got poured into a new book, Rabbits would probably be the result. A delightful mindfu<k full of gaming, theoretical physics, psychology and a heavy splash of trauma.

Wow, this really is tremendous fun where, in a story that involves anything but a fun premise, you might not expect to experience it. It's a cliche but I really found it hard to put this down and finished it very quickly.

It's a complicated tale of coincidences (or are they?) and games but so well paced and written that I could comfortably keep up with it. Well, most of it. There were a few places where I needed to reread and still found myself somewhat lost in a maze of possible timelines but it genuinely did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. There's a really original story here but with sprinklings of Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, and I've also, correctly, seen it compared to Murakami which I'd agree with for its off-kilter nature.

The main characters are really well drawn and very likeable, particularly K, Chloe, and Emily. There's a host of additional characters making up the light and the dark side (or challenging your perception of the light and the dark side) which also help to draw you in.

I discovered after reading this that it's based on a podcast. I don't know if that lends a deeper level of understanding or maybe expectation to the reading of the book but I can attest to the fact that it's coherent and cohesive and , as I said, really great fun as a stand-alone novel.

Not sure I understood everything in this book, but it was amazing!

K, yup that is his name... the only name we know him as in this book, loves games. They have helped him to deal with the untimely loss of his parents, and kept him, mostly, from going insane as he moves through life. One game, however, has his attention more than any other and that is the game Rabbits. Rabbits is a game in which you look for patterns and follow clues.... if you are lucky enough to win, then amazing things happen in your life. First though, you have to survive... as some people don't and when Alan Scarpio, one of the richest men in the world, rumored to be one of the game winners, approached K and lets him know that something is wrong with the game... and K needs to fix it or something terrible may happen, K is thrust into a world different than he has ever been in before... one where things keep changing and life as he knows it is shaken and threatened. However, this will not stop K because there is a game of Rabbits to play.

This is a book like no other book I have read. It is sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, intrigue, romance and so much more. It grabbed my attention from page one and I could not put it down. LOVED IT! Read it. Devour it. Enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had not listened to the Rabbits podcast, but the cover and the description drew me in and I'm so glad that I kept with this one!

I like a good conspiracy theory and the world of the strange and supernatural. Seeing mentions of things like the Mandela effect and the Berenstain/Berenstein Bears theories made me smile. After figuring out what the heck was actually HAPPENING in the plot (which, admittedly, took about halfway through the book), I flew through the second half and was pleasantly surprised at how things ended. Part "Ready Player One" with references to older games, music, movies, etc. and following clues to win a game.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Random House / Del Ray Books for the eARC in exchange for a honest review!)

It was stated that you do not have to listen to the podcast Rabbits to read this book. As such, I went in blind. The pacing was inconsistent. Things would start to rev up in the plot, and I would be excited to keep reading. However, the plot would then fall flat again. This was disappointing and almost led to a 90% in DNF.
The story follows a consistent formula of, K and Chloe find a clue, they then look for the next clue. K loses reality or time or both, and somehow finds said next clue. Chloe asks K if he is ok. Rinse and repeat for 400+ pages and you have the book.
There is no real character development to speak of here. K and Chloe feel flat personality-wise. This story genuinely had the means to be amazing. The execution, however, stifled all of those chances.
Full review will be posted on my blog on June 18th, 2021

if you combined This Is Not a Game, Dark Matter & Ready Player One (sort of) and then took shrooms, this is what you would get. in a good way.

Wow! A fast-paced, plot driven drive through the world of gaming, AI, multiverse physics and magic using a female protagonist akin to Alice of Wonderland. Well done. Can’t wait for the TV series.

Rabbits is like if Ready Player One and Dark Matter had a book baby together.
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Set in Seattle, K, is an eccentric guy that has an uncanny ability to spot patterns and coincidences. But what if there is no such thing as coincidences, but rather those are actually clues to a mystery game known as rabbits. And what if the game of rabbits isn’t only real, but also is can be deadly.
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This trippy sci-fi thriller kept me interested to try to find out what’s going on, and interested enough did make me catch some coincidences in real life so clearly the story was sticking in my brain. I’ll admit stories like this can be a bit confusing for me, but it was still a very entertaining read! I’d recommend for people who enjoy this genre and looking for a change of pace from non science fiction books
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Thank you to #Netgalley, Terry Miles and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this title!

If you are a fan of Inception and the rest of Christopher Nolan’s movies, I am sure you will love this book. Personally, I avoid his movies unless I have trouble sleeping. While I succeeded in finishing Rabbits by Terry Miles, I really couldn’t explain why I bothered. I read the book courtesy of Penguin Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is very hard for me to write about this book. Some people are playing a game called Rabbits. Or, maybe they aren’t. No one talks about the game because there is a chance they will die or disappear. Some people have already. Maybe. There seem to be multiple realities that people cross in and out of. No one knows what is really going on, or why, including the reader. Maybe it’s just me. There is a lot of action, high-speed chases, attempted murders, and dangerous creatures from somewhere. It is difficult for me to enjoy a book unless I care about the characters. I didn’t as the characters had no discernable character.

Confused? Good, get used to it. I really can’t recommend a book I truly didn’t understand. I never played multiplayer games online, maybe that’s the problem. I don’t fall into the book’s demographics. The most positive comment I can offer is that it saved me from taking Melatonin that evening. ,

Good luck.

Let me begin by thanking Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey for an advanced copy of this book. With that said, let me preface this review by stating that I'd never heard of the podcast Rabbits in the past thus was not directly influenced by being a fan. Rabbits begins with our protagonist,  K, who finds himself being asked by an incredibly wealthy man to help him fix an incredibly secret,  illuminati a-la- Fight Club type game that is played live action style called Rabbits. K soon finds himself following countless clues along with his love interest Chloe while simultaneously experiencing time lapses in his memory and supernatural type events. While all of this may seem enticing and Murakami-esque, the writing style was somewhat problematic.  One paragraph would describe being in a certain location and suddenly the next has the reader wondering what happened. Often times a lot of the characters seem to be repeating what they say over and over again throughout the novel so we see a lot of redundancy. While I'm all for trying new syntactical writing styles, this often went on for pages especially about the technical jargon of some scientific endeavor or other. I do believe this novel would have benefited from a lot more editing and possibly some kind of better closure other than "we are saving the world and hurray we did it but have no idea why we did it or anything involving the multiverse or the game itself." If this was truly the author 's intention,  to lead us down a literal rabbit hole and surface 400+ with no more information than what we started with on page one, then by all means he succeeded.  I wanted to love this story so much but unfortunately fell incredibly short.

Books based off of podcasts seem to be all the rage these days. For the longest time I couldn't really understand why. There are a limited amount of books to read so why waste my time on a story that I'm already familiar with? Well I was wrong. Not only did I learn a lesson in humility but I found a new book that I really loved. Rabbits works whether or not you are a fan of the podcast. In fact I'd say it's probably better to start with the book and then proceed to the podcast when you finish. When this book ends you're going to look for any excuse to enter this world again. It's that good. Though it's worth mentioning that the book is entirely separate then the podcast as far as characters and plot. There are Easter eggs, but that's really it. What's it about? It's a mystery about a secret organization/company tied to a game that may be more sinister then it appears at first. The Mandela effect and alternate realities play a role. The world building was great and the mystery unravels at a perfect pace. Never did i feel overwhelmed or over burdened with an info dump. This story exceeds at "show, don't tell". The ending left me a bit confused, but not in a bad way. More to come as it gets closer to release. I would definitely recommend.

Weird! That’s the first word that comes to mind with this book but I mean that in the best way. I had never heard of the podcast so I came into this book with no background knowledge and it was a fun ride as I found out along with K what was going on. The opening was a little confusing before things started to take K along on his journey. There’s a lot of craziness in this book and it’s a very outlandish plot that’s unlike anything I’ve read before. If, like me, you are new to Rabbits I suggest just diving in and enjoying the mystery. There are so many possibilities in this world and I think a large question mark at the end that this could easily be a series of books that I would eagerly devour. I will definitely be starting the podcast next. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This wildly inventive roller coaster ride of a book will take you on a quest for seemingly random clues through an alternate universe. Calling on the morbid curiosity that many of us have felt about the bizarre world of QAnon, Miles has developed a similar world that plunges those mesmerized by its drama and powerful sense of community into a vortex of psychic and even physical danger. There is obviously more here than meets the eye, but I'm not including spoilers. Just know that you should grab this book upon its publication if you like puzzles, alternate reality games, or that uneasy shift of perception that can strike when you venture into liminal spaces. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance reader copy to allow me to express my opinion. @DelReyBooks #Rabbits #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of Rabbits in exchange for an honest review. Rabbits is being marketed for fans of Blake Crouch, Ernest Cline, and Black Mirror. While I am a fan of all three (even if I was disappointed by Ready Player Two), this novel just didn’t work for me at all.

Rabbits is a difficult novel to describe. There’s allegedly an underground game called Rabbits that takes place in the real world from time to time right under everyone else’s noses. There aren’t any formal rules or structure to the game, but if you start noticing odd coincidences (the same number appearing again and again around you) or discrepancies (a building that you’re sure used to have two windows now has three) around you, you can follow those clues and find ... other clues. And if you get to the end of this string of clues then you’ll win ... a prize, maybe, no one’s really sure. The game is believed to be dangerous to play, but when a former winner turns up and tells our narrator, K, that he has to fix the game or the whole world may be destroyed, K and his would-be girlfriend Chloe try to “Win the Game, Save the World” (an actual chapter title).

And that’s pretty much it. I mean, other characters get involved and K has a backstory. But the plot is basically just K and Chloe talking, then noticing something weird, following it for a while, stopping, then noticing something else weird, lather, rinse, repeat. The book honestly could have been 200 shorter or 200 pages longer without any real difference to the story—it just seemed to be a matter of how long the author felt like telling the story.

Compounding the problem of the repetition was the unreality of it all. If you never really know what’s real and what’s not, it’s very difficult to become invested in or attached to any of the characters. While the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon and Mandela effect discussions were interesting, the happenings here were extreme to the point of absurdity. If a friend of yours in real life started telling you that they were seeing connections between unrelated events the way K and Chloe do, you would call to get them psychological help.

Rabbits is set in the same world Mr. Miles created in a 2017 podcast. The publisher says you don’t have to be familiar with the podcast to enjoy the book. Perhaps, but all I can say is I wasn’t familiar with that podcast and I unfortunately didn’t enjoy the book. If you really liked the podcast, I guess I’d say give the novel a try. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it.

Is it possible to loath a book just as much as you adore it? That was Rabbits for me. Rabbits is a game. But not just any game. It is secret and underground. And sometimes dangerous and life-threatening. You won’t know what you have to do to win and you don’t know what the prize is while you’re playing. Find the signs, follow the clues, win the game, save the world.

Is the book sci-fi? Is it fantasy? Does the MC, K, have a mental disorder? I can’t answer any of these questions. Following K has he played the game was SO SO interesting and I found myself obsessing over the game right along with K. As the book goes on, the components of the game become more and more confusing. Is K even playing the game anymore or is he driving himself insane? You’ll have to read to find out. All of these things made me adore the book. But the ending of the book left a lot of things unanswered as K doesn’t know the answers so we as the readers never find the answers either. You will end the story without really knowing what happened. What was real and what was imagined. Omg, it was so good! I know this review basically does nothing except for ramble and tell you how I have no idea what the eff I just read but I just can’t say it enough how much this story drew me in and left me so completely engrossed that I might as well have been playing the game as well, I became so distracted from my own reality.

If you love mind-bending, speculative fiction then I would give this a try. I finished reading this a week ago and it is still in my head. I’m still thinking about the craziness and trying to make sense of so much. I’ll definitely be re-reading this again in the future.

Releases June 8, 2021

Received from Random House Publishing via Netgalley

Review of Rabbits by Terry Miles

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine (Del Rey) for providing me an ARC of this excellent debut novel.

Allow me to disclose from the outset that I am not a gamer. Far from a gamer, I am a retired college mathematics professor. Several decades of immersion into mathematics (and probably the reason I have an affinity for it) has given me a respect for order, logic, patterns, linear thinking, and maybe even a strong skepticism of coincidences. I believe this is what made me want to read this book. I did wonder after reading the synopsis if I could make it through the book or if it just really did not sound like my “cup of tea.” I decided to go for it, and it did not take long to realize that my concerns were unfounded. I really enjoyed this book. Yes, the story is filled with patterns (noticing and following), coincidences that are just too plentiful to be coincidence, logic, and linear thinking (what following patterns requires). It is also filled with the world of serious gamers. This was not a turn-off for me. The story is interesting and addicting. Honestly, I could not put down this book. There were times that I did not understand the gamer language and/or conversations, but they did not detract from the storyline. The story is complex and interesting. It also moves ahead swiftly like a thriller (my favorite book genre). I was never lost in the complexity. I never once wondered what was going on. I just wanted to know more. Isn’t that what all books should do?

Throughout the book are references to wonderful old movies and fabulous classic rock music. I loved the way these were a part of the story. I am not a reader of romance novels. But for those of you who are, there is a branch of the main story that will feed your need for romance. The love stories are sweet and do not distract from the game. I am generally a reader of thrillers and murder mysteries. Rabbits offered me enough of both to make me very happy. In fact, I would classify this book as a thriller. The pace of the novel is great...exhilarating and exciting. I think Terry Miles has done a great job of writing a book about a complex game that appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike.

One word of warning: if you are offended by or have a low tolerance for bad language, know that this book is filled with f-bombs.

One last thing...there is a 10-episode podcast (2017-2018) with the same name. I am going to let this book “percolate” for a while in my mind and then give the podcast a listen. I hope I enjoy it as much as I did this book.

My star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Special thanks to Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I started this book and was really intrigued. It is about two things that I'm not fond of, science fiction and gaming. But I started to read it and got intrigued by each page. I put it down to read another book, but my mind was still on Rabbits, soooo...I put the other book down, that wasn't as exciting to me and went back to Rabbits. It's nothing like Ready Player One, Rabbits is a mysterious real life game where it's very exclusive. Clues and connections may be anywhere at any time.. But the main character "K", who is a serious gamer has heard about the game "Rabbits" a s a teenager, when he was taking a ride with two sisters who were friends of his family. The sister driving put on a staticy radio station and turned off her headlights driving in complete darkness. All of a sudden, the radio said "The door is open", next thing you know, they crash with the sister driving dying in The crash. The phrase "The Door is Open" is where the rounds or "ititerations" of the game begins, meaning someone won the last round. K is both scared and intrigued. As he gets older, he hears the word "Rabbits" here and there. But no one knows the winners or what they get. Some people say it's a million dollars, some people say it's an entrance to become CIA, but you have to be smart enough and intelligent enough to connect the dots. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm not into gaming or sci-fi, but people who get to close to Rabbits, either win and are never heard of again, or are dead from trying. I gave this book 4 stars. It's definitely a "page turner", I couldn't put it down..*****

A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a child, K overhears the daughters of his parents' friends talking about an underground game. One of the girls mentions a radio station and they take off on a drive, taking K with them, and try to find a location and hear some clue through the static on the radio station.

Surviving a tragic accident that night, K grows up to be adept at recognizing patterns, and makes money on investments. K spends his time gaming and giving intro tours to people who are interested in the game which has come to be known as Rabbits. One night, after giving one of those presentations, a man named Scarpio, who is alleged to be one of the winners of the prior iterations of Rabbits named Californica, approaches K. They talk at a diner across the street from the arcade, and Scarpio tells K there is something wrong with Rabbits that needs to be fixed before the 11th iteration starts or they are all in a lot of danger.

Then Scarpio gets a phone call that makes him nervous, makes plans to meet with K the next morning, and gets in his car and leaves.

By the next day, Scarpio is missing.

Blending gamer nerd folklore and history, ancient media, science, and pseudoscience in a brilliant compilation sure to garner interest across the board, Terry Miles has created a fantastic novel of conspiracy theory and paranoia. Prepare to fall into the rabbit hole that is Rabbits.

I adored this book. I have left two reviews on my BookTube channel, The Caffeinated Book Wyrm, if you would like to see just how much I loved this book. Looking forward to purchasing the final edition in June and re-reading to see if anything changed.

I enjoyed the story and the uniqueness of this book but did find that it lacked focus. At times I felt like there were too many elements competing to be on top that it came off as disjointed. The ending was ok, but was a little unsatisfying. I give this author kudos for the story alone which will most likely stick with me for a long time. It is a book I am interested in getting in hard copy and will be reading it again to pick up on little easter eggs that I may have missed the first go round.

I wish it were more compelling than it was, although there were suspenseful and exciting parts to it. I could see many literary and cinematic influences on this work. I found that there were too many loose ends without ties and rabbit holes with no ends.

3.5 stars total, but I rounded down for the amount of time it took me to read this. Has the potential for greatness but definitely needs more focus. I am looking forward to listening to the Rabbits podcast though.

My full review is published on Goodreads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3883242674

"There's something wrong with Rabbits." But there's nothing wrong at all with <i>Rabbits</i>. This fast-paced conspiracy thriller is like <i>Ready Player One</i>, but better. You're not supposed to talk about playing Rabbits, a game (or is it?) that exists in the periphery of reality. If you've ever experienced deju vu, maybe you've played Rabbits. If you've ever noticed coincidences that seem too coincidental to be random, maybe you've played Rabbits.

This debut novel from Terry Miles is an exhilarating ride from start to finish.