Review: Rabbits by Terry Miles

K’s a gamer, but he’s not your average gamer. Sure, he’ll dabble in arcade games and online roleplayers, but what he’s really into is something many of fellow gamers haven’t heard of: Rabbits. The pattern-seeking underground game is the cause of much speculation, because like Fight Club, you don’t talk about it. Which is why the purpose, players, and plot of the game are all such a mystery. All K knows is that it’s real, and it’s something he wants – no, needs – to win, and not just because the prize promises to be the winner’s most heartfelt desire.

But just as the next round of the game is supposed to start, the unthinkable happens. K is approached by a former winner, who requests his help to fix Rabbits, before something terrible happens.

And as he tries to help, he realizes that something terrible isn’t just forfeiting the prize – if K doesn’t fix Rabbits, the world as he knows it will end. Literally.

Rabbits is an ambitious project, and Terry Miles has accomplished a feat in world building. Despite a somewhat slow start, once it heats up, it’ll keep you flicking through the pages at a record rate. And part of the reason for that is that so much is happening. Truly, Rabbits is the definition of ‘something for everyone’. There’s conspiracy theories, technological advances and AI, a peek at the multiverse, a love story, a dash of adventure, and of course, a little murder and mayhem.

And this combination makes it feel familiar in the best way. It makes the reader think of shows like Fringe or Netflix’s Devs meets The Matrix vibes, with an added puzzle-solving and whodunit aspect.

And for that reason, I have one very important bit of advice for you: read Rabbits before it becomes the next Hollywood sensation, because Tinseltown would be crazy to pass up this story!

Rabbits by Terry Miles is published by Macmillan, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. And is available in South Africa from Pan Macmillan South Africa.

Review: The Watchers by A.M. Shine

When Mina volunteered to act as a courier for a quick bit of cash, she had no idea that her life was about to change. It started in the woods. After taking a wrong turn or seven, Mina becomes lost, and arrives at the edge of a forest, when her car suddenly dies, leaving her no choice but to try reach her destination on foot. Yet as Mina proceeds through the woods, she can’t help but shake a feeling that something isn’t right, and as the sun sets, her discomfort increases.

When she’s spooked by a strange inhuman cry, Mina is saved from a chaotic sprint through the woods by the sudden appearance of a light, and a woman beckoning.

This is how she learns about The Watchers. Deep within the forest, is a room, where a mirror and a light are all that stand between a handful of wretched survivors and certain death. Now, Mina must come to terms with her new life: scavenging for food in the day, and sheltering in an abandoned concrete room at night, when The Watchers come out.

But how long can Mina’s new family survive like this, and what happens when they can’t outrun the darkness?

The Watchers is an unexpectedly delightful and mature horror. In a world populated with slasher films and jump scares, horror has transformed from the psychological to the visual, but A.M. Shine is changing that. Shine takes us back to the origins of horror – a slow reveal of something so unexpected, it makes you judge your sanity. This is horror for the intellectual, and it’s brilliant.

Not only does Shine build some pretty impressive tension theme of the terror of the unknown, but the author takes a step into the world of fantasy while doing this, twisting and reinventing myths and legends we’ve forgotten from our childhood. The nostalgia, combined with the creeping thrills throughout this book, guarantee an epic binge-reading session, because you will not want to put this book down.

The Watchers by A.M. Shine is published by Head of Zeus and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers