I've struggled to put together a synopsis, in part because I love how perfect and brief Angry Robot's synopses tend to be. In light of that, I've just decided to go with theirs:
The world has collapsed, and there are no heroes any more.
But when a lone gunman reluctantly accepts the mantle of protector to a young boy and his dying mother against the forces that pursue them, a hero may yet arise.
File Under: Science Fiction [Three For All | Apocalyptic Wasteland | A Journey Home | Fear the Weir]
See that? Short, to the point, and damn enticing! I especially love their "File Under" tags.
Three is a loner, a man who makes a living off the land (and surviving the land). He is approached by a woman with a young child in desperate need of help. Of course Three turns them down cold - they're sure to be trouble and trouble is something he doesn't need. But Three soon becomes entangled with the pair and agrees to help them get out of town. Cass and Wren are on the run from some really bad folks but Three isn't quite clear as to why these baddies are tracking the mother and son. Things get much worse for all of them before Cass truly reveals their story.
The book starts with a pretty creepy prologue: a place called the Vault, a broken gate, and fear of the coming night. This prologue (as any good prologue should) perfectly sets the tone and tension for the book! I loved it. It drew me in, it made me curious about this world, it made me thirst for more!
As the prologue promises, the action of the book starts pretty immediately. We meet Three, we meet Cass and Wren, and then people start getting killed. I kid you not. The book is up and running and it never lets go.
With a book like this - and I know I've mentioned it before with regards to other titles - I find some authors choose to take the giant info dump approach to explain the world. Fortunately, Posey chose the other route, integrating details about the world into the story in a more smooth and natural way. It does mean that the reader is left in the dark a bit and has to piece together the information provided to get a clear understanding of the world (and there are plenty of questions left as to how this world ended up this way, exactly what the Weir are, etc) but it means that there's no hang up in the progression of the story, which is common pitfall with the info dump.
Three is a fast read, both in terms of actual pacing and the fact that I just couldn't bear to put it down. In the beginning, I was reminded of the movie Screamers (the movie, 'cause - shame on me - I've never actually read PKD's story "Second Variety") and perhaps it's my fondness of that movie that gave Three immediate gold stars for me, but I really think that Posey has started something excellent with this book. It is the first in a projected series of I'm not sure how many books, but it as Legends of the Duskwalker book one, Three promises much more to come from Posey (more to add to my must hve list!).
Rating: 4.5/5
Don't forget to check out Monday's guest post from Jay and the rest of the official Three tour. The gals over at My Shelf Confessions are hosting a giveaway with two signed copies of Jay's debut up for grabs and there are just five days left to enter.
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