A counter-culture thriller filled with games, conspiracies, and interesting near-future technology, Rabbits by Terry Miles is a blast.

Our protagonist, only known to us as K, is a fan of a game called Rabbits that has had many iterations over many generations. The story starts with the coming of the 11th iteration on the horizon. K is a coding guru who hangs out in old arcades and gives talks about Rabbits.

Over the iterations, the game has become more dangerous, with K's first experience with the game resulting in the death of a family friend. As the years have gone by, the game has become more and more deadly. Finally, K is approached by an internet billionaire and supposed former game-winner to help save the game. When the billionaire goes missing, K decides to find out what happened to him and what is happening to the game that he would so desperately love to win.

There are many layers and textures to this novel, which you can read and thoroughly enjoy without having listened to the podcast. Hints of similar literature, such as House of Leaves, Ready Player One, and The Monarch Papers, stand out in the context and structure. Terry Miles also includes a character named Hazel, which could reference Watership Down. All these books are about secrets, codes, and hidden messages, and they all wander.

The number of references to pop culture is many. It's easy to overlook some of the more peculiar allusions, which doesn't exactly detract from the story. But knowing all the fun bits and bobs heightens the novel. While not as easy to read as the likes of The Monarch Papers, Rabbits is a fast-paced mystery that flies by. It is packed with all sorts of twists and turns and layers. Can one understand everything that is happening in the book? Not really. But then again, a story about a game that may be a form of recruitment for the CIA, with increasing danger, it only makes sense that not everything is spelled out.

A swirling, mind-bending mystery, Rabbits is a quick and exciting novel for any counter-culture fan.

Great plot and very interesting writing. I want to get a physical copy and read abd see if I want to change my rating. So far I really enjoyed this book.

I thought this was written by Josh Mallerman, but it was recommended for fans of Mallerman. I do not enjoy virtual reality novels, and do not think I would enjoy this.

Have you ever been going along your day and for no particular reason suddenly noticed unique patterns in unusual places? For instance, it's April 4th and you happened to look at your clock at the exact minute when it reads 4:44. Or perhaps you are convinced you know the name of a store you've shopped at or the title of a book you read recently, only to discover that no such store or book exists? If so, you are quite possibly seeing the effects of the game, known to the insiders, as Rabbits.

The game is highly secretive, though it's been going on for sixty years or more, and those who play must put together these strings of unusual circumstances just to be able to get a clue for the next step in the game.

'K' has been fascinated with the game Rabbits for years and has been trying to find his way into the circle of players when he meets billionaire Alan Scarpio who, it has been rumored, was the 16th winner of the game. Scarpio confides to K that something has gone wrong with the game and it needs to be fixed before the next iteration of the game begins or there will be disastrous consequences. A week later, Scarpio is declared missing and the game has begun. It's up to K to find a way to get into the game and save the planet.

I think it's pretty clear that the first thing any reader is going to notice about this book is the quite obvious parallels to the highly successful Ready Player One book and movie. In addition to the whole 'win the game, save the world' trope, I should note that it is essential for players of Rabbits to have a solid knowledge of 1970's and 1980's pop culture. Really? We couldn't at least pretend to be different and make it the 1950's or the early 2000's?

But one of the big differences between this and the obvious comparison is that we don't spend much time with anyone actually playing the game. Or do we? Since there don't appear to be any concrete rules other than putting clues together, it's hard to say when one is playing or not. We do get K putting together unusual coincidences and making a clue out of it, and we observe as players make sense of or reason out why there is a different track title on a popular music CD. But that's pretty much the extent of our involvement in Rabbits.

There's a bit of mysterious 'whodunnit' looming over the book, running parallel with 'how do we win?' but these two tracks never quite meet.

So much time is spent trying to hook the reader into wanting to play the game without ever really telling us what the game is, that we get an Escher-staircase-like story, going round and round without getting anywhere.

This book was not on my radar, nor was it something I was initially looking forward to reading, but I fell prey to the marketing blitz and thought, "Yeah, I like games and secrets and that other big gaming novel, so this sounds great." Unfortunately, I was left quite unsatisfied.

Looking for a good book? Beware the power of good copy writers who can make a slow, dull book sound exciting and unique. Rabbits, by Terry Miles, tries to be the next big game/adventure novel to lure in fans of Ready Player One, but the book only manages to tease without ever satisfying.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The technothriller isn't really a genre I read, but as soon as I read the synopsis for Rabbits by Terry Miles, I knew I had to take a chance and give it a try. I was thoroughly absorbed in the world the author created in this book, and I have to admit that I was also completely fascinated by it. I don't play video games anymore, but I used to play them quite a bit and I think it is helpful to be or have been a gamer to really appreciate some of the things that happen in this novel. I can't really believe it is a debut, and it is super complex and detailed but in a way that makes sense to the reader. The game Rabbits is a creepy one, and I loved following our main character K as she tries to figure out what the issue with the game is and why so many players are winding up dead. There are so many strange things that happen in the book and it definitely made me want to listen to the podcast that it is based on.

As I usually do, I listened to the audiobook and I think it is a great way to go if you are an audiobook lover. It is narrated by Christine Lakin and I can't get over what an amazing job she did. I have heard her narrate other books as well, but I think she really took it up a notch in her narration for Rabbits, and did a great job bringing the world in it to life. At times there are confusing parts in the book and there are a lot of characters, but I didn't mind any of that and it does all make sense, well as much as it can, in the end. I couldn't stop listening to it and ended up finishing it the day I started because I was addicted and had to know how it could possibly end. The end did surprise me quite a bit, as well as more than one twist that Miles throws at you. My only complaint is that I do think it could have been a little shorter, but other than that I loved this wild ride and I really hope he has more novels in his future!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I wanted to like this book, but at the half way point I thought it began to drag a little bit. I liked the premise of a game blending dangerously within the real world, but when this launched into alternate realities without much explanation, I was a little lost and eventually, uninterested.

I am not a gamer, never heard of the podcast Rabbits, and felt totally confused a lot of the time while reading, but I still enjoyed this one, go figure! Having the main character K be a guide to the basic concept of this underground reality game helped because he knew a bit more than the reader, but still was pretty lost himself. We learned together about what was happening and it was pretty exciting reading!

Fun story! Reminiscent of Ready Player One. Definitely one I will recommend for my high schooler readers.

I am not a gamer, neither have I listened to the RABBITS podcast, I am nonetheless instantly gravitated to the mystery and intricate matrix of this sinister underground alternate reality game! Oftentimes, I’m chilled to the bone and my nerves are on edge constantly!
With his unlimited imagination and his extraordinary gaming mind, Terry Miles has masterfully crafted this highly dangerous and extremely complicated techno-thriller RABBITS that will take one on a high-octane, twisty and heart-pounding ride!
I would like to thank Del Rey / Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this thrilling ride!
#Rabbits
#NetGalley

This is a great book with a crazy premise that there are hidden clues and patterns that people can follow "down a rabbit hole" and that if someone is good enough, they can "win" that cycle or iteration and be recognized on a leaderboard that is also hiding in plain site if you know how to find it.

K was raised to be exceptionally gifted at pattern recognition and has always been on the fringes of the game, since following clues with family friends, but then lost his parents in a ferry accident and has been drifting through life.

Then he's approached by a reclusive billionaire who tells him the game needs fixing, or else catastrophe, and then of course disappears.

K and his surroundings are very unique and there are wonderful Seattle references, as well as an interesting theory on why people remember things so differently.

The pursuit of clues and their source is very enjoyable, as are the relationships, dialogue, and many references to geek culture -- both real and imagined.

The intriguing concept of alternative worlds and time perception is Rabbits, but major plot holes and unconventional exposition coupled with an unreliable main character lead to an unsatisfying conclusion. There are wide swathes of detailed narrative in one scene that are followed by offhanded asides (too much telling vice showing) that make little sense. It is a tall order to make the unbelievable, believable, and Rabbits bits off more than it can chew. it doesn't help that the protagonist is a bit too flat to handle the heavy plot. K has little emotion beyond confusion and fear and his weak communication skills provide little confidence. Nonetheless, the concept is so cool, I would be interested to see what comes next.

I love this book!

I have no idea how to review it!

Rabbits is a twisty-turny strange roller coaster ride the entire book. The characters, setting, and reality are all unreliable! The science goes a little bit over my head. And I’m not 100% sure what was even happening in the book. It is a very ambiguous book- who is telling the truth, what is real.

The clues, and the solving the clues, are presented in a very unusal format. It’s hard to explain… The reader isn’t really involved in solving the clues. We are presented clues, but then they are solved quickly or we are moved to the next clue right away. It is very hard to describe! Some might not like this, but I felt it worked well for this book.

Rabbits is like a deadly, bizarre, highly addictive scavenger hunt. I loved just following the main character from clue to clue, location to location. I’m still not really sure what rabbits is, or how you win the game. But man was this a fun journey.

The ending left me a little confused. It was left very ambiguous on what was actually true.. if anything was even true at all. I don’t really know what I even just read (hence the “I don’t know how to review this!” part in the beginning)! It left me more mind blown instead of annoyed or angry.

It is also a little confusing that we are never told what gender K is. No description or pronouns (to my knowledge) are ever used. I gets a little bit confusing when trying to picture the story in my head as I read. Whatever the gender is or isn’t, it would be nice to know so it is easier to envision. Whatever the gender is, it would have been nice to have a clue on the pronouns.

Even though Rabbits can be a little confusing… or really confusing at times… it is addictive as hell, and so fun! I had such a crazy good time with this book. Highly recommend to people who enjoy falling down the OCD rabbit holes of conspiracies and puzzles.

As one last comment on the novel, I wanted to point out that there are coded messages hidden in the book. I thought that was so cool! It added to the feeling of the reader actually playing Rabbits along with K. The codes are a little difficult, takes a little bit of time and research, but easy to do!

I absolutely loved this book. I am a fan of the podcast so I was so excited to see this book. I think its unique and fascinating and is perfectly paced. Thank you so much for writing this book!

So, I really wanted to like this one a lot. I even viewed it as potentially a 5 star read according to my tastes. I love reading/watching/listening to media about weird puzzles and mysterious alternate reality games (ARGs), so this book seemed like it was right up my alley. I even listened to the Rabbits podcast and liked it a lot, so I was super excited to pick up this book, which follows another storyline within the same universe. And while intriguing in some places, this book unfortunately fell flat for me.

To simplify the convoluted plot, this book follows our narrator K who is obsessed with a mysterious game known as Rabbits that has enraptured them since a traumatic event in their childhood. Raised their whole life to always be recognizing patterns, discrepancies, and coincidences, K is primed to play, as the game requires players to follow patterns and clues to some unknown end, with rumored winners being granted incredible riches and a permanent place in The Circle — a list of names that appears after every cycle of the game.

Usually following from the sidelines, K and their friend Chloe are thrust into the action when an enigmatic billionaire requests K's help. Because this time, something is deeply wrong with the game, and if it isn't fixed, the entire world is in jeopardy.

The premise of the plot was super intriguing: Something is wrong with the game? What? Why? And why is K the only person that can help? The initial mystery kept me invested in the beginning and I was excited to experience some clever puzzles and to figure out what was driving the mystery, but the plot quickly fizzled for me.

While some puzzles were really interesting and fun to follow, the plot seemed to devolve into a really repetitive pattern:
1. K and Chloe notice something weird and follow a clue to a puzzle that they seem to figure out pretty easily, with little outside help.
2. On the way to the next clue, K experiences WeIrD FeElInGs, blacks out, loses time, or all of the above.
3. K wakes up and tells everyone they're alright when they're not OR K wakes up in a new place around new people and has to figure out what's up about that.
4. K (with or without Chloe) runs into someone that conveniently tells them a ton of info about what's happening, leading them to the next clue/puzzle.
5. Repeat

The plot honestly got so repetitive that every time K passed out or "lost time" I had to roll my eyes. I've always thought that making the main character black out to conveniently move the plot forward is a really lazy storytelling device that should be used sparingly, but was used countless times throughout this book.

My other gripe is that the ending made no sense to me. Either I'm too dumb to see and understand the author's intentions, or it just plain didn't make sense. It may be a combination of both, but when I reached the end, I was just incredibly confused as to how anything that happened contributed to the resolution. There was too much woo-woo "is this real, or is this a DrEaM, or is this just part of the GaMe" for the plot to come together in a satisfying way.

I understand that this is Terry Miles' first book and I do think that it's a pretty good debut, all things considered. The concept was strong, some puzzles were genuinely cool, and the writing could be really compelling. I'm looking forward to what he works on next!

I would recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the Rabbits podcast, enjoys reading about mysterious games, or wants to dive into some strange science fiction concepts.

Amazingly detailed and mindblowing, but a little too disturbing for me.
I had trouble sleeping while I was reading this book and had anxiety ridden nightmares when I did fall asleep.

I grabbed this book because I am a Blake Crouch fan.... this was not my kind of book. I thought it started out great, but got way too “science fictiony “ for a person who is not a huge SciFi fan. I do however see the appeal, just not for me.

If you're a big nerd like me, who used to take notes during Lost, then you may love this. It's
science-y (physics lite) so you know it's right up my alley.

It resonated with me because I see these kinds of coincidences in life a lot. Kinda makes you wonder.

I'm so thankful to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for being given an opportunity to review this ARC.

I didn’t like this one at all. I kept reading hoping it would get better and it just didn’t. There is a game that isn’t a game that might actually be helping keep the world together. The idea of dimensions was interesting. But the characters are boring and I just didn’t care about any of them. This is a hard pass.

Rabbits by Terry Miles sounded like it was going to be right up my alley, but unfortunately it just never quite worked out for me as I was hoping it would. It seems like it's going for a Ready Player One, The Matrix, and Inception, but it never manages to live up to what could have been an epic combo. It wasn't just the plot that didn't work for me, but the characters are far too thinly drawn to catch my attention. If I'm being honest though, this gets a whole star for just mentioning The Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchum.

Wow, this book was so unique, definitely one of my favorites of 2021. If you like mysteries with weird twists, Stanger Things, the Mandela Effect, Jumanji, or Geocaching, you're going to love this book. The ending was a tad disappointing but I couldn't put this book down. 5 stars for sure! FYI, go into this knowing as little as possible about it(Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review