Rabbits

Rabbits by Terry Miles
6/8/21; 432pages
Random House

Rabbits by Terry Miles is a very highly recommended mystery involving players of a secret alternate reality game.

Rabbits is the unofficial accepted name of the mysterious underground adventure game, but players are never supposed to talk about it. The game can become an obsession to the players and rabbit holes, clues or observations that seem connected, or obscure riddles, or coincidences, or obvious alterations of a known thing, etc., are followed by the players to the next clue. The game is rumored to have started in 1959. Since then ten iterations of the game have occurred.

Now a new game, number eleven, is about to begin. K, a man who has been trying to get into the game for years, is asked to meet with billionaire Alan Scarpio, who is rumored to be the winner of the sixth iteration. Scarpio tells K that the game is broken and he needs K to fix it before the new game starts. Soon after this Scarpio is declared missing and a few days later the new game starts. The plot follows K and his friend Chloe, who works at a retro arcade, as they manage to enter the game. The two follow cryptic clues and patterns, solve puzzles, notice coincidences, and try to stay away from an unknown danger as an increasing number of players are dying or disappearing under mysterious circumstances.

The plot of this novel is going to pull you right in and immediately grab your attention, especially if you are a long time gamer or someone who enjoys playing cerebral games and following obscure clues. And there are so many enigmas and conspiracies to follow. There are references to all manner of literature, culture, and popular and gaming culture. Some of the gaming references went over my head but I've been exposed to enough to gamely follow along. Even the thought that noticing patterns and coincidences in real life, made me briefly wonder "is the game real?" as reading. The whole novel and plot is addictive and I thoroughly enjoyed Rabbits.

K is developed as a character, but throughout the whole novel as parts of his past are woven into the plot while he and Chloe play the game. Other characters are introduced, but in the context of this novel only the information we need or that K can uncover is disclosed. Following along with K's thought processes as he follows clues is really all the character development that is needed. Terry Miles is the creator of a podcast called Rabbits too, which apparently will compliment the book, but isn't necessary to listened to in order to enjoy the book.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher.