The Third Wheel

by Michael J. Ritchie

English teacher Dexter feels like he’s being taunted by the universe. Everywhere he turns he’s accosted by wedding invitations, housewarming parties and tables for two. Every last one of his friends is settling down with their other halves, while Dexter spends his evenings marking schoolbooks with his ginger cat for company. The thing is, he doesn’t even mind being single; he just wishes his friends were too.

After another wedding ends in a drunken disaster, Dexter is musing on the situation and wondering what he’s going to screw up next, when he gets the shocking reminder that he’s not the centre of the universe. An alien spaceship has landed on the continent and when first contact is made, it’s anything but friendly.

Humanity’s numbers dwindle immediately, and the survivors are left to do exactly that – survive. Dexter gathers his friends and they all set off on a mission across the country, each with the goal of preserving their own lives in this new world. But these aliens are two-headed, tenacious and have technology beyond anything seen on Earth, so saving the day looks more and more unlikely as they track down Dexter’s motley crew. In the end, perhaps it is the one thing Dexter dislikes most that will help him survive, if he can just stop thinking about himself for one minute.

Written to subvert any story that insists on including a romance subplot, as well as any science fiction story where untrained amateurs inexplicably have the right skills to save the day, The Third Wheel shines a light on those who are just trying to make it through to tomorrow in the face of overwhelming odds.

• ISBN13: 9781912618583
• Publish Date: 17 January 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 6 June 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Unbound
• Imprint: Unbound Digital
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

This 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.