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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 John Marrs, the bestselling author of The One. Set in the same world, and narrated by a full cast, 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, tracking 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
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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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Loved this

Great book, great narration- my first Audible book. The characters were likeable, chilling and relatable-love this book.

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Loved it

John Marrs is one of my favourite Autor's he is so clever with the ideas well thanks to his husband ( John ) about relationships this time he has come up with a great concept to how the future could play out for us. It gives me a shiver down my spine to think we would go this way. I love the way he has different characters all going through some sort of trauma in there lives and the different out looks they all had. Some of the characters you just love to hate but over all you are completely Consumed by their lives and how things are going to turn out for them. Fantastic loved it

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Really enjoyed

Twisty and turny- scarily has potential to become reality. Really enjoyed it and didn’t suspect all of the thing that happened in Act 3.

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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.

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Compulsive but irritating

I liked the interplay of the different characters and the excellent narration by multiple authors. I felt compelled to finish this so I guess it was a gripping tale. But this is not great fiction.. or even great science fiction, some of the plot is so silly that none of it feels scary in the way it really should and the main ‘punchline’ was obvious from the start, So I found it rather irritating,

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Believable and scary because of that

Really enjoyed and real it felt that this could all happen. Scared the life out of me to think what’s next with AI etc

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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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10 people found this helpful

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Great read

Shows how society can sleep walk into government control and create rifts and polarisation. Each character’s story a warning. Well written and super performances.

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Brilliant

I love the one and all the follow on books and this one won’t let you down!!
Brilliant read introducing smart marriage. Highly recommend!
Keep them coming John!!!

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Outstanding

Absolutely loved this, could not stop listening. Up there with the Handsmaid’s Tale for real life understanding of the dangers of man.

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