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On The Third Day
Society is on the brink of collapse. The Old World is vanishing, the New World is taking over. There are no rules. Not now that a deadly disease is spreading that causes its victims to turn violent. Previously loving people become murderous. No-one can tell who will turn and who will not.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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June 14, 2010
I wrote this book, and I also wrote a blog about some of the themes and ideas, that I've copied and pasted below.
On The Third Day is an Old Testament style disaster story that has no basis in science, set in the modern world. Nowadays all disaster stories feature an asteroid or a tsunami or some other natural hazard that can be explained by the turning of the Earth or the wheeling of the galaxies. Even vampires and zombies are explained by new viruses or toxic spills. But in the olden times the modus operandi of an apocalypse was much more interesting – rivers of blood, the sky falling down, a flood that covers the whole world; impossible things sent by a vengeful God. I wanted to bring something like this back, kind of a “God’s back, and this time he’s angry!” scenario.
On a story-telling level I tried to write something with a large scope because stories of this kind usually focus on either the disaster itself, or a dystopian future following such a disaster. I’d never read a book that looked at the space in between these two things so I’ve tried to bridge the gap. I thought that a story showing the disaster, the fall of civilisation, and the re-ordering would be something new. So this book starts on day one and goes through a time period of just under a year. I’ve always had a macabre fascination with the frailty of civilisation, of how easily it could collapse, the logistics of such a thing, and how power becomes inherently violent when there is no such thing as law. I’ve always been obsessed with the end of the world as well, and this has elements of all this stuff.
Of course, there were a thousand things I wanted to cram into the book, the most important of which is the nature of hope. The “disease” (it’s not a disease), some of the characters think, is the flame of hope being extinguished in its victims. With this in mind I asked many, many people what they thought would happen to them if their hope suddenly died (completely died, I mean) and many of the answers found their way into the narrative. It’s really interesting how people see hope – would its loss make you sad? Paralysed? Satisfied, even? Maybe it was because I was thinking about it for too long, but it seems to me that hope is the most important thing that we humans have. I guess its main contender is love or maybe even morality but actually, I now think, both love and morality grow from hope first. Hope seems to be the bedrock on top of which everything else sits. And this is explored in the book. Not sure if I pulled it off, but I did my best!
Ultimately though, I just wanted to write a big, sprawling, exciting story that people can get lost in. There are things to think about, but I was determined not to let them overshadow the story. Story is everything. “Plot and character are your meat and potatoes,” as David Mitchell says. It gets dark at times but that just means that when lighter parts arrive they come out brighter – you have to go there to come back, as they say.
It’s been a really long slog but the journey is at its end. Lots of people have helped to bring this book about and now that it’s here I really can’t wait for people to read it. For better or worse I think this book is what I set out to write and I am happy with it, which is a rare thing for me. I hope now that others will read it and enjoy it. So if you do have a gap in the bookshelf, or are looking for something to take on your summer holiday, maybe you could give it a go.
On The Third Day is an Old Testament style disaster story that has no basis in science, set in the modern world. Nowadays all disaster stories feature an asteroid or a tsunami or some other natural hazard that can be explained by the turning of the Earth or the wheeling of the galaxies. Even vampires and zombies are explained by new viruses or toxic spills. But in the olden times the modus operandi of an apocalypse was much more interesting – rivers of blood, the sky falling down, a flood that covers the whole world; impossible things sent by a vengeful God. I wanted to bring something like this back, kind of a “God’s back, and this time he’s angry!” scenario.
On a story-telling level I tried to write something with a large scope because stories of this kind usually focus on either the disaster itself, or a dystopian future following such a disaster. I’d never read a book that looked at the space in between these two things so I’ve tried to bridge the gap. I thought that a story showing the disaster, the fall of civilisation, and the re-ordering would be something new. So this book starts on day one and goes through a time period of just under a year. I’ve always had a macabre fascination with the frailty of civilisation, of how easily it could collapse, the logistics of such a thing, and how power becomes inherently violent when there is no such thing as law. I’ve always been obsessed with the end of the world as well, and this has elements of all this stuff.
Of course, there were a thousand things I wanted to cram into the book, the most important of which is the nature of hope. The “disease” (it’s not a disease), some of the characters think, is the flame of hope being extinguished in its victims. With this in mind I asked many, many people what they thought would happen to them if their hope suddenly died (completely died, I mean) and many of the answers found their way into the narrative. It’s really interesting how people see hope – would its loss make you sad? Paralysed? Satisfied, even? Maybe it was because I was thinking about it for too long, but it seems to me that hope is the most important thing that we humans have. I guess its main contender is love or maybe even morality but actually, I now think, both love and morality grow from hope first. Hope seems to be the bedrock on top of which everything else sits. And this is explored in the book. Not sure if I pulled it off, but I did my best!
Ultimately though, I just wanted to write a big, sprawling, exciting story that people can get lost in. There are things to think about, but I was determined not to let them overshadow the story. Story is everything. “Plot and character are your meat and potatoes,” as David Mitchell says. It gets dark at times but that just means that when lighter parts arrive they come out brighter – you have to go there to come back, as they say.
It’s been a really long slog but the journey is at its end. Lots of people have helped to bring this book about and now that it’s here I really can’t wait for people to read it. For better or worse I think this book is what I set out to write and I am happy with it, which is a rare thing for me. I hope now that others will read it and enjoy it. So if you do have a gap in the bookshelf, or are looking for something to take on your summer holiday, maybe you could give it a go.
February 26, 2012
I actually feel a little bit mean giving this book such a low rating, mainly because I wanted to like it and felt that there was something half way redeemable under the surface. The authors previous book 'The Suicide Club' kicked my butt and I've read it more than once.
My main thing against the book is the characters. It was a big, huge, enormous mistake in making Miriam the main character. She was everything I hate in a woman and I sincerely wanted someone to just kill her off straight away so we could get on with the story, rather than having to watch her constantly mess up, throw typical 'girls=emotional' fits and basically be the irritating character pointing out how no one around her has morals or sense of humanity. She was not only mind numbingly stupid, she was selfish and, with her penchant for trying to be the do-gooder and helping everyone, thought nothing of putting herself and others in danger. She did bizarre, completely idiotic things with little to no logical explanation. I understand this could be put down to realism, since most people probably would react irrationally if any type of apocalyptic situation were to occur, but not every woman would descend into complete idiocy and have to be looked after all the time. Most women would eventually toughen the hell up and focus on surviving. And, if we ARE trying to be realistic, someone as stupid and emotional as Miriam wouldn't last 5 minutes.
Not only only that, she knew that some of the 'infected' turned violent. She saw it with her own eyes. And yet she has no qualms about leaving her children with their grandfather, an old man who probably wouldn't do much good against any sort of attack. I don't even remember her thinking about them, she just wanted to point out how horrible Joseph was for giving shit about living and for not stumbling towards the nearest death trap in order to 'help people'. Why did she not concentrate on at least staying alive long enough to get back to them?
One part that irks me is near the beginning of the book. Joseph mentions getting supplies, she wakes up to find him gone, gets all self righteous because, damn it, she's a grown woman and why the hell shouldn't she walk around the middle of a city full of carnage, chaos and dead people. Miriam doesn't for one second think getting food or water to take back to the children is as important as asserting herself, sticking it to Joseph and wandering outside, armed with nothing more than half a brain cell and a vague plan to see her mother. Sure enough, she nearly gets killed, arrives back with a random stranger she decided to attach herself to and gets offended when Joseph points out what an idiot she is. That's pretty much Miriam. When I read a book with a female protagonist, as a girl myself, I want her to at least reflect some strong, hard qualities. I don't want a warrior woman, I just don't want stupid idiots flailing around getting themselves into trouble either. The only character who had my sympathies was Joseph, mainly because he was the only character with a brain (and because he had to put up with Miriam).
The actual writing itself was overly descriptive in a way that bogged the story down and the style of writing fell flat, doing nothing more than relaying the events happening, rather than flowing and giving you a sense of 'being there'. You weren't experiencing it, you were simply being told a story. Which isn't good. It went with the mood of the book, but did nothing to enhance it.
Another of my problems is the lack of any sort of solution to most of the problems. Everything that is hinted at (ie, where the disease came from, why did some turn violent, what the hell was going on in Russia etc) is never cleared up and left to wither while we're given boring, monotonous descriptions day to day life in the countryside with the occasional conversations about Good Vs Evil.
All in all it was kind of disappointing. I have no real idea of what Rhys Thomas wanted to get across, no idea of the situation and no idea of the philosophy behind it. In all honesty, it wasn't bad, I'm not saying it's a waste of time or a bad book, since others obviously liked it and it's all subjective. There are a lot of books I genuinely dislike and this isn't necessarily one of them, I just felt it could have been better and for everything one thing I liked, there were a handful of others that let the side down.
My main thing against the book is the characters. It was a big, huge, enormous mistake in making Miriam the main character. She was everything I hate in a woman and I sincerely wanted someone to just kill her off straight away so we could get on with the story, rather than having to watch her constantly mess up, throw typical 'girls=emotional' fits and basically be the irritating character pointing out how no one around her has morals or sense of humanity. She was not only mind numbingly stupid, she was selfish and, with her penchant for trying to be the do-gooder and helping everyone, thought nothing of putting herself and others in danger. She did bizarre, completely idiotic things with little to no logical explanation. I understand this could be put down to realism, since most people probably would react irrationally if any type of apocalyptic situation were to occur, but not every woman would descend into complete idiocy and have to be looked after all the time. Most women would eventually toughen the hell up and focus on surviving. And, if we ARE trying to be realistic, someone as stupid and emotional as Miriam wouldn't last 5 minutes.
Not only only that, she knew that some of the 'infected' turned violent. She saw it with her own eyes. And yet she has no qualms about leaving her children with their grandfather, an old man who probably wouldn't do much good against any sort of attack. I don't even remember her thinking about them, she just wanted to point out how horrible Joseph was for giving shit about living and for not stumbling towards the nearest death trap in order to 'help people'. Why did she not concentrate on at least staying alive long enough to get back to them?
One part that irks me is near the beginning of the book. Joseph mentions getting supplies, she wakes up to find him gone, gets all self righteous because, damn it, she's a grown woman and why the hell shouldn't she walk around the middle of a city full of carnage, chaos and dead people. Miriam doesn't for one second think getting food or water to take back to the children is as important as asserting herself, sticking it to Joseph and wandering outside, armed with nothing more than half a brain cell and a vague plan to see her mother. Sure enough, she nearly gets killed, arrives back with a random stranger she decided to attach herself to and gets offended when Joseph points out what an idiot she is. That's pretty much Miriam. When I read a book with a female protagonist, as a girl myself, I want her to at least reflect some strong, hard qualities. I don't want a warrior woman, I just don't want stupid idiots flailing around getting themselves into trouble either. The only character who had my sympathies was Joseph, mainly because he was the only character with a brain (and because he had to put up with Miriam).
The actual writing itself was overly descriptive in a way that bogged the story down and the style of writing fell flat, doing nothing more than relaying the events happening, rather than flowing and giving you a sense of 'being there'. You weren't experiencing it, you were simply being told a story. Which isn't good. It went with the mood of the book, but did nothing to enhance it.
Another of my problems is the lack of any sort of solution to most of the problems. Everything that is hinted at (ie, where the disease came from, why did some turn violent, what the hell was going on in Russia etc) is never cleared up and left to wither while we're given boring, monotonous descriptions day to day life in the countryside with the occasional conversations about Good Vs Evil.
All in all it was kind of disappointing. I have no real idea of what Rhys Thomas wanted to get across, no idea of the situation and no idea of the philosophy behind it. In all honesty, it wasn't bad, I'm not saying it's a waste of time or a bad book, since others obviously liked it and it's all subjective. There are a lot of books I genuinely dislike and this isn't necessarily one of them, I just felt it could have been better and for everything one thing I liked, there were a handful of others that let the side down.
January 17, 2011
I couldn't finish this book, I really didn't like it.
Maybe I'm a bit OD'd on Apocalypse fic but I didn't get anything new or original from it Worst of all, I really didn't like any of the characters. In fact I loathed them. The woman was a simpering wreck (it was when she screamed "He needs love" about a man robbing her house that I wanted to kill her) and the man was a gruff jerk - pratical with a gun and reigned in emotions, because every apocalypse should have one. Indeed, every apocalypse story DOES have one.
The man swears to protect the women and children, the brother vows to protect the sister, the man offers to teach the boy hunting while the women get upset at bad language a mere few weeks after society has collapsed.
This book really had nothing to offer me, it's just a case of, 'Middle Class Terror - when the Daily Mail doesn't get delivered'.
But I do love the fact that the author gave himself a 5-Star rating, because, why shouldn't he?
Maybe I'm a bit OD'd on Apocalypse fic but I didn't get anything new or original from it Worst of all, I really didn't like any of the characters. In fact I loathed them. The woman was a simpering wreck (it was when she screamed "He needs love" about a man robbing her house that I wanted to kill her) and the man was a gruff jerk - pratical with a gun and reigned in emotions, because every apocalypse should have one. Indeed, every apocalypse story DOES have one.
The man swears to protect the women and children, the brother vows to protect the sister, the man offers to teach the boy hunting while the women get upset at bad language a mere few weeks after society has collapsed.
This book really had nothing to offer me, it's just a case of, 'Middle Class Terror - when the Daily Mail doesn't get delivered'.
But I do love the fact that the author gave himself a 5-Star rating, because, why shouldn't he?
June 16, 2011
Yes I love this type of story and I quite enjoyed this...
However it was not that believable to me - everyone was a bit "too" good or bad...
Would definately read more from this author... But for me it needed to be a bit more gritty!!
If you like this sort of thing - take a look at "Bringing the Forth the End of Days" by S Law.
However it was not that believable to me - everyone was a bit "too" good or bad...
Would definately read more from this author... But for me it needed to be a bit more gritty!!
If you like this sort of thing - take a look at "Bringing the Forth the End of Days" by S Law.
May 2, 2024
At the moment I am reading\reviewing the book it has a rate of 3,36. I can understand that.
First of all, this book has a poorly synopsis. I wanted something fast and furious to release me from my reading slump and I thought, well let's go read something related with zombies or such. It may help since the fast majority are very fast paced books and full of deaths and such. If you read the synopsis that's seems to be like that. People are dying and some of them go crazy murderous bastards. Well indeed that happens but it's part 10% of the book. The remaining is slice of life.
So let's me explain a bit and then pros and cons. People are becoming sick and after three days they die. But some cases they've become crazy and kill other people -imagine a viking berserker.
So, our main character which is Mirian and her two offspring go to Cornwall to get away from the confusion since her own husband as fallen ill (henry). He predictably dies and since the world is going ape they decide to stay there , with Henry's Father (James) and Henry's Brother (Joseph). Not first they go London again to get Mirian's Mother & Joseph Dog.
Afterwards is a slow pace survival story about these people trying to cope with society falling down. James dies and this leaves Joseph taking care of all other and trying to teach skills and such - the slice of life I mentioned. Then we've got the second part of the novel where we are introduced to Charlie & Emily and the camp right outside their house that has around 1000 people. Meanwhile a new enemy of this community arrives (the marauders) and try to take it down.
There may be some spoilers so read it.
Pros
- Joseph is one heck of a character. He has some problems within himself, he even distanced from his brother but this brought him back to take care of Mirian. He is scare that his going to be afflicted and become violent (due to his personality) and thus he tries to teach Mirian and Edward(Mirian son) about guns and defence.
Cons
- Mirian is our main character and should be an growth character that goes to be boring, unable to take action and completeness clueless that life changed and she must come forward as a female lion after the death of Joseph. She does not.
- Mirian's mother. What's her name you ask? Well, nobody knows because throughout the book nobody calls her by the name and the author never provides it. Why? It should have an explanation but bit's me
- The plot and the disease. What it is? Well nobody knows and neither will you or me or even the author. I bet he made this way so everyone should speculate or maybe it was laziness... (edit I just read the review the author made (I kid you not) and I understand his position on why he didn't really got into much of it. It's unfortunate that this is not hinted on the novel much... I like the idea of Gaia (earth ecosystem) trying to battle against the disease she has, called humantiy, with virus and calamities. Makes sense on a macro perspective. The explanation about god and such doesn't suit me that much since I am not a believer.
- Where are the damn zombies? The damn viking berserkers? They are so irrelevant that appear around 10 pages overall. OH my god...
I do believe that if this calamity would happened I Think society falls, without a doubt. Without order we revert to our primal instincts (well most) and thus the community which was formed true kindness and trust falls very easily.
Overall, I Think the book has a good pace (although at times become slow slice of life - not a negative part) and without chapters it makes at times a bit confusing to know who is now narrating. I think character wise was a bit boring and the ending was... hopefull? On contrary of most of the novel which has a depressing mood... To be fair, I didn't like the ending because if the author wanted to say yes life is crap without hope then it should stick with that but then a baby appears (I am not even commenting on the origin of the baby because upset me and I drop a star because - I just couldn't belief
I rate this 40 out of 100.
Quick notes;
-Most of the people that review with 1 or 2 starts complain about stuff that happened in the first 50/70 pages I bet they didn't read it through.
-Why did the author made a review of five stars on his book? I find this cringe as hell.
First of all, this book has a poorly synopsis. I wanted something fast and furious to release me from my reading slump and I thought, well let's go read something related with zombies or such. It may help since the fast majority are very fast paced books and full of deaths and such. If you read the synopsis that's seems to be like that. People are dying and some of them go crazy murderous bastards. Well indeed that happens but it's part 10% of the book. The remaining is slice of life.
So let's me explain a bit and then pros and cons. People are becoming sick and after three days they die. But some cases they've become crazy and kill other people -imagine a viking berserker.
So, our main character which is Mirian and her two offspring go to Cornwall to get away from the confusion since her own husband as fallen ill (henry). He predictably dies and since the world is going ape they decide to stay there , with Henry's Father (James) and Henry's Brother (Joseph). Not first they go London again to get Mirian's Mother & Joseph Dog.
Afterwards is a slow pace survival story about these people trying to cope with society falling down. James dies and this leaves Joseph taking care of all other and trying to teach skills and such - the slice of life I mentioned. Then we've got the second part of the novel where we are introduced to Charlie & Emily and the camp right outside their house that has around 1000 people. Meanwhile a new enemy of this community arrives (the marauders) and try to take it down.
There may be some spoilers so read it.
Pros
- Joseph is one heck of a character. He has some problems within himself, he even distanced from his brother but this brought him back to take care of Mirian. He is scare that his going to be afflicted and become violent (due to his personality) and thus he tries to teach Mirian and Edward(Mirian son) about guns and defence.
Cons
- Mirian is our main character and should be an growth character that goes to be boring, unable to take action and completeness clueless that life changed and she must come forward as a female lion after the death of Joseph. She does not.
- Mirian's mother. What's her name you ask? Well, nobody knows because throughout the book nobody calls her by the name and the author never provides it. Why? It should have an explanation but bit's me
- The plot and the disease. What it is? Well nobody knows and neither will you or me or even the author. I bet he made this way so everyone should speculate or maybe it was laziness... (edit I just read the review the author made (I kid you not) and I understand his position on why he didn't really got into much of it. It's unfortunate that this is not hinted on the novel much... I like the idea of Gaia (earth ecosystem) trying to battle against the disease she has, called humantiy, with virus and calamities. Makes sense on a macro perspective. The explanation about god and such doesn't suit me that much since I am not a believer.
- Where are the damn zombies? The damn viking berserkers? They are so irrelevant that appear around 10 pages overall. OH my god...
I do believe that if this calamity would happened I Think society falls, without a doubt. Without order we revert to our primal instincts (well most) and thus the community which was formed true kindness and trust falls very easily.
Overall, I Think the book has a good pace (although at times become slow slice of life - not a negative part) and without chapters it makes at times a bit confusing to know who is now narrating. I think character wise was a bit boring and the ending was... hopefull? On contrary of most of the novel which has a depressing mood... To be fair, I didn't like the ending because if the author wanted to say yes life is crap without hope then it should stick with that but then a baby appears (I am not even commenting on the origin of the baby because upset me and I drop a star because - I just couldn't belief
I rate this 40 out of 100.
Quick notes;
-Most of the people that review with 1 or 2 starts complain about stuff that happened in the first 50/70 pages I bet they didn't read it through.
-Why did the author made a review of five stars on his book? I find this cringe as hell.
November 3, 2011
Rhys Thomas’ ON THE THIRD DAY is a philosophical meditation on death wrapped in a viral apocalypse in which the victims suffer from existential dementia and often become violent, attacking others. I really enjoyed this one; it goes way beyond the standard formula for an end of the world novel. The people inhabiting the book are interesting and real, the book has a lived-in feel, the ruminations on death are engaging (although kind of depressing), the action is interesting, and the apocalypse is realistically portrayed in stages, with most people trying to cooperate instead of instantly forming raging biker gangs. My only complaint was the narrative loses its way at the end–there is an intentional effort by the author here (to what I can’t say to avoid a spoiler), but it didn’t work for me. That is a small complaint, however, that otherwise did not dampen my enjoyment of this rich, imaginative novel.
February 11, 2015
I'm amazed these characters survive tying their shoes.
December 16, 2012
Quem vir a capa e o resumo, pensa que este livro é mais uma obra sobre zombies, mas não. Trata-se uma epidemia que faz com que as pessoas pura e simplesmente desistam da vida - uma espécie de hiper-depressão - e, ao fim de 3 dias, morram. A epidemia surge e espalha-se misteriosamente pelo Mundo, sem nunca se conseguir perceber qual a causa. Alguns dos infectados reagem de outra maneira e tornam-se extremamente violentos, mas o livro mostra-nos que as pessoas ditas "normais" conseguem ser bastante mais perigosas que as infectadas. Aviso que o livro é muito descritivo e dado a grandes discussões filosóficas - há um jantar memorável, em que se discute a questão da Fé Vs Ciência - mas o escritor consegue cativar o leitor o suficiente para o manter interessado. Só fiquei desapontado pelo final, mas infelizmente não o posso revelar.
January 18, 2024
Finished reading "On The Third Day"… they die by Rhys Thomas on 17 January 2012. An infection gripped world - Makes you 1)full of despair/sad or 2)irrationally violent to your loved ones.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It's story about survival, family and loss. A disease which affects people two ways, you either go down the sad looking, depressed and die quietly or go crazy, angry and violent. A woman trying to save her family, joins up with her strange awkward brother in law, as he's the only family relative left. If you enjoy watching movies like 28 days later, 28 weeks later, Walking Dead, you'll definitely enjoy this!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It's story about survival, family and loss. A disease which affects people two ways, you either go down the sad looking, depressed and die quietly or go crazy, angry and violent. A woman trying to save her family, joins up with her strange awkward brother in law, as he's the only family relative left. If you enjoy watching movies like 28 days later, 28 weeks later, Walking Dead, you'll definitely enjoy this!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2012
Not what I was expecting at all !
I envisaged another zombie novel but it was nothing of the sort. Had a great sense of tension-atmosphere and very bleak despair. It certainly made me think and review my nature towards good and bad and how I would respond in certain circumstances. I particularly enjoyed the part of one of the main characters decent into 'the sadness'. I will go no further here as I do not want to give anything away.
Took me a long while to get to this one. Glad I got there.
October 7, 2015
I could not put this book down! yes in parts it's slightly unbelievable but the whole point in a book for me is that you get dragged in and that's what it did from the very start. the only criticism I could give is that the ending let it down slightly. still a 5 star in my opinion
October 14, 2020
8/10 30..% vfm. A pandemic story in the midst of covid makes you realise things could be worse! A good story albeit an inconclusive ending kind of ruined a better score, good value for money though and an enjoyable 600+ page read.
October 23, 2025
It’s quite the accomplishment to draw a new concept from the dredges of a classic formula. Zombies first came to wider audiences with Night of the Living Dead in the 1950s. From there they remained fairly stagnant. Then suddenly the pop culture zeitgeist collectively seemed to understand that maybe a slow moving, braindead, shambling corpse just wasn’t enough anymore. Along came the likes of 28 Days Later, World War Z and I Am Legend to change things up. What we’ve forgotten is that the true horror behind zombies was never the dead rising, the flesh eating or horde mentality, it was the idea of losing our humanity; to see those around us, or indeed ourselves, become hollowed out - everything about us lost to the shell of baser instinct. Rhys Thomas has some fantastic musings when it comes to the core of this horror with their book On The Third Day.
On the first day you feel an emptiness. On the second the void grows until you forget why you felt anything at all. On the third day you die. On Wednesday Miriam notices that her husband is acting strange. On Thursday she struggles to rouse him from bed and when she does he stands at the window vacantly. On Friday she finds him dead in their bed. Now she, alongside her two children, brother-in-law and father-in-law, must escape London.
Rhys Thomas has some phenomenal abstractions when it comes to the zombie genre. The idea that the virus takes away everything that makes you, you is terrifying. The virus isn’t spread via bite, it doesn’t seem to be airborne, it just kind of latches onto a moment of hopelessness you might have and in that tiny black spot it festers. With some people the third day brings a primal savagery before they inevitably give in to the disease. Most go without a fight…simply lying down and passing. The bleakness of this is mournfully gorgeous and while other books would try to explain the infection more I like that our characters don’t have the means to do so.
There were a couple of things that held the book back. The first being that, while the opening, second and fourth parts are exceptional - part three feels drawn out. It deviates to new characters and feels like the novel repeats the journey we’ve already gone through. At over five hundred pages this section could have been cut down or reworked entirely. While the new take on zombies is stunning the plot still follows the cliche beats of the genre. Being that the nature of the virus is unknown and its influence is so vastly different from other zombie infections it would have been nice to see how these differences affect the plot; instead we’re treated to the standard…outbreak, escape, bad government, isolation, civilization rebuild, marauders.
On The Third Day is a fantastic read…so close to being a revelation for the zombie genre.
It’s a unique concept brought down by a standardized plot.
On the first day you feel an emptiness. On the second the void grows until you forget why you felt anything at all. On the third day you die. On Wednesday Miriam notices that her husband is acting strange. On Thursday she struggles to rouse him from bed and when she does he stands at the window vacantly. On Friday she finds him dead in their bed. Now she, alongside her two children, brother-in-law and father-in-law, must escape London.
Rhys Thomas has some phenomenal abstractions when it comes to the zombie genre. The idea that the virus takes away everything that makes you, you is terrifying. The virus isn’t spread via bite, it doesn’t seem to be airborne, it just kind of latches onto a moment of hopelessness you might have and in that tiny black spot it festers. With some people the third day brings a primal savagery before they inevitably give in to the disease. Most go without a fight…simply lying down and passing. The bleakness of this is mournfully gorgeous and while other books would try to explain the infection more I like that our characters don’t have the means to do so.
There were a couple of things that held the book back. The first being that, while the opening, second and fourth parts are exceptional - part three feels drawn out. It deviates to new characters and feels like the novel repeats the journey we’ve already gone through. At over five hundred pages this section could have been cut down or reworked entirely. While the new take on zombies is stunning the plot still follows the cliche beats of the genre. Being that the nature of the virus is unknown and its influence is so vastly different from other zombie infections it would have been nice to see how these differences affect the plot; instead we’re treated to the standard…outbreak, escape, bad government, isolation, civilization rebuild, marauders.
On The Third Day is a fantastic read…so close to being a revelation for the zombie genre.
It’s a unique concept brought down by a standardized plot.
June 4, 2018
On and on it goes page after page the weak characters must surely be embarrassed at being in such a thin plot. Then there is the ‘Miriam’ chapter which must be the result of mind altering medications.
October 10, 2017
This book is one of a small number of novels that I've abandoned. Sluggish, cozy catastrophe writing and characters that are impossible to identify with, much less like.
April 25, 2020
Excellent
October 3, 2014
This book is pretty long and is split into 3 large sections and a 4th short one. The first two sections were very enjoyable as we follow a family during an outbreak of a mysterious condition. Most people that contract the condition become very depressed, while a small proportion become violent. There are no 'zombies' as such, but this aspect of the book reminded me of David Moody's 'Hater' series or Simon Clark's 'Blood Crazy', where people drastically change their behaviour almost instantaneously, leading to a collapse of society.
However, I thought the third large section was pretty average and uses a style that felt at odds with the first two thirds of the book. A lot of new characters are added and the focus of the book changes significantly. This section is much more action based than the first two, but the atmosphere that is established up to this point is somewhat lost.
Additionally, there are a few odd features to the writing style, but nothing that ruins the book. For example, despite having their own names, why are two of the main characters constantly referred to as Henry's father and Miriam's mother?
I thought that the 4th section was terrible, but I can't say much more without ruining the story. At least it was short (around 20 pages out of around 520).
Not a terrible book by any means, but not brilliant either. Worth a read if you're interested in apocalyptic fiction and/or zombie novels.
However, I thought the third large section was pretty average and uses a style that felt at odds with the first two thirds of the book. A lot of new characters are added and the focus of the book changes significantly. This section is much more action based than the first two, but the atmosphere that is established up to this point is somewhat lost.
Additionally, there are a few odd features to the writing style, but nothing that ruins the book. For example, despite having their own names, why are two of the main characters constantly referred to as Henry's father and Miriam's mother?
I thought that the 4th section was terrible, but I can't say much more without ruining the story. At least it was short (around 20 pages out of around 520).
Not a terrible book by any means, but not brilliant either. Worth a read if you're interested in apocalyptic fiction and/or zombie novels.
July 21, 2013
So I got this book on a sale by MPH, for about a couple of (SGD)bucks (Think it was 5 or something).
First glance:
The book is thick! Well, it was an instant turnoff I must say, since I left it in my shelf for a couple of weeks before opening it up.
Overall comment (NO SPOILER):
The book itself has a very dark feel to it. It talks about the dead. But compared to saying its a book about supernatural, it is more of a book about our human realm right here right now. Anyone can easily finish this book, but it depends on your thinking that will bring about the true meaning behind this book. Think deeper and you will understand it better.
Cons:
This is a book you shouldn't take if you're not patient.
Pros:
Suitable for anyone with a rational mind. I would not suggest it to 13 and below though.
First glance:
The book is thick! Well, it was an instant turnoff I must say, since I left it in my shelf for a couple of weeks before opening it up.
Overall comment (NO SPOILER):
The book itself has a very dark feel to it. It talks about the dead. But compared to saying its a book about supernatural, it is more of a book about our human realm right here right now. Anyone can easily finish this book, but it depends on your thinking that will bring about the true meaning behind this book. Think deeper and you will understand it better.
Cons:
This is a book you shouldn't take if you're not patient.
Pros:
Suitable for anyone with a rational mind. I would not suggest it to 13 and below though.
December 16, 2013
I really like the idea of this book, and the first few chapters were great and full of promise, and then the whole thing kind of collapsed. The characters annoyed me, Miriam’s utter naivety to begin with, but I also didn’t really care for the others, including Charlie. They just didn’t make any sense to me. And the plot, well in the end it was perhaps slightly predictable. It’s not a terrible book, but it’s much less than I expected it to be. If you’re looking for an action-filled, dark apocalyptic book than you should definitely find something else to read.
Rating: 3 / 5
Rating: 3 / 5
June 30, 2010
I have been lucky enough to read one of the earlier editions and I must say it is a 'can't put down' read!
This book emotes a range of various feelings, from horror, disbelief, tears and hope!
The strangest feeling I had was an attraction to the character Joseph! You really need to read the book to understand why.
This book is totally different from the authors previous book (The Suicide Club), although I think I may prefer this one!
This book emotes a range of various feelings, from horror, disbelief, tears and hope!
The strangest feeling I had was an attraction to the character Joseph! You really need to read the book to understand why.
This book is totally different from the authors previous book (The Suicide Club), although I think I may prefer this one!
August 26, 2010
Was an ok read, didnt really seem to go anywhere once the premise of the story was established and the ending was a tad confusing. Kind of left me with a "What the hell happened there" feeling.
January 2, 2012
Was an okay book. Similar to every other zombie apocalypse book but it jumped from character to character too much and there were long eventless periods.
January 23, 2012
Bit bleak but the pages kept turning and definitely worth a read..recommend!
December 29, 2021
I haven't finished yet but so far it is one of the best reads. It's sad, funny, scary and well researched. I definitely recommend reading it. It's definitely a page turner.
November 10, 2013
A good book, good read but very predictable
March 22, 2013
Very long read and loses where it was going at times, good read though if you can power through
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