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The Marriage Act cover art

The Marriage Act

By: John Marrs
Narrated by: Clare Corbett,David Monteith,Dugald Bruce-Lockhart,John Marrs,Joshua Riley,Nathalie Buscombe
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Summary

From the bestselling author of The One, now an eight-part Netflix series. Set in the same world as The One, The Marriage Act is a dark, high-concept thriller.

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?

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, honour and obey.

Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power.

©2023 John Marrs (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

"One of the most exciting original thriller writers." (Simon Kernick)

"Marrs is brilliant at twists...for the addicts of adrenaline-fuelled twisty rides." (Peter James)
 

"Another savagely clever near-future thriller. Provocative, terrifying and compulsive. If you loved The One, you’ll love this!" (Cara Hunter)

What listeners say about The Marriage Act

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Sensational

Well worth the wait. Love speculative thrillers and John Marrs is the master of these. Great narrative and production as well made this the best so far. Brilliant.

4 people found this helpful

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Took a while.

Those that have read other works from this author will be familiar with the theme. Set in the near future, with technology invented to enhance our future, going awry.

I struggled initially. The chapters follow a list of characters. I struggled to keep up with who was who. Also, I didn't particularly like any of them. However, about a quarter way through, one reveals his true colours, and it started to get interesting. So a slow burner for me but worth sticking with.

Narration good for the most part, though one or two seem to think they're in a radio play and are a little 'acty' for me.

Not his best but worth a credit.

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Dystopian to the next level

Whilst I can certainly see that what John Marrs writes about is actually becoming reality I struggle with absolutely loathsome characters, no redeeming traits whatsoever and therefore I really couldn’t care less what happened to them, John Marrs should write for Warhammer as they could learn a lot about the grim dark future from him

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excellent!!

this has to be one of my favourite John Marrs books, he's really smashed it out of the park with this one. the narrators were excellent & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd be happy to listen to it again x

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A must read

Useful to have read the one and passengers first. Whilst not a follow on, the dystopian ideas are the same.
Enjoyed the layering of characters. Easy to follow. Narration was excellent.
Love the acknowledgements and how John gives credit to his husband.

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An excellent experience. A must read

This book is enthralling, frightening and emotionally stimulating from love to anger.
Superbly written and performed like a drama. Well done all

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A must listen

Great narration (more akin to an audio drama than an audio book) and the story gives food for thought. John Marrs has smashed it with this book! I will probably listen again and will recommend to everyone!

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Just didn’t love this one

Really sad about this one as I thoroughly enjoyed The One and The Passengers. I found this story bleak and none of the characters were likeable which made the story drag. The ending was a bit like a cartoon where everything tries to get wrapped up neatly. Disappointed overall.

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Loved it!

As a big John Marrs fan I really liked this book, reminded me of Passengers. Unlike some writers, I love the way John moves between characters and leaves chapters on mini cliffhangers.

My recommendation would be to have read or listened to, at least, The One before listening to this book.

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A Brilliant Follow Up to The One

🧡 This isn’t a sequel to The One, but it is based in the same world and shares its themes and tone. In short, if you enjoyed that, you will love this too. This has all the despicable characters, the moral minefields and clever twists.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 An absolutely stunning audiobook that not only did the story justice, but enhanced the dystopian feel. The use of jingles was effective at communicating the sort of macabre jollity I’d associate with Brave New World and Ubik.