Rabbits

Rabbits by Terry Miles surprised me in many ways. I requested it on NetGalley and signed up for the blog tour on a bit of a whim. I’m not really sure what made me do it because I’ve not read anything that’s not space opera or fantasy in a long while, and this is neither. What it is, however, is a totally wild ride from start to finish. A book that makes you question not only the world it takes place in but the world around the reader as well. More than once I eyed my surroundings suspiciously.

Rabbits was originally a podcast, which I am 100% going to check out when I get the chance. I’d be fascinated to hear how an RPG podcast became this twisty, trippy book and how it all links into the story that I ended up reading.

There are a variety of interesting characters in this, all of which felt unique enough to stand on their own whilst not overtaking the story from our main character K. Just K. K is a slightly obsessive player of Rabbits, think of it like that game you played as a kid where you sit down and just yell related words at each other. Now zoom out and imagine the connections you make in that game on a much larger scale, involving a massive variety of items, people and historical events. That’s Rabbits.

K is just one of many people who play this game where the prize is supposedly anything you could wish for. Naturally, most winners seem to end up loaded as well. Why K is obsessed with Rabbits and his story throughout is intrinsically linked with the game itself, in about 100 ways that are hard to explain, but this link and how it impacts the story is great to read and created such a layered character who I rooted for throughout the whole story.

The other character that seemed to be closest to everything was Chloe, K’s kind-of girlfriend and a skilled Rabbits player in her own right. It seems only natural that these two end up tangled amongst the game that could kill everyone and everything. Chloe was equally an interesting character, unique enough to hold her own, but not strong enough to overpower K and the story that was being told for him as well.

Rabbits by Terry Miles is one of those you should really read slowly, make sure you’re understanding and remembering every detail, because that’s the point of Rabbits, and Terry Miles has done a marvellous job of bringing that to the story itself. It’s important the characters don’t miss a detail whilst playing Rabbits, and it’s important the reader doesn’t miss a detail when reading Rabbits. It’s such a subtle and enjoyable detail.

The ending is where this book… is probably like marmite. Rabbits by Terry Miles ends rather ambiguously, you don’t get a set answer to what Rabbits really is. Is it to do with wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff? Is it a super-powered AI that’s been running since the 50s? Is it something else entirely? Who knows? And personally, I think that’s the point. Rabbits, at it’s core, is unknowable. And again, it’s a theme that’s not only in the game, but it’s on the page as well. And there are people who won’t like not having an answer. In my opinion, though, it’s part of the magic of Rabbits. It’s part of that twistiness, part of that something that makes you look around after finishing the book imagining something similar in the real world. If we had a definite answer to what it was, it would take away part of that magic.

And as a bonus, this book has plenty of geeky details to make you grin. At least if you’re anything like me. It’s much like Ready Player One in that easter egg aspect of things. And don’t forget…

The door is open.