Saturday, August 07, 2021

Rabbits

 

By Terry Miles


When K was a young teen, he was in a crash that killed one friend and injured himself and the friend's twin sister. The crash happened because the three teens were playing a game known as Rabbits. Rabbits is kind of a treasure hunt, where you get clues and follow them to the prize, said to be wealth beyond belief and your heart's desire. Following the instructions they had figured out, the three were driving down a road in the dark, with their vehicle's headlights turned off as instructed in the clues they deciphered. Not surprisingly, they crashed.

Not long after, a few years maybe, K lost both his parents in a boating accident. This left him alone in the world with no one in his life except a few close friends. Living in Seattle, his closest friend is Baron. His next closest is Chloe, who works at an arcade where K give occasional lectures on the game, Rabbits, helped out by his friend Baron. 

One day a man who showed up at his lecture asked to speak to him afterward. They went to a nearby cafe and the man, Scarpio, asked K about Rabbits. According to Scarpio, the game is messed up and this could lead to serious trouble. They make an agreement to met the next day, but Scarpio never shows up. 

This starts K and Chloe on an adventure to find out what is wrong with Rabbits even though they get warned repeatedly not to have anything to do with the game, as it seems many Rabbits players have died pursuing its clues, just like his friend did when K was a teenager.


This was an OK read if a bit boring. It takes K and Chloe several chapters to finally leave their homes or the arcade where Chloe works and get out in the city to follow the clues, all of which are conveniently located in the area around Seattle. Then it turns out that the threat to the Rabbits game and to the world is being caused by one nutty genius who is on a quest to bring his dead family back to life. Bit underwhelming, in my opinion.


See also the review by Publishers Weekly.



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