Just finished reading Three by Jay Posey.

This is a post apocalyptic world where people are all connected through internal ITs (wired).  The world as we know it no longer exists and small pockets of civilisation exist living behind high walls and strong gates.  Protection from the Weirs.  The Weirs are a sort of zombie type creature.  No longer alive or cognisant but with glowing blue eyes, the frantic compulsion to hunt and kill and the ability to communicate through sounds that can only be described as static.

Enter into this world Three.  A lone bounty hunter.  Tough and with killer instincts.  He’s used to living alone and surviving in a harsh world where the phrase dog eat dog is closer to the truth than you would like to think.  He’s brought in his latest find, been paid in hard cash which is pretty rare in these times and is now looking forward to making the acquaintance of some hard liquor to try and help him chill out – the hard cash will certainly help him along on this mission – and he almost succeeds, just starting to bask in the hazy glow verging on drunkenness when a woman in need, with a small child in tow, comes crashing into his life with her pleas for help.  Three isn’t used to caring about others.  He lives by a strict code that keeps him alive and taking on others who are not so finally tuned can frankly mean death in this world.  Cass is the damsel in distress with her son Wren although don’t be fooled into thinking she’s some shrinking violet here because that’s the furthest thing from the truth.  Cass is not innocent, and whilst she may be seeking some sort of last minute redemption for her past actions,  you won’t be in any sort of doubt from fairly early on as to the past life she led.  Basically, Cass is running away from her former life and in doing so has set up a chase which will lead in bloodshed.

Okay, it’s difficult to say too much about the characters without giving things away.  What I can say is that none of the characters are exactly as you think and there are surprises along the way in terms of all of them.  I really enjoyed the way the author kept things back in the story not giving much away and drawing me in with a slow reveal.  I also quite enjoy the fact that he doesn’t hold your hand.  You’re chucked straight in and expected to hit the ground running.  No gentle introduction, no coddling.  After all, we’ve all ready zombie/post apocalyptic books or seen the movies that give us a flavour for this type of world and I think it’s sort of assumed that you’ll pick things up (even if you haven’t you’ll be able to jump on board).  There is a little element of sci-fi thrown in with all the ‘wired’ attributes that people have which mean they can contact each other, access internal time clocks and other such information – it’s all a bit ‘big brotherish’ – I read it almost like people are chipped and so whilst they are able to access certain information it also means they are traceable and ultimately all linked.  I also thought this gave me an understanding of the Weirs – almost like the ‘person’ has died or been taken over, but the body was still alive and running on something else – maybe the strange ‘wired’ connection keeping them going somehow – basically I’m not 100% sure!

I liked the pace of the story.  There’s no messing about or going round the houses.  It’s fast and there’s plenty of action and I think that the author’s use of the whole mystery concerning the characters keeps your attention because you simply have to know what’s going on.

I wouldn’t say the world building is exactly thorough but I didn’t find it a problem.  I got the impression of a world lying in ruins and dust.  Little food or water.  Very few other resources.  People, in most instances, reduced to their very basic self with little pity or self respect for other humans.  There isn’t an over abundance of words here, no flowery descriptiveness.  If a leaf falls from the branch you won’t know, well, there may not be any branches for that matter!  But, I quite like the style here.  To the point and with nothing wasted.

In terms of characters.  I quite like Three.  He’s a good deal more patient than I would have been given the circumstances he finds himself in and in fact shows a completely vulnerable side to his character along with his ninja-kick-ass-building-climbing-knife wielding self.  A bit of a stereotype in that he’s a tough guy who is suddenly compelled to help someone else (who just so happens to be incredibly easy on the eye) but, nonetheless, quite likeable.  Cass.  I liked her, but I also disliked her.  Sometimes she was tough, and quite merciless, she loves Wren, and that much is apparent, she’s lead a very dubious past and is now trying to run away and make things better.  I can live with all of that but sometimes the assumptions she made about Three sort of grated a little, felt a little bit judgemental, which given her own past….  She wanted it all ways.  Throw herself on the mercy of others and then give them a hard time about themselves.  It sort of came across as a little hypocritical on her part – given that she was being a good deal less than honest about who she was – or more to the point what she was involved with and running from (and in the process bringing down upon others).  Basically, I’m all for the strong, tough females but if you’re going to go in that direction then don’t then turn on the ‘female’ switch when it’s convenient.  Put bluntly, Cass was trouble with a capital T.  I’m not saying that she’d not had her share of trouble and hard times but that’s nothing unique in a world this harsh – but, if you look at it objectively – she involved a lot of other ‘relatively’ innocent others in her running, caused a bit of a tide of circumstances. She’s the pebbles in the pond, throw it in and watch the ripples grow.

In terms of criticisms.  I had the obvious mixed feelings about Cass – which I won’t clarify any further to avoid spoilers.  There is very little clarification given about the world portrayed in the book – no explanations for the ability of certain characters – other than that maybe they’ve mutated perhaps?? On top of that I found the action scenes a little jarring – only in that they sort of read a little bit more like a commentary than a description.  I realise that’s probably a bit vague but it was the feeling I had on a couple of occasions – not enough to spoil my enjoyment though.

I enjoyed this book.  I think it’s a great idea that if not totally unique manages to bring something different to the scene.  I liked the tension and suspense that the author achieves.  I also like the fact that he assumes that as a reader you will bring your imagination with you.  I will certainly read other books by this author.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for a honest review.