The Three

Before I ultimately write my own review, I like to run down the list and skim some of the others, just to get a feel of what's being said, as well as the overall consensus. It's interesting how many people ripped into this book for the exact reason I loved it.

This is not a book told in a conventional manner. It's collections of Skypes and tweets and transcripts and excerpts. The story is never direct. Instead, it's teased out, with clues dropped in one section, only to be explored in a completely different area. It's got an international cast.

And it's fascinating as hell.

I absolutely loved this book. I laughed at one review below where they wrote, in bold, I want my motherfucking mystery. I laughed at a second who wondered why this book show more was considered horror. I laughed, because had they read any of the novel, they would have clued in that there's mysteries wrapped in mysteries, and the horror, while quiet, is subversive. It creeps up on you without you ever hearing it.

So. I loved the characters. I loved the narrative device used to draw out the story. I loved the actual story. I loved everything about this novel.

Sarah Lotz, I now have to read everything you've written. Thanks, because I haven't even caught up on all the stuff Lauren Beukes has written, because she had the same effect on me after reading Broken Monsters.

It's nice to see intelligent horror making a comeback. show less

The Three by Sarah Lotz first and fore-most delivers the chills and terror that I was expecting. It opens with a terrifying detailed account of a plane crash in Japan. We then learn the stunning news that this was just one of four plane crashes that happened that day. One in Japan, one in America, one over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal and one in South Africa. Amazingly there were three survivors; children, found alive at the site of three of the crashes. These young children become known as “The Three” and become the subject of intense press speculation. Are these three simply “miracle” survivors, or, as some believe, are they aliens who have taken over the children’s bodies. There is even a sect of evangelical show more Christians who have decided the children are three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and that the Rapture is soon to follow.

When details of the children’s unusual behaviour emerges and some of those closest too them start to shun them, it becomes very clear that these children are not normal – but is it trauma from the horrific crashes that they lived through, or are they, indeed something very, very different. The author chose to tell this high concept paranormal thriller in a non-fiction style in the form of transcriptions of interviews, copies of e-mails and excerpts from newspapers and magazines. For the first third or so of the book, I enjoyed this different format, but after awhile I realized that all this jumping around, following so many different characters and opinions kept me from being totally absorbed by the story.

The Three is indeed an engrossing horror story but it also very cleverly reveals how some stories capture global attention and are spun in many directions by the media and it also clearly reveals that there is an inherent unreliability to every witnesses account. The author gives us, the readers, plenty of information and wisely leaves it up to us to put the pieces together to reach our own conclusions. show less

The Three is the type of novel which is difficult to categorize. It is suspenseful and futuristic in some aspects. It creeps towards a dystopian model as those touting the coming apocalypse gain traction and become more powerful. Yet, one could easily construe the last few scenes as nothing but pure horror. There are lines interspersed throughout the narrative that leave a reader with chills at their eeriness, and yet, how one interprets them is completely up to each reader, his or her belief system, and/or ability to suspend disbelief. It is this last aspect which is another fascinating aspect about the book. Someone with an evangelical belief system will have a much different opinion about the book and about the Three than someone show more with no set beliefs than someone who subscribes to every conspiracy theory out there. The Three incorporates aspects from all believers and from all scoffers so that it is truly a book that will be different for each and every reader.

One of the fascinating things about The Three, in a novel in which there are many fascinating things, is the fact that Ms. Lotz wrote two novels, as The Three is a novel within a novel. More accurately, it is an exposé within a novel. Within the narrative lies the full-length version of From Crash to Conspiracy by Elspeth Martins, an investigative reporter who gains insight into the tragedy through eyewitness testimony, transcripts, interviews, and other media stories ranging from social media to newspaper articles and more. The intention of From Crash to Conspiracy is to pull together all of the facts and allow readers to separate the wheat from the chaff and make up their own mind about the Three and the meaning, if any, behind their miraculous survival. However, as one reads these so-called facts as presented by Elspeth and then reads what follows, the story takes an unexpected turn that is quite literally a game-changer. A reader must all but reexamine Elspeth’s entire book and view it in light of this new information in order to determine the truth. However, that truth is still deliciously ambiguous and will generate much discussion among fans as the summer progresses.

The writing within The Three is outstanding. Ms. Lotz uses all types of writing for both the “non-fictional” From Crash to Conspiracy as well as for the surrounding narrative, and she is effective in each type. One gets a feel for each interviewee’s language, personality, age, and other quirks. This is quite a feat when the interviewees cross the globe, cross generations, and cross socio-economic milieus. Not only that, one also gets a clear understanding of each interviewee’s motivation in participating in Elspeth’s novel. In addition, that which each interviewee does not say becomes just as clear as what he or she does say. She not only keeps each voice separate and distinct, she transforms each character beyond the one-dimensional interviewee into a fully-developed person with hidden agendas and motives. Similarly, while suspense builds naturally from the very first scene, she keeps adding to it with each new piece of information she reveals. The final result is a novel consisting of multiple, well-developed characters that keeps readers glued to their seats as they race to finish this heart-pounding thriller.

At times utterly terrifying, The Three is completely haunting and will have many a person thinking twice about getting on an airplane. It also raises the question as to the true scope of influence in today’s media, something increasingly important as the media infiltrates every aspect of today’s life. The story itself is extremely compelling and surprisingly plausible, and the characters are all too realistically flawed. That they are so realistic serves the purpose of muddying the waters of truth even more than they already are, something fans of ambiguous endings will thoroughly enjoy. Yet, she leaves enough concrete facts for those who want a more defined ending. Because of its universal appeal and the amazing writing, there is no doubt that The Three is going to be one of the hottest books of the summer. show less

Why do people read Horror? I’m sure there are many reasons, but I’ll tell you why I do. Few other genres give me that adrenaline rush. I love that growing sensation of dread as the suspense builds, the sound in my ears of my heart pounding faster and faster, that tingling feeling that run up my arms and spine. I enjoy that in a good horror/thriller novel, and sometimes I go deliberately looking for a good scare.

That’s what initially drew me to The Three. To understand why, you also have to know that for years now, I have been struggling with a fear of flying. I can get on a plane, but not without experiencing a lot of anxiety. Hearing or seeing news about plane crashes fills me with crippling panic and visceral terror.

And well, show more you know what they say about fear and fascination going hand in hand? Yeah. When I saw the description for this book, I just knew I HAD to read it.

The Three is about four plane crashes that changed the world. They all happened within hours, the same day, on four different continents. Terrorism and environmental factors are ruled out. In three out of the four catastrophic incidents, a single child survivor is found in amidst the wreckage. Reeling from the news of the disasters, the world struggles to come to terms with this. It shouldn’t be possible. No one could have survived those terrible crashes. People are calling “The Three” a miracle, while others are also coming up with all kinds of conspiracy theories. Some fanatical rapture cults are even calling this the End of Days, claiming that the children are the incarnations of three out of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Reports of the children’s behavior becoming increasingly disturbing aren’t helping matters, nor are the rumors of strange things happening around them.

Ah, so it’s not just about plane crashes either. There’s also creepy children. It’s like this book was specially designed to push all my right buttons! And I know what you’re thinking now, because I also thought the same thing: “Three children? Wait, what about the fourth plane crash?” Just one of the many questions running through my head when I read the book’s description, giving me the heebie jeebies as I speculated. It is why I like the UK cover a lot too, once I got a closer look at it.

In addition to being an epistolary novel, The Three is also like a book within a book, called From Crash to Conspiracy authored by the fictional investigative journalist Elspeth Martins. As its title indicates, Elspeth’s book documents the series of tumultuous events over the period of several months following the day of the four air disasters. Told through a collection of interview narratives, book and website excerpts, news articles, voice transcripts, emails, chat history, other forms of correspondence, etc. the book is a disturbing look how quickly fear and panic can make a society spiral out of control. The format proved remarkably ideal for this novel, considering the number of character perspectives involved on an international scale. Stylistically, Sarah Lotz’s decision to tell the story this way also adds an additional layer to the creep factor, due to the implication that some of her narrators are unreliable, including the “author” (Elspeth) herself, whose professionalism is questioned in places where she is accused of cherry picking quotes or misrepresenting a viewpoint in favor of her own biases or for the purpose of creating sensationalism.

That said, I normally detest ambiguity in my stories. But somehow, The Three makes it work. The way the book is structured, we catch glimpses of the lives of the three children through the eyes of their respective guardians – all of whom have lost someone in one of the plane crashes. There will be mystery and some uncertainty. Did the strange things they report really happen, or are they nothing more than a symptom of shock, guilt and grief? The multiple and varied narratives will keep you guessing and make you desperate to read on for answers, even if the developments are downright spine-chilling. The character Paul Craddock’s (the uncle of one of The Three) first “dictophone chapter” shook me up so badly I almost couldn’t bring myself to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night because it meant having to walk through the house in the dark. Curse this novel for being so engrossing that it made me stay up until 3am reading!

If it’d been my goal to find a novel that truly scares me, clearly it appears I might have been a little too successful. Granted, I was probably more affected because I am a flight-phobic person; if there is a downside to reading this one as someone scared of flying, it’s that this book will feed your fears. But the upside? THIS BOOK WILL FEED YOUR FEARS. Classic horror paradox; sometimes it’s fun to be scared. I can’t think of the last time I came across a horror novel that unnerved me so deeply. Without a doubt, The Three is one of my top reads this year and deserves to be a huge success. show less

This one's fairly hard to categorize, but based on the style of writing, alone, I can firmly place it in Horror.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying all these recent epistolary novels. I always thought the old styles even from classics like [b:Dracula|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387151694s/17245.jpg|3165724] were kinda overblown, but these fit me just fine. Sure, they're transcripts from skype conversations and emails and message boards, but who cares? It lets us see all the kooky craziness of a wide, wide swath of weird humanity, and that's rather the point.

The Three (or four) that the novel is ostensibly supposed to be about are rather beside the point. They're merely a fraction of the creepy that this show more novel has to offer.

No. The real monsters, the real aliens, the real possessions, and the real androids are right here among us normals. Hell, there were several references to [b:Left Behind|27523|Left Behind (Left Behind, #1)|Tim LaHaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406505054s/27523.jpg|972769], enough to really point out that this was either a tribute to the whole Rapture scenario or it was one of the most deadpan satires of it. I tend to believe the latter.

*shiver* The United Theocratical States of America. Yikes.

This is real horror.

In the end, it doesn't even matter what the titular characters were, although I'll think about it for a while and probably pick up the sequel because the question is still interesting. The best part of the novel was in looking at the mirror of our societies and all of our deep dark ignorance and our crazy.

It was great fun! It was kinda relaxing and let me get my hate on for all the idiots of the world. Isn't that the point?

All of the characters were pretty damn detailed and immersed us in the world. The devil is always in the details for the horror novel, after all, and this succeeds quite well. I'm very glad to have read this, even if it's not mind-shattering, truly horror inducing, or terribly original. It is, however, solid and fascinating and modern and tongue-in-cheek, so I'm going to sing it's praises. :) It IS well written. :) show less

This book was written in such a refreshing unique way - it is a series of interviews and transcripts of the survivors' families telling their stories for a book about Black Thursday. It feels like you are building up the evidence in front of you in order to come to your own conclusions, which ultimately you have to do at the end.

I was completely gripped by the story and it made me think about our own souls and what happens when we die - the relationship between the survivors and their main family member left me thinking about the belief that part of a soul transfers to the people you leave behind. Whether it was the soul of a person or something more sinister I'm not really sure so, whilst I really enjoyed reading this book, I felt I show more had to launch straight into the sequel "Day Four" as the ending felt like it was "to be continued".

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

Four aeroplanes crash on the same day. Investigators quickly rule out terrorism, but struggle to explain what was at fault. They are equally bewildered by the survival of three children, who come through the crashes with minimal injuries against all odds. The crashes and their survivors ignite global conspiracies as a right-wing preacher declares them the harbingers of the apocalypse.

After a difficult prologue (the last minutes of Pamela Donald as she records her final message), the novel presents itself as the best-selling non-fiction account by journalist Elspeth Martins.

I’ll be honest: I have a soft spot for fictional non-fiction. I think it’s an interesting format, and I enjoy the flexibility it gives authors in presenting show more their narrative. Lotz does a great job hear in capturing the tones of voice and vocabularies of the ‘interviewees' - arguably too good, as I found myself highlighting passages and adding angry notes in the margins. Repeatedly. Let’s just say that I don’t have a lot of time for certain political perspectives, and leave it at that. Still, it’s some good fictional non-fiction that is sufficiently realistic to cut through my belief filters quite so effectively.

The inclusion of chat logs, newspaper articles and twitter feeds were marginally less successful, but allowed Lotz to provide context and alternative perspectives that would have been hard to justify as interviews. Extra credit for her largely off-page handling of the media frenzy, focusing more on its impact than its execution.

It’s a fascinating stew. In the end, I didn’t much care whether the kids were possessed, aliens, the Four Horsemen (all three of them) or misrepresented PTSD sufferers. I just appreciated Lotz’s depiction of the irrational responses we have to things we can’t explain. The craving for patterns and clutching at the flimsiest straws is a familiar process, although It didn’t make me feel better about humanity.

However, what I liked best was the ambiguity. Was Elspeth coldly cashing in or genuinely trying to provide some perspective? (I liked that her letter in the final chapters makes it clear that even her nearest and dearest questioned this too). It’s clear that she had no agenda - her book makes her interviewees’ opinions clear, but crucially leaves room for her readers (fictional and real) to form their own (ir)rational opinion.

…which is why the epilogue left me mildly irritated. I’d have been happy for it to have formed the prologue to a sequel, moving the narrative along - but I would have been far happier with this novel if it had left the question of the children unresolved.

Nonetheless, this is an entertaining if not always easy read. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it hit the big screen as a thriller in the near future - it would translate a little too easily. show less