The Third Wheel

An engaging and entertaining apocalyptic book!
I liked the style of writing and the plot, well written and humorous.
The characters were well written and likeable.
I look forward to reading other books by this writer.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Unbound and Netgalley for this ARC

Third Wheel at first glance is an apocalyptic romcom. The protagonist is a single young man who has become a perpetual third wheel to all his happily coupled up friends. But now aliens have landed and their ideas of coupledom are significantly different, not too mention dangerous. It no longer pays to be part of a couple and survival is at a premium. Sounds cute, right? But the great thing about this book is that it isn’t or more like it manages to put its cuteness aside and get down to some seriously brutal apocalyptic reality. All the time spent describing various friends and their significant others and how they got together (frankly almost overwhelmingly so, at times it’s difficult to remember who’s who), so naturally you’ll end up carrying for them, they are, after all, a likeable bunch. And then the author does away with them, savagely. And, to his credit, very creatively. I enjoy apocalyptic fiction in general and it’s always nice to find a new twist on the genre. This story doesn’t offer any sort of warm and fuzzy resolution as you well know from chapter one narrated from some form of alien enclosure. Maybe there’s a sequel in the works. Though it works very well as a standalone survival story…and as a social commentary on the importance of pairing up too, I suppose. Plus it’s charming and charmingly British to boot, so there’s much to like here. It’s my second read by Unbound Press, winners both, and what an interesting concept, these books’ fates are decided by the public and are sponsored into being. Mind you, both very absolutely good enough to be released via more traditional methods and more well known publishers, but either way…I’m glad they came into the world. This one was tons of fun and a very enjoyable read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Independence Day from the 'little people's' point of view... with some surprising traits.

Aliens have landed. Dexter has been taken. This is just the first page, where Dexter is "overwhelmed by the notion of leaving everything I knew behind on that tiny blue dot that wasn't prepared for its sudden demise." We know immediately that this is no Happy Ever After. He tells us the story of a week ago, but also of his life and friends. Part of a large group of buddies, he's the only one not partnered up. Which seems to be significant.

One by one, he tells us how his friends all found partners, giving each personality and backstory (though I couldn't help but mix them up subsequently), making us see them all as noteworthy characters. The references of self-awareness are funny: "Enough back story, there's an alien invasion in progress" - I liked Dexter's narration from the present/future.

Dexter himself is single and lonely with it, despite loving his smart little cat (The Great Catsby) and having a career as an English teacher. When the world begins to fall apart, he bands together with his group and attempts to get them all to a place of safety, while watching the aliens and how they treat their victims.

I loved how Dexter described his friends as pairs: "Priti-and-Art". Very funny considering what happens to his friends.

Now, you'd expect this to be a horror story, as these are hostile aliens and they decimate the planet (again, this isn't a spoiler, this is told to us on the first page). But the horrors that are described are, almost universally, not dwelt on, mourned over, even though some description is fairly detailed. Dexter does at one point refer to grief, he empties his "body of its salt water", but it's removed from emotion somewhat.

The elements of an alien invasion you'd expect to read about are here - chases, deaths, protecting provisions, characters unexpectedly stepping up and showing unseen traits. But it's just as unusual in other elements.

Entertaining story, slightly unexpected, funny. The few chapters of bonus chapters after the book finishes add some little details of a few characters that I enjoyed for the alternative viewpoint they provided.

With thanks to Netgalley for the sample reading copy.

Received this ARC from NetGalley, so thank you for the opportunity.

The first thing that came to mind when reading this was that movie, Zombieland. Aliens take over the world and start mutilating people. Not much funny about that situation right? Well, Ritchie took a very serious, scary situation and made it fun. Gruesomeness pairs with humor in this story and his prose was quirky and lighthearted with an undercurrent of sarcasm from his main character. His cast of characters was diverse without being self-righteous about it (they were all just people), and they were all likeable without being perfect.

The only downsides to this story was the ending and the characters. For the former, it seemed like Ritchie didn't know how to wrap things up. I'm OK with ambiguous, but it felt a little jarring, like that shouldn't have been all there was. For the latter, it wasn't that the characters were bad, just that there were a lot of them. So much so that I totally forgot who met who where and why they were important to the main one.

Overall though, great genre-combining read.

The Third Wheel was a one-sitting read for me! Two-headed aliens invade Earth, a group of friends tries to survive. There are some gay and bi characters that simply exist; they’re a natural part of this friend group without being “issue” characters. I appreciated that. There are cishet men who aren’t afraid to show emotion, and who don’t get made fun of for it. There’s also no love story, which was refreshing.

I really liked the main character. Dexter isn’t perfect, but I found him thoughtful and real. Plus, he loves books and his cat, which is kind of irresistible. He appreciates his friends so deeply. In the first half of the book, he takes time to flash back and explain how he met and connected with each one of his friends, and those moments were a joy to read.

There are plenty of funny moments in this book, including light satire and poking fun at sci-fi tropes. The pacing is perfect — like I said, I read this in one sitting. I mean, we’re talking about apocalyptic fiction where the end of the world comes via nanobot-wielding aliens! But The Third Wheel offers reflections on friendship and found family, too, which adds a nice layer of depth to all of the action.

Dexter is a English teacher, he is also single but actually enjoys being a bachelor, even though all of his friends are attached. His friend Lara is getting married, he is happy for her but at the same time he is dreading being one of the only single people there but then he bumps into his ex Georgina and has no intention of getting back with her.

However the next day events take a dramatic turn as Aliens land and these one are not friendly at all!
Soon it is a race for survival and Dexter learns that being single may actually save his life.
Can Dexter and his friends make it? What do the aliens want?

A very entertaining and action packed plot. Dexter is the main characters and tells the story in a fun and funny way. The chapter alternate through stories of how he met his friends and what is happening in the present. As the book goes on, it becomes more exciting and we are left hoping that the aliens will soon leave.

<i>The Third Wheel</i> is a refreshingly original, wickedly delicious
apocalyptic novel. Through a unique combination of parody, satire and wit, author Michael J. Ritchie takes a swipe at the myriad tropes of the genre; first world millennial issues; and the basic human need for companionship and social interaction.

When this story begins, we learn that the narrator is a prisoner, recently abducted by aliens. The timeline then suddenly rewinds to one week prior. The speaker is revealed to be twenty-something Dexter, a British single English teacher coming to grips with being the lone “singleton” in his social circle. Through an episodic retelling of his past, Dexter introduces each of his friends and their partners. Once the group is presented and the dynamics are established, the action begins and aliens invade. Suddenly being single turns into a situational asset that almost ensures Dexter’s short-term survival.

Wielding his sharp sarcasm as a deadly weapon, nothing is safe from Ritchie. He manages to skewer the cliches of apocalyptic literature by making the obligatory love interest a death wish; giving the bad guys the upper hand: and saving everyone but those who are traditionally spared (farmers, preppers and doctors). Whilst bringing the entire genre to its knees, Ritchie takes a few moments to nod, wave then grill-on-an-open-flame organized religion, television journalism, British policy and contemporary pop culture. He pokes fun at Americans, whacks at social media, challenges gender roles and addresses sexual preference. Incredibly, even as he is biting the ankles of readers with teeth cut on humor, Ritchie manages to sneak in a story that at its core reveals the fears and weaknesses inherent to being human.

The myriad quips are at times juvenile and sophomoric, then suddenly introspective and philosophical, all well written and direct. One liners worthy of being followed by rim-shots are tucked between images of blood, guts and gore; and hilarious dialogue is scattered liberally onto the pages. The masterful juxtaposition of competing elements is nothing shy of genius. <i>The Third Wheel</i> is a must read for anyone who has grown weary of somber accounts of the apocalypse. There is just no way to read this without laughing out loud. Thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for providing me with a copy of this book for review.