A techno-thriller has been added to the list of reads, authored by the well-known British writer John Marrs, titled “The Minders.” The book was released in 2022 by the publisher BookChef. This is far from the author’s first novel, and in the review below, we will discuss the plot, interesting elements of the book, and the quality of the publication.
The events of “The Minders” unfold in the relatively near future. This world is filled with advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and more. However, creating a utopian quality of life for humanity has not been successful: the United Kingdom and many other countries have closed their borders to migrants, and governments are terrorized by a group of hackers who steal state secrets and demand exorbitant payments for them, detrimental to the economy.
Cybercriminals have already emptied more than one state treasury and are now approaching the top-secret information of the UK government. While scientists are developing super protection against hackers, state secrets are literally hidden in the minds of five citizens. All of them have synesthesia—any sounds evoke colorful images in their minds. Such individuals make up only 0.5% of the population and are perfect for temporarily storing a large amount of information in their heads.
The chosen Minders must spend five years in different corners of the country, living simply and not attracting attention. They have unlimited financial resources, but they are not allowed to contact anyone from their past. In five years, the secret information recorded in DNA capsules in their heads will disappear on its own, but right now, they are the most important people in the UK, and the content of their minds interests many serious individuals and organizations.
“The Minders” is a classic example of a modern techno-thriller. The book is full of gadgets, involved new technologies, and scientific theories. It is written in a dry but dynamic style, events unfold rapidly, and the characters are not very well-developed.
However, all of them have a “deep” psychological portrait that the author tries to use to give depth to his work. Often, this doesn’t result in much, but at least it’s a commendable attempt.
In the novel, don’t expect super charismatic characters because its uniqueness lies in the concept and the events that quickly spiral around a well-constructed plot. The book takes advantage of the concept and its implementation through technology and cleverness.
John Marrs uses various means to immerse readers in the world of the novel: transcripts of conversations of government members and secret services, announcements and articles on the internet, messages on smartphones, and more.
“The Minders” is John Marrs’s seventh novel. The book makes references to two other works by the author—”The One” and “The Passengers.” Thus, we have a shared universe of the near future, where the events of these novels unfold. However, this does not hinder reading them in any order.
The author spent 20 years working as a journalist, specializing in interviews with stars of cinema and show business. John Marrs wrote his first book at the age of 43, and for the last ten years, he has been exclusively engaged in writing. His novels often become bestsellers and are worth the attention of fans of psychological and techno-thrillers.
“The Minders” is translated by the BookChef publishing house. The book has an interesting hardcover and a touch-friendly very thin yellowish paper. The last fact allowed squeezing 448 pages into a small book format (128×200 mm). However, you notice the number of pages only towards the end because the novel is very engaging, and I almost didn’t pay attention to how much I had already read or how much was left.
Conclusion:
“The Minders” is a classic and vivid representative of the techno-thriller genre. We have a well-twisted story related to technology and science. They are not a backdrop but instruments for building suspense. The author came up with not simple characters, but almost did not reveal them, making them pawns in the invented story. The book is easy and fast to read. Probably, it’s a work that you won’t want to reread, but it will certainly entertain you and make you flip through the pages at an uncontrollable pace.