THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER… THE POWER OF THE TRILOGY

Three is most definitely the magic number when it comes to sequels and series; the classic beginning, the powerful middle and the knockout ending, famously captured by trilogies such as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It’s also fair to say that many series, with yet another unwelcome entry, overstay their welcome and after a while begin to stink. Sadly, a significant number of these lurk in YA and children’s fiction which is full of authors which have found a moderately successful formula and refuse to budge from it, or their publisher will not let them.
 
We recently ran an accompanying article on duologies and today we list our favourite trilogies. Many of the best of these were always intended to be three books, a few might have been extended due to unexpected success and a few yet may yet develop into quartets.
 
If you’re looking for something to buy a teenager for Christmas there are lots to choose from here, many featured ventures into science fiction and fantasy, generally inhabiting the world of ‘dark fiction’. Enjoy, both the old and the new!
 
They are listed alphabetically and the date of first and last book is noted. Do get in touch if you think there are any glaring omissions.

ILSA BICK: ASHES (2011-13)

Nail-biting fusion of science fiction and horror sees huge casualties after an unexplained and potentially apocalyptic EMP strike. Worse things are to come though, some of the survivor’s morph into beings which are no longer human and are incredibly dangerous. But Alex, who was suffering from a brain tumour is strangely unaffected and was in an isolated location when the EMP went off, fights to survive in this tremendous series which is begging to be made into a great film. The author previously wrote Star Trek fiction, but Ashes is a cut above that with an engaging and sympathetic female lead who puts her own serious health problems aside to survive the day. AGE 12+
 
ALICE BROADWAY: INK (2017-19)

I adored this quirky and highly original dystopian tale of a land where the whole population have the significant moments from their life tattooed on their skin to record the event. The whole culture and society are built around this weird concept and when teenage Leora leaves school she hopes to get a top job working in tattoo design. After death the deceased are skinned, and their tattoos are turned into remembrance books, this acts as a story of their life and is stored in a type of library. However, a few are refused this type of ‘burial’ and this happens to Leora’s father and she investigates uncovers a conspiracy and a group without tattoos, the ‘blanks’. AGE 12+
 
SCOTT CAWTHORN: FIVE NIGHT’S AT FREDDYS (2015-18)

I was going to give this one a swerve, but my daughter really enjoyed it, so I bowed to her greater wisdom and paraphrased her thoughts. Based on the horror video game series, Five Nights at Freddy's, the first book The Silver Eyes, was originally self-published by the creators of the videogame and after over-night success was picked up by Scholastic and is making inroads into becoming a franchise. It is very similar in look, style and content to old school Point Horror novels, and as page turners go by daughter was a very happy customer and she said it had lots of good creepy scares. They are standalone stories and there may well be more to come. AGE 11+.
 
JOHN CONNELLY: SAMUEL JOHNSON VERSUS THE DEVIL (2009-12)
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 This superb adult writer can turn his hand to just about anything and is best known for the Charlie Parker series featuring his own brand of detective, thriller and horror. However, I would recommend this great supernatural kids series which begins with The Gates in which a comedy of errors leads to a gate to hell opening and poor little Samuel (and his pet dog) is just the boy to close it and save the world in an outstanding blend or the supernatural and fantasy. AGE 11+.

JANET EDWARDS: EARTH GIRL (2012-14)

In 2788 only the handicapped and those with blood disorders and diseases live on Earth, whilst everyone else portals between worlds. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among one of a small percentage of people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets, this means that she can’t planet hop anywhere else and has been abandoned by her parents and forced to live amongst the rejects. Called an 'ape' and a 'throwback', Jarra is a terrific central character who finds a way of piggybacking onto a research party that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities that have always intrigued her. With echoes of Blade Runner, this is an outstanding science fiction series which also has inter-connected novellas. AGE 12+
 
ANDREW FUKUDA: THE HUNT (2012-13)

Humans have been hunted to near extinction by vampires in this gripping series top-loaded with clever observations of how a world ruled by vampires might look like and function on a day to day basis. This is a million miles away from Twilight and although it borrows ideas from The Hunger Games, has some tremendous scenes with a teenager who becomes very, very good at hiding the fact he’s human. When the novel opens, shockingly, he does not know anybody else who is human. Which is a tough ask when you attend (vampire) school and cannot afford to show any emotions whatsoever, otherwise you’re dogfood and will be ripped to shreds by the creatures. AGE 12+.  
 
SALLY GREEN: HALF BAD (2014-16)

If you’re after a top-notch thriller which perfectly blends the supernatural and magic, then look no further than Half Bad. In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and central character 16-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan's father is the world's most powerful and dangerous Black witch, and his mother is dead. He has a very tough life. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his seventeenth birthday, or else he will die before inheriting full witch powers. Throw in a dash of romance and the result is an outstanding pare-turner. AGE 12+
 
SARAH GOVETT: THE TERRITORY (2015-18)
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In The Territory school exams truly are a matter of life and death, as those who fail are shipped off to the Wetlands, which is the lawless area of the UK which has been destroyed by Global Warming and rising water. Fifteen-year-old Noa Blake is academically very strong, however, she still has a disadvantage, those who come from rich families can download information and facts straight into their brains, bypassing the need to study. Fearing failure and a life in the Wetlands Noa must fight for everything she has and loves in this outstanding trilogy in which success is unfairly balanced towards those who are rich. AGE 11+

KATE HARRISON: SOUL BEACH (2011-13)

Suspenseful and thoughtful supernatural thriller about a virtual cyber world full of dead souls stuck in an online type of Purgatory which has been billed ‘Facebook for the Dead’. Alice receives an email from her dead sister she assumes it must be a sick joke, but it includes details that only her sister would know. Later, Alice receives an invitation to the virtual world of Soul Beach which is much more than it seems in this neat self-contained trilogy which builds an intricate story around with social media, thrillers, technology and loss. AGE 12+.
 
LILY HERNE: DEADLANDS (2012-14)

This is a very cool horror adventure series set ten years after a zombie plague almost destroyed South Africa written by a prolific author who also writes under other names. The survivors are protected by a shadowy group known as Guardians and their yearly ‘lottery’ picks a ‘Chosen One’, this happens to be the main character Lele who goes on the run in the Deadlands rather than face what the Guardians have in store for her. This really isn’t a lottery you want to win.  In recent years there has been a real glut of YA zombie reads which has thankfully now petered out, but this remains one of my favourites. AGE 12+.
 
JOHN HORNOR JACOBS: THE TWELVE FINGERED BOY(2013-15) 

This is one of my very favourite YA novels of the last few years from a versatile author who effortlessly moves around genres; from YA to adult horror and fantasy. I first came across him after loving his adult horror debut Southern Gods and followed that with an entertaining zombie novel This Dark Earth and his fantasy series The Incorruptibles which moved more into fantasy but retained strong whiff of YA. I reckon this author could turn his hand to just about anything and this dark coming of age tale set in a juvie prison about a boy with special powers is hard to beat and very easy for teenage boys to connect with. AGE 12+.
 
LEO HUNT: 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT (2015-17)
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Outstanding series about a teen who inherits both a substantial sum of money and a house from the father (who was a famous TV magician) he did not know when he was alive. To his surprise he also inherits the ghosts who are trapped in his house and were used as slaves by his father. Sensing he is both new, naive, and not exactly supernatural savvy, the ghosts try to break free and kill him and anybody else they can get their hands on. Very quickly things start to go wrong and the ghosts start to cause havoc around the local town as the boy is a very inexperienced master who also has to contend with school, GCSEs, and friends, never mind the Devil who is after his soul! AGE 12+.
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WILLIAM HUSSEY: WITCHFINDER (2010-11)

In the opening novel, Dawn of the Demontide, Jake Harker does his own thing, has few friends and loves comic horror books. However, things are about to change. The comic horror soon becomes real when Jake meets the Pale Man and his demon Mr Pinch on a dark, lonely road and his previously humdrum life goes out the window as he is sucked into a thrilling supernatural mystery in which he has to fight for survival once the barriers to the darkness on the other side start to disintegrate. A very nice series and introduction to horror for younger children looking for a good scare. AGE 11+.
 
ROBIN JARVIS: DANCING JAX (TRILOGY 2011-13)

Outstanding return to form for one of the top fantasy writers of the 1990s. With echoes of Alisteir Crowley, amateur ghost hunters find an old book, probably cursed, in a haunted house and then weird things start happening in a sleepy seaside town which just happens to be Whitby, older fans of Jarvis will know of the author’s love of that famous old town and its connections to the supernatural. These are chunky books, but for fans of fantasy with a good blend of the supernatural, they are of the highest quality. AGE 12+
 
DEREK LANDY: DEMON ROAD (2015-16)

Sixteen-year-old Amber is forced go on the run when she uncovers a horrible secret: her parents are monsters which are hundreds of years old and to prolong their own lives will eat her on her sixteenth birthday, which is just around the corner. Not exactly the birthday present she was expecting! What happened to a new phone?!? Once she is on the road Amber realizes threats and traps lurk beyond every corner as she is hunted down, as her parents are not the only monsters after her huts. This has the same sort of pace and style as the author’s mega selling Skullduggery Pleasant series but is probably aimed at a slightly older audience. AGE 12+
 
EMMY LAYBOURNE: MONUMENT 14 (2012-14)
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Six teens hide in a huge American supermarket whilst there is an apocalyptic disaster occurring outside which begins with a massive hailstorm with potentially deadly pollution in the air. Trapped, scared and not trusting each other the kids must band together to survive as they go stir crazy within the centre, unaware of what is going on outside. This entertaining mix of horror and dystopia is much better known in the USA and has an accompanying novella. AGE 12+

DAYNA LORENTZ:  NO SAFETY IN NUMBERS (2012-14)

This super cool trilogy is better known in the USA, but well worth checking out if you haven’t come across it in the UK.  The action is tightly built around a group of teenagers trapped and later quarantined in a giant shopping mall after there has been some sort of biological germ attack which affects the air ducts. The exciting story is told via several points of view and is a riveting read of survival and near-apocalyptic fiction when society quickly collapses. AGE 12+
 
GEMMA MALLEY: THE DECLARATION (2007-10)

This is one of my favourite dystopian trilogies and deals with children who are born illegally, known as ‘surpluses’ in a world where people can live for hundreds of years, but as a consequence are not allowed to have children. The main character of The Declaration, Anna Covey, is a 'surplus'. In a society in which aging is no longer feared, and death is no longer an inevitability, children are an abomination. Like all surpluses, Anna is living in Grange Hall which is a cross between a prison camp and an orphanage.  She is quietly accepting of her fate until, one day, a new inmate arrives. But is she brave enough to believe this mysterious boy when he claims he knows both her real parents and name? This is a tense and utterly compelling story about a society behind a wall and how the selfish take from those who are not allowed to have a life. AGE 11+
 
ISAAC MARION: WARM BODIES (2010-17)

Odd novel seen from the point of view of a zombie who can both feel and think and explains his humdrum existence as he wanders aimlessly around an airport. When these zombies chow down on the human brain, they have flashes into the lives of those they are eating, and a reminder of what life was like when they were human. Sure, that idea is lifted from lots of other zombie films, but it’s written with a very engaging style and the narrator has a very quirky voice. It was originally sold as an adult novel, but wisely repackaged as a YA read when the decent film version came out. AGE 13+  
 
JON MAYHEW: MORTLOCK (2012-14)
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Fantastically imagined horror set in the Victorian era following the story of orphaned twins Josie and Alfie as they try to uncover the mysterious secret connected to their past, that has been passed on to them in in a note by Josie's dying guardian. This is a great atmospheric chiller which has a nice level of gore child readers will lap up.  Although it’s billed as a trilogy, these historical horror novels can happily be read as standalone novels as the further books head into demon and djinns with new plots. A collection of short stories, Mr Grimhurst’s Treasure, published in 2018 takes us back to the world of Mortlock. AGE 12+

LISA McMANN: WAKE (2008-10)

Janie is pulled into other people’s dreams. It’s a pretty nasty curse; when someone falls asleep close to Janie, like on a bus or train, the poor girl is pulled into their dream, like it or not.  Because of this Janie ends up struggling to cope with life in school in this series which convincingly blends drama and the supernatural. Soon she realizes she is being stalked within the dreams by another who has a similar ability. McMann is a highly prolific author and has had some successful supernatural themed novels which are popular in the USA and deserve to be more widely read in the UK. AGE 12+
 
KATHLEEN PEACOCK: DEADLY HEMLOCK (2012-15)

Lupine Syndrome, the werewolf virus, begins to infect more and more of the population in this clever series which takes the werewolf story into the world of science and viruses and away from the supernatural. It combines this scientific angle by cleverly blending paranormal romance with a well written thriller. Book two develops the story in an innovative way; introducing the werewolf rehabilitation centre. AGE 12+
 
JEYN ROBERTS: DARK INSIDE (2011-16)

Great teen series in which a huge earthquake releases a poisonous gas which turns vast numbers of the population into uncontrollable killers.  ‘Inner rage’ is released from the cracks and many people succumb and turn to horrible violence as they become violent psychopaths. Soon anarchy and chaos become common bedfellows as society begins to quickly disintegrate in this fine apocalyptic series which will have you running for cover, or the next in the series. AGE 13+
 
CARRIE RYAN: FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH (2009-11)
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A gated community, protected by the Sisterhood, which lives in fear of zombie like creatures known as the ‘The Unconsecrated’ which stalk their boundaries beyond the forest and their wall of protection. A great riff on the zombie novel which has many twists and turns revealing its secrets slowly; cleverly throwing in fundamentalism, feminism and ideas you wouldn’t normally come across in this type of horror novel. Like the best zombie stories, the ‘Z’ word is never actually used at all. So, calling this striking and thoughtful series ‘a zombie novel’ is a real disservice, it’s much more than, which also has several added novellas, including a prequel. AGE 12+

NEAL SHUSTERMAN: SKINJACKER (2006-11)

Everlost is the place where people who suffer violent deaths are sent before they completely severe their connection with our world, it is a type of Purgatory and a place that is very dangerous with its own set of rules. This is a gripping horror fantasy which explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between from a fantastic and versatile author. AGE 12+
 
NEAL SHUSTERMAN: ARC OF A SCYTHE (2016-19)

The setting is a world where due to population overcrowding anyone can be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by ‘Scythes’. These are individuals whom have been appointed by law, judge and jury to effectively kill or cull a certain amount of people every year, meeting their own quota, which is around 300 people. Each Scythe uses their own criteria on how to reach their 300+ criteria. The main drive of the story concerns Citra and Rowan, two teenagers who are selected to be apprentices to a Scythe, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation  are sucked into a dangerous conspiracy and realise the Scythe they are connected to is perhaps not all bad. AGE 12+
 
SCOTT SIGLER: GENERATIONS (2015-17)

Sigler ranks amongst my favourite ever authors and has written many terrific adult novels, but Alive is his first full foray into YA which expertly blends science fiction, dystopia and horror with a group of kids waking up in coffins, not knowing who or where they are; all suffering from amnesia and feeling rather weird in the bodies they now inhabit. It’s an outstanding move into YA from the author of the horrific Infected trilogy and the inter-connected trilogy has many outstanding twists along the way. AGE 13+
 
LISA STASSE: FORSAKEN (TRILOGY 2012-14)
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 Alenna fails a genetic ‘test’ which predicts she has the genetic makeup to become a violent criminal and her life changes overnight. She is sent to an island for the criminally insane and all the other teenagers who have failed the test has to fight for survival and her own sanity where joining a gang seems like the only chance of survival where life-expectancy is very low. A fine mash of dystopia, thriller and horror and one of my favourites of the many dystopian reads which have dominated the bookshops in recent years. It’s not that well known in the UK and deserves to be much more widely read.  AGE 13+

TERI TERRY: DARK MATTERS (2017-18)

Contagion opens the very clever Dark Matter trilogy about the horrific effects of a biological experiment gone wrong which spreads a disease with a mortality rate of about 95%. The epidemic spreads incredibly fast and soon quarantines are being set up everywhere and people cannot travel. Much of the action is set in rural Scotland and delves into dodgy experimentations, teenagers on the run and gives an outstanding portrayal of Britain pushed to the brink in a very short space of time. Forget Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth, Teri Terry is the queen of apocalyptic dystopias with this fine follow-up to the outstanding Slated series, itself a trilogy until a prequel recently arrived. AGE 13+
 
MARK WALDEN: EARTHFALL (2012-17)

This is one of my favourite ‘invasion of Earth’ style stories for kids which packs a lot of adventure, technology and monsters into its three books. Sam wakes to see strange vessels looming above the skies of London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently towards the enormous ships which emit a persistent noise obviously in a type of trance. Only Sam seems immune to the signal and very quickly there are very few people left and the boy is left hiding and alone. Picking up the story six months later Sam is hunkered down in an underground bunker and is wounded by a scouting alien drone, but this chance encounter makes Sam realise he is not alone, and that the resistance exists, and he is now part of it. AGE 11+
 
SCOTT WESTERFELD: MIDNIGHTERS (2004-06)

Brilliantly scary series which begins with The Secret Hour about a town that freezes in time for one-hour every day at midnight; but having a secret hour, when there is a supernatural threat to the local area. However, the town is defended by a group called ‘The Midnighters’ and when fifteen-year-old Jessica Day arrives she realises she is one them  and develops special abilities which help her fight ancient creatures that try to enter our world in the secret hour. Before long the creatures are determined to destroy Jess and make a special beeline for this spunky leading character. This was a clever series which would have made a very nice television show. AGE 13+
 
SAM WILSON: EXTINCTION TRIALS (2017-19)
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The Extinction Trials is set in a world very much like ours; dealing with its own problems of hunger, overcrowding and lack of healthcare. As it’s also a dystopian setting life is cheap, wealth is shared unfairly and there are regular life-threatening contests held for participants to win much needed supplies and medicine. This world is split into two continents; on one live humans (Earthasia), squeezed together competing for space and the scant resources which do exist, on the other landmass live huge dinosaurs (Piloria), with potential living areas and food supplies that we might be able to utilise should there be no monsters. The winners of the various competitions which take place in the first half of the novel are those chosen to explore and extract valuable resources from Piloria, including dinosaur eggs. AGE 11+