What a wild ride! I really enjoyed how intricate and well paced this book was. I really felt like I was inside this one and wanted it to keeping going even once it had ended.

This was a fun and thrilling read.
I like the writing style, the pace of the story and all the characters and twist and turns.
I didn’t expect too much and got pleasantly surprised.

Yeah, Pull This Rabbit Out of the Hat

This has --- parallel universes and genre and literal slipstreaming, quantum AI, conspiracies about conspiracies, obsessive gaming, clues and patterns that lead to more clues and patterns that lead to even more clues and patterns, urban gaming myths and legends, and confusing head trip action held together with brisk and mostly helpful monologuing. We get an engaging guide, a first person narrator, who can have a nervous breakdown but still keep a story going. That's what I expected and that's what I got.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!!

Rabbits is set in a techniverse (maybe picture meta verse) but the 2 realities collide. For someone who’s no into gaming or VR, this book was pretty good! If you are a gamer, you need to read RABBITS!

One of those books that’s filled with a lot of big, bold ideas, but completely misses the mark for me due to a lack of connection with the main character. Who is she? I didn’t even pick up that it was a woman until someone said it was revealed on a podcast or interview or something. Perhaps that’s wrong—or perhaps it doesn’t even matter—but it seemed to be indicative of the ideas first, people second approach the book was headed from page one. I didn’t finish this one (usually don’t give stars to DNF’s, but NetGalley seems to require one to leave a review so going with a neutral three stars).

Before reading this book, I didn’t realize there was a podcast that was of the same name so I didn’t get to listen to it first. Perhaps if I did, my rating would’ve changed! (And now I know I’ll have to listen to the podcast.)

I don’t think I lost any understanding of the book, its plot, or what was happening without having heard the podcast. The book read well and was interesting, it felt unique, and I mostly enjoyed it even though I had to take a decent number of breaks while reading it just to mull parts over (but that could just be me). The book reminded me kind of like “Fight Club” - because you aren’t supposed to talk about/mention “Rabbits” as the game because bad things could happen to you! – and a bit like “Ready Player One” due to all the pop culture references and puzzling. It’s not the same, but it was something my mind definitely thought about. If you like those, you’ll probably decently enjoy this one. However, this one is thriller, so if thrillers aren’t your thing, this might not be a great fit.

While I decently enjoyed the book, I did feel like some parts of the book could’ve been cut out because I didn’t feel they were necessary and dragged the book a little bit. Overall though, it was a decent read that I don’t regret reading!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC opportunity!

“It’s a mindfucker isn’t it?”

Yes. Yes it is. Honestly ‘mindfuck’ is the only word that kept spinning through my brain as I devoured this book. It’s absolutely bonkers in the best way.

The characters are great and the plot is genius. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. As in, it was hard to focus on work because I just wanted to clock out and go read my book. As in, I ignored my fiancé for hours at a time because something completely bananas was happening to fictional characters and I needed to find out what!

There is a game called Rabbits and nobody really knows who, or what, or if anyone is controlling it. It can distort your reality. People have died playing it. And now, something is wrong with the game. The deeper K and her friends get into Rabbits, the more dangerous it becomes.

This was such a wild, thrilling ride. I would even call it creepy at times, but not in a typical horror-type way. Think a really intense, detailed sci-fi Black Mirror/Twilight Zone. I loved it so much. This is my first 5⭐️ read of the year and it was so worth it.

Thank you NetGalley, Miles & publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Premise was interesting enough that I was happy to see the novel through to the ending, despite finding the narrator's tone a little grating. Overall, an entertaining idea and novel.

A big thank you to author Terry Miles, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

What an amazing, fascinating book. Hard to describe. It is the story of a supposed top-secret game called Rabbits that is rumored to exist in the world, that no one is supposed to talk about, and is rumored to occasionally kill players. It is played by following patterns and connections that would be hardly noticeable. For example, twenty bracelets on a woman, someone paying a bill with a twenty dollar bill and twenty toothpicks. It has been played 10 times so far. And it opens with the phrase "The Door is Open". This is the story of one person's quest to play the game, to win the game, and to perhaps save the world. It is full of secret screens in old atari games, a Starbucks full of Harolds, the darknet, and ultimately following clues and staying alive. I could not put it down. And I am on vacation right now in a very beautiful place, and all I wanted to do was read!

I really liked this book. My first thought was “Shall we play a game?” from the movie War Games. And, as in Fight Club, it’s a game you don’t talk about. And then it gets bonkers. Alice Through the Looking Glass Twilight Zone Back to the Future bonkers with conspiracy theories, The Mandela Effect, and the nature of reality. It is a fast paced thriller with palpable paranoia, great characters, and more obscure pop culture references than you can shake a stick at. It was a fun ride!

Rabbits by Terry Miles is a mind-bending head trip that is part Ready Player One and part The Matrix. It is a book that creeps and burrows into your mind, and you can spend weeks or months analyzing what you read. Rabbits is the kind of book you can read multiple times and still not wholly figure out.

“We each had our reasons for wanting the fantastical world promised by Rabbits to replace the flawed emotional narrative of our real lives.”

Rabbits is based in the world of long-form pseudo-documentary by Terry Miles. Rabbits the novel is about a narrator known as K searching for information about the addictive underground game Rabbits.

Rabbits, the game is very hush-hush. Players who play it do not speak of it and operate on the clandestine fringes of retro-tech and obscure culture. All research done on the game takes place in a shadow world of people in the know. Finding information and clues about Rabbits becomes as much a part of the game as the obvious goal of winning. K’s research leads her down winding paths and rabbit holes, searching for information that will help K win the game. Once the game is won, a new iteration will start.

Eventually, K becomes wholly addicted to the game. With the help of K's friend, Chloe, they become entangled in the game world. Also, to complicate things, a reclusive billionaire gets involved who mysteriously ends up disappearing and eventually winning the game has possible world-ending repercussions.

Terry Miles's writing feels very much like listening to a mystery podcast. I haven’t heard the original Rabbits podcast. However, it has a dedicated cult-like following. The problem that I ran into with Rabbits is positive and negative. Rabbits is a very intricate and entangled story. The characters question their reality, and the story's narrator is unreliable. It can be challenging to follow along, and I found myself going back and rereading sections of the book, trying to keep track of some of the plot details.

I liked Rabbits quite a bit because of the highly complex nature of the story. I find this kind of story very engaging, and I am a fan of unreliable narrators. But I can understand how a story like Rabbits would be complicated for some readers to enjoy. No part of K's journey is straightforward. Matter-a-fact, there are false starts and details that you think will be important but turn out not to be. Because of this, I can see a story like Rabbits obtaining a cult-like following with the strength of his writing and world-building. Especially if Miles continues to write in this world and interconnects Rabbits to other books. However, I don't see everyone enjoying Rabbits.

I received a galley copy of Rabbits and wasn't sure what to expect. I ended up being entertained by this book that was really reminiscent of other books I've enjoyed like Ready Player One and Ender's Game. That said, the book didn't develop its universe or the explanation of the course of events nearly as well. I don't regret reading the book, but a part of me felt like this could have been the rough draft of a much more compelling book had there been a greater explanation of the world that the author created and had there been a more thoughtful development of the book's key characters. It was a fun read but one that left me with a lot more questions that I typically would like from a novel like this.

This book was about 50 pages too long. I was very into the story for the first two thirds, but the last third left me really confused. Most of the female characters story lines were more interesting than K’s. I’ll be interested to see how the podcast fits in.

Did not get to this book in 2021.
My review is not a reflection of the work or the writing/plot itself, but rather speaks to other books that caught my attention more.
Hate I didn't manage to squeeze this one in, but there are so many books and only so much time.

I would look to Goodreads or other reviewers on Netgalley who read the title and will offer their unbiased opinion.

A book for Squid Game fans. Once a character goes by just an initial you know what kind of book it is going to be.. I've never played an alternate reality game, so probably wasn't the best audience for this, unfortunately. I like the scary nature of the book. I don't think I'm the demographic.

This book revolves around an underground game of patterns, and connections that has been going on for years until it starts to change. I thought that the premise was definitely intriguing. It just fell way flat for me. There was no mention of any actual gameplay, or how you would know if it is happening and it is unknown who is playing. Without an actual game demonstrated, there is no book. It was seriously just a man named K running around in alternative reallities trying to talk to someone, or find out something about what is going on. Repeat many times and there is your book. He gets a little more confusing and just weirder over time. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

For the most part I struggled with this book. There were obvious points of nostalgic enjoyment.

Parts of the plot were interesting but there was something lacking in bringing all the key points to fruition.

And it fizzled. I think this is in part due to the focus shifting from the main character to more interesting side characters. I didn’t want to live in the narrators head. I wanted to jump ship.

It also felt disjointed. But that might have simply been my reading experience. This book took me over 8 months to finish.

Some of the book reminds me of NIGHT FILM and READY PLAYER ONE and at the same time it reminds me SURVIVE THE NIGHT. I think if you find a reader that equally liked those books, you’ll find a reader for this one.

I am not that reader.

There was also a very long information dumping session in the ending pages that never works. You cannot use a characters dialogue to explain the holes in your plot and make sense of behaviors that don’t align.

This one is a very mid 2.5

Rounded down to ⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey Books for this gifted copy!

Are you playing?

Conspiracies abound in this fast paced page turner. I love when an author can delicately build and build a world, while taking the character on an ever expanding journey. Gave me some serious Matrix vibes.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes I really enjoy a story that ends and makes you say: "What the [expletive] did I just read?!" This is one of those stories.

The premise is fantastic! An alternate reality game that uses the globe as its canvas? Count me in. In practice, parts of this were too nerdy for me - videogames and music aren't my nerd areas of expertise - but it wasn't hard to get the gist for those moments. The scientific explanations seemed plausible for the most part. It's amazing how much of it seemed grounded in our reality.

Other than curiosity and nostalgia, I didn't have a ton of emotions towards this story. I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters. I was absolutely caught up in the mystery. But caring about Chloe, K, Baron, the Magician, Alan, etc? Not so much.

There were also times when the story started to drag. Not in the sense that there was a lull in the action but in the sense that I felt we had been here before. Several times. It started to feel cyclical and it annoyed me because I wanted answers and understanding.

One of the constructs I most appreciated about this story is that K could be anyone. We are never given a description of K beyond a rough age-range (old enough to know a time before the internet, but not really). We don't have a sex, gender, or race. No physical characteristics. We don't even have more of a name. A pronoun is never used in connection to K. I loved all of it because it doesn't matter. It isn't important to the story. K can be anyone. K is anyone.

If this kind of twisty, psychologically scrambling story, a story that blurs the lines between reality and science-fiction is your thing, I 100% recommend this book.

I don’t have enough amazing things to say about this book. I absolutely adored the main character; I am a lesbian and her attraction to women felt so honest and real without feeling like it was written by a man or was pandering or fetishizing. The concept of this world is totally crazy and I loved absolutely every single second of it.

From the first page I was totally pulled into the world of Rabbits. I desperately hoping and praying that we get sequels and prequels. I want more of this world and the game.