readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
This is the kind of book that provokes a strong reaction—it seems people either love it or hate it. I am firmly on the side of love. The Three is gripping, spellbinding, and all those other cliches adored by book reviewers.
In a single day, four different planes crash on four different continents. Three children walk away from the wreckage unscathed. These three miraculously survive, against what rescue workers say are impossible odds. It doesn't take long for religious fanatics to declare the children to be messengers from God—specifically, three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The families of the children discount these claims, but they have to admit they've noticed some changes in their children since the planes went down. Suddenly the world seems full of evil portent, and no one has a good explanation for any of it.
Lotz tells her harrowing story as a book-within-a-book. Fictional journalist Elspeth Martins has conducted extensive interviews and collected hundreds of documents that she then published in a single volume. Her book is formatted as a series of short segments, with interview excerpts followed by news articles sandwiched between Internet chat transcripts. While I recognize that this stylistic choice could drive some readers up the wall, I found it incredibly compelling. If the plane crashes actually happened in our world today, we would read about them in fragments, clicking on Internet articles, watching the 24-hour news pundits, and reading interviews of the victims' families in magazines. Reading The Three is like reading about a real tragedy in real time. The narrative is disjointed, sure, but it made the eventual revelations that much more exciting.
I couldn't wait to find out what was going on with those kids. I wanted to be rational and assume that nothing paranormal was going on; after all, the religious nut jobs and alien-abduction proponents weren't convincing characters. But there is something undeniably weird about those three kids. Their smiling, happy manner, their laughter at inappropriate times, the strange things they say...They're creepy as hell.
This book is devilish fun. If you enjoy multi-layered, complex mysteries, if you like to be just a little creeped out, if you can be patient with the structure, you will devour The Three.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
In a single day, four different planes crash on four different continents. Three children walk away from the wreckage unscathed. These three miraculously survive, against what rescue workers say are impossible odds. It doesn't take long for religious fanatics to declare the children to be messengers from God—specifically, three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The families of the children discount these claims, but they have to admit they've noticed some changes in their children since the planes went down. Suddenly the world seems full of evil portent, and no one has a good explanation for any of it.
Lotz tells her harrowing story as a book-within-a-book. Fictional journalist Elspeth Martins has conducted extensive interviews and collected hundreds of documents that she then published in a single volume. Her book is formatted as a series of short segments, with interview excerpts followed by news articles sandwiched between Internet chat transcripts. While I recognize that this stylistic choice could drive some readers up the wall, I found it incredibly compelling. If the plane crashes actually happened in our world today, we would read about them in fragments, clicking on Internet articles, watching the 24-hour news pundits, and reading interviews of the victims' families in magazines. Reading The Three is like reading about a real tragedy in real time. The narrative is disjointed, sure, but it made the eventual revelations that much more exciting.
I couldn't wait to find out what was going on with those kids. I wanted to be rational and assume that nothing paranormal was going on; after all, the religious nut jobs and alien-abduction proponents weren't convincing characters. But there is something undeniably weird about those three kids. Their smiling, happy manner, their laughter at inappropriate times, the strange things they say...They're creepy as hell.
This book is devilish fun. If you enjoy multi-layered, complex mysteries, if you like to be just a little creeped out, if you can be patient with the structure, you will devour The Three.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
loufitz's review against another edition
4.0
Une lecture très appréciable, et qui non seulement m'a laissée sur ma faim, mais aussi avec une incompréhension non volontaire.
glitterbomb47's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting buildup, but the ending fell flat. Also, the dialogue rang quite false in most of the book. I would recommend to people who like vaguely creepy books.
cdeane61's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this book.
The format is one of my favorites, reminds me of World War Z, the story is fascinating and plausible, as are the characters.
Not sure I want to know the outcome, and may just be satisfied having read the first (I did not know it was a series)
Highly recommended.
The format is one of my favorites, reminds me of World War Z, the story is fascinating and plausible, as are the characters.
Not sure I want to know the outcome, and may just be satisfied having read the first (I did not know it was a series)
Highly recommended.
honeybadger11492's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
4.0
It's hard to come by a well-written thriller, so I'm very excited about by The Three. I was reminded of Liz Jensen's The Rapture, which has the same premise of "creepy-kids-causing-worldwide-disaster", and also, you know, Rapture.
Four plane crashes on four different continents on the same day, three (...or is it four?) surviving kids and a message from a dying Southern lady passenger is all it takes to unleash the madness of right-wing religious loonies such as Pastor Len. Before you know it, he has everyone subscribing to his four horsemen-sinners-beware nonsense. Sure, the kids are deliciously spooky, but there's nothing more terrifying than grown men convinced that the end is near. And how to spend the last days on earth? Why, terrorizing women, muslims and gays, of course! Pastor Len's doomsday party sure is a barrel of laughs. Throw in a trigger-happy Tea Party presidential candidate, and the world is definitely doomed.
All this is skillfully conveyed by interviews, recordings and articles put together by a journalist for her book "From Crash To Conspiracy". A lot of readers seem put off by this literary device, and when done badly it irks me too. This is so well done, it only adds to the suspense. Lotz manages to give distinctive voices to each of the different characters, and considering how many there are it's darn impressive. But hey, if you need your characters to be your friends and prefer a traditional narrative, stay away from this one. Just let me add that this method of story-telling in no way makes the book less readable - it is extremely accessible and easy to read. Recommended.
Four plane crashes on four different continents on the same day, three (...or is it four?) surviving kids and a message from a dying Southern lady passenger is all it takes to unleash the madness of right-wing religious loonies such as Pastor Len. Before you know it, he has everyone subscribing to his four horsemen-sinners-beware nonsense. Sure, the kids are deliciously spooky, but there's nothing more terrifying than grown men convinced that the end is near. And how to spend the last days on earth? Why, terrorizing women, muslims and gays, of course! Pastor Len's doomsday party sure is a barrel of laughs. Throw in a trigger-happy Tea Party presidential candidate, and the world is definitely doomed.
All this is skillfully conveyed by interviews, recordings and articles put together by a journalist for her book "From Crash To Conspiracy". A lot of readers seem put off by this literary device, and when done badly it irks me too. This is so well done, it only adds to the suspense. Lotz manages to give distinctive voices to each of the different characters, and considering how many there are it's darn impressive. But hey, if you need your characters to be your friends and prefer a traditional narrative, stay away from this one. Just let me add that this method of story-telling in no way makes the book less readable - it is extremely accessible and easy to read. Recommended.
paperbackbitch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
mollyctoone's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gemb1998's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0