- Hardcover: 480 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 20, 2014)
- ISBN-10: 031624290X
- Source: Publisher
One day the unthinkable happens: four planes crash simultaneously around the world. The sole survivors are three children with seemingly no connection. In the days and months that follow and terrorists attacks have been ruled out, conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork.
When “the three” begin to experience behavior issues the claims about their true origins increase in magnitude. After a evangelical minister insinuates they are the three seals of the apocalypse, the survivors are forced to go into hiding. Eventually, even their loved ones begin to question their behavior, unable to believe they haven’t been switched or altered in some manner.
It seems as though no one can explain how these three children survived. Do they have a purpose, a mission? Will society patiently await answers or take matters into their own hands?
Personally, I have been anticipating this novel for some time. The premise, the unexplained survivors, it all drew me in immediately. Little did I know just how tremendous this novel was! Lotz uses a unique manner to tell the story, a “book in book” method using witness statements, blog posts, interviews that make up a fictional book about the Black Thursday, the day the planes crashed with seemingly no reason. Without a reliable narrator, the reader is forced to choose between the various witnesses, discerning which individuals can be trusted.
That said, what moved me most was the role that normal, everyday people played in the fate of the Three. Crazed conspiracy theorists spouted all sorts of explanations about the danger that surrounded these three children. Yet, ultimately, it wasn’t the children they should have been worried about. Fear drove everyday citizens to behave in ways they likely never would have, fear drove them to make unbelievable choices about the survivors’ future.
That’s not to say there isn’t a dark and supernatural feel to this novel, there most definitely is. The survivors, while children, are downright terrifying. Imagine finding out your child, your niece or nephew or grandson, was the sole survivor of a plane crash. It would be ignorant to assume they would be the same child, understandably shaken by the traumatic incident. What if they were completely different, no semblance of that child remaining. Truly terrifying!
While all questions aren’t answered (quite a few are left unanswered, as a matter of fact) it is my opinion that this is the sort of novel meant to be open-ended, reliant upon the reader to anticipate and plot out what happens next.
All in all, The Three is a chilling tale of not only an unnatural incident that devastated the entire world, but an intense study of human response in the face of fear. Highly, highly recommended.
Check out the book’s Tumblr page for “witness” accounts and for more information about the Three.
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