Book Review: The Quiet Room by Terry Miles

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Quiet Room by Terry Miles

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

Series: Book 2 of Rabbits

Publisher: Del Rey (October 3, 2023)

Length: 432 pages

Author Information: Website

From my review of Rabbits by Terry Miles, I wrote: “Wow, this was one real head trip, and I mean it in the best way possible. Rabbits is the kind of story that worms its way into your mind, and you find yourself mulling over it even days after you finish.” As the second installment, The Quiet Room not only continues where the first book left off but also maintains its mind-bending intrigue and mysterious energy.

Featuring a new cast of characters, The Quiet Room can technically be read as a standalone, but those with knowledge of the first book or the podcast which this series is based on will probably enjoy it more with another level of appreciation. Imagine you are playing a game and trying to follow the rules without realizing you’re the one writing the rules. This, in a nutshell, is the game Rabbits. Using the real world as a platform, players seek out patterns and unlikely connections to uncover even more clues until one winner ultimately prevails in unraveling the thread to its conclusion, gaining the fulfillment of their deepest desires. Once an iteration of a game has been won, another will begin again.

If wrapping your head around this concept makes your brain hurt, this isn’t even scratching the surface. The Quiet Room begins as Emily Connors, who almost won the last iteration of Rabbits, suddenly finds herself trapped in a dimension where the game does not exist. But then there are the “Rabbit police,” asking Emily very specific questions that seem to suggest there is more going on. Because if the game doesn’t exist, then why does she feel like something is pushing back every time she thinks she’s found a thread?

Meanwhile, Rowan Chess is a theme park designer who has unwittingly stumbled into the newest iteration of Rabbits. Without realizing it, he is playing the game—noticing a string of odd coincidences and other strange things like a disappearing blind date. But having found a connection with the missing woman, Rowan isn’t about to give up on finding her. His search ultimately leads him down a path that converges with Emily’s and other Rabbit players, working to navigate a web of unexpected events and challenging puzzles.

The thing about Rabbits is that most of the time, the players themselves don’t even have a clue what’s going on, and when you’re a guy like Rowan, who doesn’t even know he’s playing, you’ve got no chance. As you can imagine, for readers, it’s an even more perplexing experience. While the plot itself is not too difficult to follow, things do get weird with the involvement of alternate realities on top of the nebulous nature of the game. Once you think to yourself, “Are they just making things up as they go along?” then you’re getting it.

As such, reading The Quiet Room can be equal parts rewarding and frustrating. But even at my most confused, I never considered putting it down. And that is the draw of the Rabbits series. It’s why I decided to read this sequel and the reason why I’m happy for the fact it builds successfully on the captivating premise of the original. Of course, like the first book, it also runs afoul of some of the same issues in that the ending went too over-the-top and took things off the rails—and believe me, when you’re dealing with a story where the main hook is “anything goes”, that’s really saying something.

All told, if you’re prepared to read a book which makes an art of not making sense—where, in fact, not making any sense is probably its strongest asset—then The Quiet Room and the Rabbits series in general will be right up your alley. While that sentence may make you go all googly eyed, I truly mean it as a compliment. Clearly it won’t be for everyone, but for the right audience this unique novel promises an enthralling journey filled with surprising twists and a relentless quest for answers.

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Rabbits (Book 1)