THE THREE BECOMES FOUR

Do you remember 12 January 2012, when four planes crashed within hours of each other, killing more than a thousand people in Japan, South Africa and Florida? If not, let me remind you what happened next. There were just three survivors; all children, found alive at three of the four crash sites. They become known as ‘The Three’ and were the subject of excessive press speculation, especially in the following months, when the behaviour of the children got odder and odder.

Do you remember? Probably not, because it didn’t happen, but if an alien landed on earth today and Sarah Lotz's novel The Three was the first thing it came across, our extraterrestrial friend would find it difficult not to believe. Not sure what he would make of the alien conspiracy theories though.

The Three is told by a mix of interviews, an unfinished biography and online chatroom messages, painting an efficient picture of the disturbing details after ‘Black Thursday’ changed the world for the worst. And it’s an all-consuming read, demanding an answer which is frustratingly left open to debate. Still, it’s definitely worth your time, especially as Day Four is out to buy in the UK later this month.

If The Three seemed like the end of the world, Day Four just might be. A sequel of sorts, in that its part of the same universe, the story begins four days into a five day singles cruise on the Gulf of Mexico. Day four is when the ageing ship stops dead in the water. Kaput. Done for. With no power and no phone signal (naturally), the passengers and crew have no way to call for help.

All they can do is wait. Wait until the food runs out. Wait until the toilets stop working. And then there’s that body. Who is responsible? A person, or something else entirely? Are they in even deeper shit than that caused by the bogs going belly-up? Most importantly, will we find out what caused the events after Black Thursday? Day Four is being released by Hodder & Stoughton on 21 May 2015. DW