The Three: A Novel

The Three is a very disturbing book - not just because it features four horrible air crashes as its launching point, but also because one could see how everything that happens in the book is pretty believable. Imagine the media circus, religious fanatacism, and cult followings that would develop in the wake of three children being the only survivers of a plane crash and you will essentially have the plot of The Three. The story is told in the style of a writer who has access to all sorts of people connected to the crashes, and there is good use of transcripts, news articles, chat-room recordings, none of which seemed forced or out-of-place to me. The only thing that I didn't like so much was that many of the characters are either superficially drawn. It was hard to really "connect" with any of the main players in the book. For those with a weak stomach, I did not think The Three was overly gory. This would be a perfect book to give you a little scare at the beach.

This one was a little disappointing. It started out great; freaky multiple plane crashes on the same day around the world. The opening of the crash as told through the eyes of one of the victims who sends a creepy message while she’s dying about watching the boy and the dead coming to get her all in a place called Suicide Forest. It was great imagery to start. This message quickly gets blown out of proportion by a want to be famous Pastor who believes she was trying to send a warning and that the surviving children from the crashes are three of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The story is told through multiple first person accounts two of whom are caregivers to the surviving “miracle children”. Those accounts were the best part to me; a growing sense of dread and desperation. Are the children different or are they simply the victims of circumstance and fear? Is it a miracle? Or is it something sinister, dark and dangerous? Is the tragedy you can obviously see coming being caused by a bunch of frightened ignorant people or are those people the only ones that can see the bigger picture? Those are just some of the questions that made up the bigger mystery of the book. I liked all the characters and thought Paul Craddock, who’s caring for his surviving niece Jessica, was especially strong. That story reads both psychological unraveling and horror story. You could believe he was crazy or you could believe she was a monster child. I wanted his story expanded upon in more detail. But the story kind of falls apart for me at the end, it felt like some of it was rather tacked on. There are no definite answers but even that doesn’t bother me so much as when the writer of the book comes in and chases a lead on Hiro (one of the children), his cousin and her boyfriend back into Suicide Forest. I didn’t buy where that story went at all (plus it seemed to unleash a whole different load of questions) and it didn’t make much sense at least to me for a decent ending. All that aside however it’s a decent and quick read.

This book immediately snares the reader with the disparate views of the crash of four different commuter flights. The viewpoints of a passenger, of a waiting relative, of EMT and of investigaters lead the evolving mystery. While complex, the plot knits together seamlessly as the unanswered questions mount. Three small children have survived wrecks of immense horror. Right away they serve as lightening rods for the grief and the lack of answers. I think that a prevailing hook to this book is the need for explanations when tragedy hits. As we have seen currently with the missing airplane, the dropping of people from the sky fills one with dread. It would seem preferable in some way for an unknown threat to have caused the failure than for random fate to have entered our lives. As one relative notes, our seeing off of loved ones has become almost prosaic. "See you when you're older mate." is a comfortable enforcement of the idea that one's twin will return from a perfectly routine flight. Each of the different narrator's bring his/her own voice to the story. This book is remarkable in the varying points of view that are successfully assumed. I was particularly invested in the Japanese relative of one survivor in her online dialogue with a hikikomori, recluse, about her struggles to reach her nephew. I also have a soft spot for the actor uncle who undertakes to raise his niece safe from the "Addam's family" of her deceased mother.. The characters are fully realized adding an unsettling element to the undercurrent of supernatural. In addition, the settings are diverse and rich. Japan's Aokigahara Forest is an eerie site of one of the crashes which comes to vivid detail. It is a real forest, and this adds to the texture of the setting. The presence of these children in the midst of impossible odds adds an eerie note from the start of this page turning novel, one that I wish to leave at that to avoid spoilers. But I will add that this a book that I recommend to any lover of the world not always considered.

Four aeroplanes go down on the same day in 2012 – one in the sea off Portugal, one on a township in South Africa, one in a forest in Japan and one in the Florida Everglades. Despite clear evidence that the causes of the crashes are unconnected, wild speculation runs riot in the media and on social media. Even more fuel is added to the wild fire of conjecture when it is revealed that a child has been found alive at three of the crash sites. American boy Bobby goes to live with his grandmother who is already coping with her husband's Alzheimer's. Japanese boy Hiro is cared for by his aunt and cousin to compensate for the remoteness of his robotics expert father. British girl Jess, who survives the Portugal crash, goes to live with her actor uncle in London. The race is soon on to track down a possible fourth child who survived the crash in Africa. But given the strange effects the surviving children seem to be having on those looking after them, perhaps it would be better if the fourth child stayed unaccounted for… The story is told through Elspeth, an investigative journalist, who is writing a book some time after the crashes. We see transcripts of interviews and email exchanges with crash investigators, eyewitnesses, the bereaved, families of the survivors, religious leaders, other journalists and more. It is a big cast of characters and Lotz gives each a unique voice with deft glimpses into their backstories and personalities. Rather than a straightforward horror story, this is much more of a satire on conspiracy theories, end-of-the-world-is-nigh religious fanaticism, political opportunism and dangerous collusions of religion and state. You could say the author leads the reader stealthily from paranormal horror to despairing dystopia. The book was published in 2014 and, given what’s happened in the world since then, you could almost think Sarah Lotz had a crystal ball on her desk while she was writing…

This is a very intriguing and riveting read- I have to say I had no/low expectations when I started- but I was very quickly hooked! This is quite well written- and given recent world events- plane crashes,losses,international intrigue and the rise of a rather fundamentalist right wing demographic in the USA- this story hits all those bases! and more! I have recommended this to my family and friends- and I have to say it moved well and held my attention- well done,Sarah Lotz!

Majority part of the book ws full of suspense but ending seemed little far fetched. But good suspense maintained till the end n the open ending leaves room for a sequel.

The three is a story about an author who publishes a book after ominous incidents involving hundreds of deaths. The stories of the people involved are reproduced in the form of a book within a book. the presentation of the emergence of the conspiracy theories forced by the book and the resulting consequences is frightening and partly not logically comprehensible. but what conspiracy theories are logically comprehensible? In the end there are doubts as to whether there is really a spark of truth in the conspiracy theories. good book, great story.

Alright the pitch about Black Thursday and four planes crashing simultaneously across the globe is catchy enough. However, there is no try whatsoever after the first pages. The first chapter with Pamela recalling the crash was really enticing. But again, no story at all, just bits and pieces to make you believe there is some suspense but I think the standards were set too high for the writer. It does not live up to the expectations it triggered... Sorry, but not good enough...