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Final Destination #3
Final Destination #3: End of The Line
An international group of students are in New York on a cultural exchange. They've been promised the trip of a lifetime. But what they don't realize is that it might just be the last trip they ever takeÏ¿½
- GenresHorror
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 7, 2005
6 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Levene
57 books80 followersBritish author, editor and tv storyliner.
Educated at Clare College, Cambridge.
She has written books for Virgin's Doctor Who line, Abbadon books and Black Flame.
She also writes for Doctor Who Magazine and SFX.
Educated at Clare College, Cambridge.
She has written books for Virgin's Doctor Who line, Abbadon books and Black Flame.
She also writes for Doctor Who Magazine and SFX.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 18, 2022
The Final Destination movies got me into horror, so when I heard there were novels, I tried my best to get my hands on them, despite their rarity. As every novel in the book series are separate stories, I chose to read this one first. A word of warning: I also spoil the events of Final Destination 3 in this review. A group of international students are expecting to live the wild life on a cultural exchange trip to New York, but soon find themselves the only survivors of a horrific subway crash. A young doctor treating the victims tells the students that they were meant to have died in the wreck but they just dismiss it as an idle fantasy. When the group start dying in bizarre and grotesque ways, it slowly becomes apparent that darker forces are at play. I had read from other reviews of this book that out of all the books in the series, it is the longest to get started. Since this is the first book I read in the series, I didn’t find that it took too long to get started, in fact, I found that the beginning is essential to introducing, fleshing out, and making you care about the characters. Though, I do agree that if this was a movie script rather than a novel, the first five chapters would have to be shortened and condensed. One of my favorite things about Final Destination is when the characters experience death’s foreshadowing moments, and I loved the moments leading up to the initial disaster in this book, even if some of them were cheesy and overly obvious. I loved the main premonition, but I do feel like it was the fastest and shortest main disaster in any Final Destination story I’ve ever experienced (so far). When I first started this book, I mistakenly thought Kate was going to be the protagonist that has the premonition (because of the woman on the cover art), and was surprised to see that it was Danny instead. After this realization, I was curious to see how the woman on the cover art related to the book’s storyline.
This book reminded me of the first few Final Destination movies in the sense that it made me care about the main protagonist much like I cared for Alex, Kimberly and Wendy. This book does a good job at emphasizing that the people who don’t survive the initial disaster in these stories are people with their own lives and families, something that is a little bit glossed over by fans of this franchise. Since the Final Destination movies are a visual medium, the death scenes are often fast and explosive, but as this book is a written medium, the death scenes are much more detailed in their descriptions, both in execution and gore. Sometimes this meant that scenes that would have been fast in a movie seem slowed down or in slow motion here, but that’s just a byproduct of a written medium portraying things that occur within seconds. When the characters are researching previous premonitions in order to understand more about their situation, I expected to hear about the events of previous Final Destination movies, but the author instead chooses to mention other premonitions and deaths that don’t reference any actual Final Destination movies or books. I liked this decision, but I would have also loved to read a book or watch a movie that featured some of these one off headlines. I hope some other books in this series feature some of the premonitions and deaths referenced, but from what I’ve heard of them, I don’t think that they will.
The mortician character in this book is a clear homage to William Bludworth, the mortician character from the movies, and I think it’s cool that people who work in the death care industries act as advisors to the characters and consultants about death since they literally work for death. I love that this book explored and expanded on the idea of the premonitions, implying that life itself and death itself are opposing supernatural forces, and the visions are life attempting to balance the scale. This book introduced interesting concepts, like that some people who die and come back can later become unknowing instruments of death that death can manipulate to cause different chain of events that cause others to die. I’m glad that this book focused on the aftermath of surviving a subway crash, because I always thought that storyline was good enough for its own movie, and was a little bit wasted as a twist ending in Final Destination 3. However, I would have loved if this book had somehow been centered around the Train 081 crash that killed Wendy and her surviving friends from Final Destination 3, with this book’s protagonists crossing paths with her before she perished in the crash. Regardless, I enjoyed the premise of this book and think it has enough strength to stand on its own and could easily be adapted into a movie. I highly recommend this book for fans of the Final Destination movies. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series.
This book reminded me of the first few Final Destination movies in the sense that it made me care about the main protagonist much like I cared for Alex, Kimberly and Wendy. This book does a good job at emphasizing that the people who don’t survive the initial disaster in these stories are people with their own lives and families, something that is a little bit glossed over by fans of this franchise. Since the Final Destination movies are a visual medium, the death scenes are often fast and explosive, but as this book is a written medium, the death scenes are much more detailed in their descriptions, both in execution and gore. Sometimes this meant that scenes that would have been fast in a movie seem slowed down or in slow motion here, but that’s just a byproduct of a written medium portraying things that occur within seconds. When the characters are researching previous premonitions in order to understand more about their situation, I expected to hear about the events of previous Final Destination movies, but the author instead chooses to mention other premonitions and deaths that don’t reference any actual Final Destination movies or books. I liked this decision, but I would have also loved to read a book or watch a movie that featured some of these one off headlines. I hope some other books in this series feature some of the premonitions and deaths referenced, but from what I’ve heard of them, I don’t think that they will.
The mortician character in this book is a clear homage to William Bludworth, the mortician character from the movies, and I think it’s cool that people who work in the death care industries act as advisors to the characters and consultants about death since they literally work for death. I love that this book explored and expanded on the idea of the premonitions, implying that life itself and death itself are opposing supernatural forces, and the visions are life attempting to balance the scale. This book introduced interesting concepts, like that some people who die and come back can later become unknowing instruments of death that death can manipulate to cause different chain of events that cause others to die. I’m glad that this book focused on the aftermath of surviving a subway crash, because I always thought that storyline was good enough for its own movie, and was a little bit wasted as a twist ending in Final Destination 3. However, I would have loved if this book had somehow been centered around the Train 081 crash that killed Wendy and her surviving friends from Final Destination 3, with this book’s protagonists crossing paths with her before she perished in the crash. Regardless, I enjoyed the premise of this book and think it has enough strength to stand on its own and could easily be adapted into a movie. I highly recommend this book for fans of the Final Destination movies. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2024
The Final Destination movies got me into horror, so when I heard there were novels, I tried my best to get my hands on them, despite their rarity. As every novel in the book series are separate stories, I chose to read this one first. A word of warning: I also spoil the events of Final Destination 3 in this review. A group of international students are expecting to live the wild life on a cultural exchange trip to New York, but soon find themselves the only survivors of a horrific subway crash. A young doctor treating the victims tells the students that they were meant to have died in the wreck but they just dismiss it as an idle fantasy. When the group start dying in bizarre and grotesque ways, it slowly becomes apparent that darker forces are at play. I had read from other reviews of this book that out of all the books in the series, it is the longest to get started. Since this is the first book I read in the series, I didn’t find that it took too long to get started, in fact, I found that the beginning is essential to introducing, fleshing out, and making you care about the characters. Though, I do agree that if this was a movie script rather than a novel, the first five chapters would have to be shortened and condensed. One of my favorite things about Final Destination is when the characters experience death’s foreshadowing moments, and I loved the moments leading up to the initial disaster in this book, even if some of them were cheesy and overly obvious. I loved the main premonition, but I do feel like it was the fastest and shortest main disaster in any Final Destination story I’ve ever experienced (so far). When I first started this book, I mistakenly thought Kate was going to be the protagonist that has the premonition (because of the woman on the cover art), and was surprised to see that it was Danny instead. After this realization, I was curious to see how the woman on the cover art related to the book’s storyline.
This book reminded me of the first few Final Destination movies in the sense that it made me care about the main protagonist much like I cared for Alex, Kimberly and Wendy. This book does a good job at emphasizing that the people who don’t survive the initial disaster in these stories are people with their own lives and families, something that is a little bit glossed over by fans of this franchise. Since the Final Destination movies are a visual medium, the death scenes are often fast and explosive, but as this book is a written medium, the death scenes are much more detailed in their descriptions, both in execution and gore. Sometimes this meant that scenes that would have been fast in a movie seem slowed down or in slow motion here, but that’s just a byproduct of a written medium portraying things that occur within seconds. When the characters are researching previous premonitions in order to understand more about their situation, I expected to hear about the events of previous Final Destination movies, but the author instead chooses to mention other premonitions and deaths that don’t reference any actual Final Destination movies or books. I liked this decision, but I would have also loved to read a book or watch a movie that featured some of these one off headlines. I hope some other books in this series feature some of the premonitions and deaths referenced, but from what I’ve heard of them, I don’t think that they will.
The mortician character in this book is a clear homage to William Bludworth, the mortician character from the movies, and I think it’s cool that people who work in the death care industries act as advisors to the characters and consultants about death since they literally work for death. I love that this book explored and expanded on the idea of the premonitions, implying that life itself and death itself are opposing supernatural forces, and the visions are life attempting to balance the scale. This book introduced interesting concepts, like that some people who die and come back can later become unknowing instruments of death that death can manipulate to cause different chain of events that cause others to die. I’m glad that this book focused on the aftermath of surviving a subway crash, because I always thought that storyline was good enough for its own movie, and was a little bit wasted as a twist ending in Final Destination 3. However, I would have loved if this book had somehow been centered around the Train 081 crash that killed Wendy and her surviving friends from Final Destination 3, with this book’s protagonists crossing paths with her before she perished in the crash. Regardless, I enjoyed the premise of this book and think it has enough strength to stand on its own and could easily be adapted into a movie. I highly recommend this book for fans of the Final Destination movies. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series.
This book reminded me of the first few Final Destination movies in the sense that it made me care about the main protagonist much like I cared for Alex, Kimberly and Wendy. This book does a good job at emphasizing that the people who don’t survive the initial disaster in these stories are people with their own lives and families, something that is a little bit glossed over by fans of this franchise. Since the Final Destination movies are a visual medium, the death scenes are often fast and explosive, but as this book is a written medium, the death scenes are much more detailed in their descriptions, both in execution and gore. Sometimes this meant that scenes that would have been fast in a movie seem slowed down or in slow motion here, but that’s just a byproduct of a written medium portraying things that occur within seconds. When the characters are researching previous premonitions in order to understand more about their situation, I expected to hear about the events of previous Final Destination movies, but the author instead chooses to mention other premonitions and deaths that don’t reference any actual Final Destination movies or books. I liked this decision, but I would have also loved to read a book or watch a movie that featured some of these one off headlines. I hope some other books in this series feature some of the premonitions and deaths referenced, but from what I’ve heard of them, I don’t think that they will.
The mortician character in this book is a clear homage to William Bludworth, the mortician character from the movies, and I think it’s cool that people who work in the death care industries act as advisors to the characters and consultants about death since they literally work for death. I love that this book explored and expanded on the idea of the premonitions, implying that life itself and death itself are opposing supernatural forces, and the visions are life attempting to balance the scale. This book introduced interesting concepts, like that some people who die and come back can later become unknowing instruments of death that death can manipulate to cause different chain of events that cause others to die. I’m glad that this book focused on the aftermath of surviving a subway crash, because I always thought that storyline was good enough for its own movie, and was a little bit wasted as a twist ending in Final Destination 3. However, I would have loved if this book had somehow been centered around the Train 081 crash that killed Wendy and her surviving friends from Final Destination 3, with this book’s protagonists crossing paths with her before she perished in the crash. Regardless, I enjoyed the premise of this book and think it has enough strength to stand on its own and could easily be adapted into a movie. I highly recommend this book for fans of the Final Destination movies. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2025
I have to applaud the author for some of the more creative deaths I've seen so far in these novels. They were agonizing and descriptive and very fitting for the franchise. Unlike some of the other FD novels, I found myself caring about these characters and hoping they'd figure out how to beat death. And though they did, I don't get why Danny didn't go through with it, even if they thought Kate had something to do with all the deaths. Wouldn't the solution remain the same?
The mob subplot was lackluster in my opinion and really the book could've done without it but I can see how it prevented the story from being a straight line of accident straight to all of the deaths. I also could've done without the casually racist descriptions of the Asian characters. Like, seriously. The romance between Danny and Kate was a little awkward given the age gap, but I kind of wrote it off as a bad impulsive decision on both of their parts.
I was gripped by the story and the deaths literally had me squirming and taking a reading break (I am a chicken). I thought the actual accident itself was a little unoriginal - we've seen a train accident before - but the fact that they still got on the train had my blood pumping. All in all a fun time.
The mob subplot was lackluster in my opinion and really the book could've done without it but I can see how it prevented the story from being a straight line of accident straight to all of the deaths. I also could've done without the casually racist descriptions of the Asian characters. Like, seriously. The romance between Danny and Kate was a little awkward given the age gap, but I kind of wrote it off as a bad impulsive decision on both of their parts.
I was gripped by the story and the deaths literally had me squirming and taking a reading break (I am a chicken). I thought the actual accident itself was a little unoriginal - we've seen a train accident before - but the fact that they still got on the train had my blood pumping. All in all a fun time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2025
I loved the other FINAL DESTINATION book I had read years back, DEAD MAN’S HAND. With BLOODLINES coming out, I decided to visit some of the other novels for the first time. After hearing a lot of buzz about this particular installment, starting here seemed like a good choice. And wow, I was not expecting to be this engaged.
END OF THE LINE was on another level entirely from what we saw before—memorable and engaging characters, an NYC-set storyline, bonkers twists and turns, and of course incredibly creative and engaging deaths. It was also quite sexually charged, a feature that was an added plus as it organically ties into the story and its ensemble.
The chainsaw-scaffolding and hornet/chain/umbrella craziness felt very inspired. However, it was the incredibly clever twist that really sold it for me. I never saw it coming at all, and it kind of fits perfectly. END OF THE LINE really understands what works about FINAL DESTINATION, giving us chain reactions and gory deaths in equal measure. Chilling, fun, and disturbing. Highly recommended for any fan of the series.
END OF THE LINE was on another level entirely from what we saw before—memorable and engaging characters, an NYC-set storyline, bonkers twists and turns, and of course incredibly creative and engaging deaths. It was also quite sexually charged, a feature that was an added plus as it organically ties into the story and its ensemble.
The chainsaw-scaffolding and hornet/chain/umbrella craziness felt very inspired. However, it was the incredibly clever twist that really sold it for me. I never saw it coming at all, and it kind of fits perfectly. END OF THE LINE really understands what works about FINAL DESTINATION, giving us chain reactions and gory deaths in equal measure. Chilling, fun, and disturbing. Highly recommended for any fan of the series.
August 19, 2025
(3.5/5)
okay, so this is easily the most technically impressive destination book so far! the writing style is great, and i really enjoyed each character. the death scenes are all VERY detailed too... lots of gore in this one!
as a twin, i love to see twin dynamics in media, and it helped that these two were such strong characters. danny's inner dialogue also really reminded me of alex browning (aka my #1 comfort character ever).
i didn't really love any of this book's romances (for some reason, i was leaning towards james & louise? idk guys), and i thought that the weird mob-related side plot was undercooked & not really necessary.
i did, however, love kate's storyline and how it adds a new aspect to the FD lore. the plot twist at the end was incredibly interesting, and i love that it carries on to deliver another slight twist in the book's final moments.
LOUISE KING, THE FINAL GIRL THAT YOU ARE !!!
(i clearly have a lot to say about this book, but i still think i like dead reckoning the most so far? jess and eric, you will always be loved by me)
okay, so this is easily the most technically impressive destination book so far! the writing style is great, and i really enjoyed each character. the death scenes are all VERY detailed too... lots of gore in this one!
as a twin, i love to see twin dynamics in media, and it helped that these two were such strong characters. danny's inner dialogue also really reminded me of alex browning (aka my #1 comfort character ever).
i didn't really love any of this book's romances (for some reason, i was leaning towards james & louise? idk guys), and i thought that the weird mob-related side plot was undercooked & not really necessary.
i did, however, love kate's storyline and how it adds a new aspect to the FD lore. the plot twist at the end was incredibly interesting, and i love that it carries on to deliver another slight twist in the book's final moments.
LOUISE KING, THE FINAL GIRL THAT YOU ARE !!!
(i clearly have a lot to say about this book, but i still think i like dead reckoning the most so far? jess and eric, you will always be loved by me)
August 17, 2024
I’m a teacher and started back work, so I’ve only had time to read in the evenings, so it took me longer to finish this than it normally would.
This book started out so fun, and the main characters were a lot of fun, but DUDE.
On top of a third act that was ridiculous and cheesy by even Final Destination standards, this book painted with some incredibly racist broad strokes.
The only Latino characters are gang members, an Asian character’s face is referred to as “squinched up,” etc.
I get it was 19 years ago that it was released, but holy shit lol.
This book started out so fun, and the main characters were a lot of fun, but DUDE.
On top of a third act that was ridiculous and cheesy by even Final Destination standards, this book painted with some incredibly racist broad strokes.
The only Latino characters are gang members, an Asian character’s face is referred to as “squinched up,” etc.
I get it was 19 years ago that it was released, but holy shit lol.
August 22, 2024
WOOO! So far, the BEST of this series! It runs like a movie, and deliciously splatter-ish! Characters need no real depth, we're here to see the gore in all its morbid details, and believe me, every death is served in its grisliest light!
Granted, it could've made all the same with some less interactions, a couple less characters, but in the end we get what we came for, with a good final twist and the return of one beloved character from the movies!
THIS is one teen slasher that will keep you glued to its pages to the end!
Granted, it could've made all the same with some less interactions, a couple less characters, but in the end we get what we came for, with a good final twist and the return of one beloved character from the movies!
THIS is one teen slasher that will keep you glued to its pages to the end!
May 31, 2025
After surviving a train crash, a group of international students in new york begin to relize they should have died and its only time before death comes to clean up. I liked the direction this book went. I will say I did find certain parts a little slow and bringing human conflick in should not have been done. however this book does have a pretty unique twist which was really well done once we find out what it is. adding to this some of the deaths were pretty good and the gore was detailed well. overall another great addition to the series
July 13, 2025
This is the first book in the series that actually understands the assignment, but (in addition to clearly being written by a British author, with no American editing—MacDonald’s? Really??? [Just like the other two, and the one after it 🙄. Are there no American authors or editors???]) there was too much racism and ignorance for me to rate it any higher.
February 2, 2024
How it feels to go on ScotRail
April 14, 2025
Woooowww the best one so far, now this felt like a fd film
August 31, 2025
welp let me see. first we have the mob which was weird, then someone who survives death becomes the minion for death??? i mean come on. the writing also felt off alot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2025
Only got an extra star cause it had Bludworth as a cameo. The idea was solid. But, the writing is fairly clunky.
November 30, 2017
I got so confused reading this book. Compared to the first two in the series, this takes a good chunk before it gets going. The “premonition” doesnt kick in until at least page 80 and the main event takes another 40 pages after that.
Why was I confused? Well, the premonition happens when the group of teenagers - none of whom I was really rooting for - are in an abandoned fairground. And they were on a ghost train. I had to keep flicking back to check the blurb, which definitely said subway. And it strongly reminded me of the third film.
But at the same time, this is a VERY lazy book. We’ve already had a bad train crash in one of the previous books - are you telling me that the author couldn’t think of anything else that they could base a significant event that could potentially kill off a lot of people at once? Too lazy and disappointing in my opinion.
There’s a couple of storylines in this that were unnecessary to the progression of the storyline. I will say, the Kate character does not make any sense to begin with but stick with her. The whole Tony/Mafia boss storyline did nothing for the storyline and could so easily have been trimmed or chopped completely.
There’s still something missing from these books, for me anyway. Something that doesn’t quite “grab” the same way as the films. I’m still waiting for some reference to be made back to the films or even the previous books. I felt like Jack and Mary Beth could have been survivors of a similar experience, and had to actually check if Mary Beth hadn’t been a character in the films, she felt so familiar. There was a definite nod to the Tony Todd character from the films, which gave me the shivers.
Ultimately, there has been no standout out in this series so far. The one good point for this book is that a twist towards the end, comes out of nowhere and a lot of things make sense. Sort of like the last Final Destination movie. Pick up only if you can find cheap enough.
Why was I confused? Well, the premonition happens when the group of teenagers - none of whom I was really rooting for - are in an abandoned fairground. And they were on a ghost train. I had to keep flicking back to check the blurb, which definitely said subway. And it strongly reminded me of the third film.
But at the same time, this is a VERY lazy book. We’ve already had a bad train crash in one of the previous books - are you telling me that the author couldn’t think of anything else that they could base a significant event that could potentially kill off a lot of people at once? Too lazy and disappointing in my opinion.
There’s a couple of storylines in this that were unnecessary to the progression of the storyline. I will say, the Kate character does not make any sense to begin with but stick with her. The whole Tony/Mafia boss storyline did nothing for the storyline and could so easily have been trimmed or chopped completely.
There’s still something missing from these books, for me anyway. Something that doesn’t quite “grab” the same way as the films. I’m still waiting for some reference to be made back to the films or even the previous books. I felt like Jack and Mary Beth could have been survivors of a similar experience, and had to actually check if Mary Beth hadn’t been a character in the films, she felt so familiar. There was a definite nod to the Tony Todd character from the films, which gave me the shivers.
Ultimately, there has been no standout out in this series so far. The one good point for this book is that a twist towards the end, comes out of nowhere and a lot of things make sense. Sort of like the last Final Destination movie. Pick up only if you can find cheap enough.
April 7, 2022
A premonition of a train crash results in brain and blood spurting out the side of a crushed head under intense pressure sending bodily fluids into the opening of a witnesses mouth and the ghastly contents sliding greasily down with a meat like taste. Getting off the death train will set a bizarre chain of accidents that accumulate to cause death at a certain time and cause. In a hospital one surivor will have an overflowing bathtub fall from the ceiling crushing her organs and sending feces from her intestines out of her mouth, a flying out of control fire hose hitting someone in the chest sending them into a zoo inclosure and piercing their chest from the sharp horns of an animal, a dancing old man slipping on a banana peel, falling backwards onto a corkscrew plunging out of his eye socket and a flying chainsaw dissecting a head completely in half with the brain pulsing not realising if it is dead of not. A load of crazy, over the top deaths. And somebody will understand everything as they fall over a cliff to their inevitable ending.
February 6, 2013
Loved the deaths. One actually was used for The Final Destination (although its version was lame) The twist reveal felt a bit forced, but nice twist nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews