Three A.M. by Steven John

The first half of Three A.M. (2012) is dystopian noir, and the second half wants to be a thriller. This is Steven John’s first novel, and even though it has glitches, it’s successful overall. John creates an interesting premise and an eerie, atmospheric setting in the fog-filled city that is the main location for this story.

For fifteen years, Tom Vale hasn’t seen sunlight. He hasn’t seen stars, or green grass, or a tree. On a good day, when the fog lifts slightly, he can see to the end of the street where he’s walking. Tom was a soldier when the fog came, and he remembers it, and what came before; the sickness that killed thousands of people. Tom followed his orders: kill the sick, transport the survivors back to the city, then blow the bridges. Since then he has eked out an existence as a “detective;” mostly as a strongman or an enforcer. One eve... Read More