#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A stunning new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts–Year One is an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magick, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives… It began on New Year’s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything … quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed–and more than half of the world’s population was decimated.
Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magick rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river–or in the ones you know and love the most.
As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.
In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.
The end has come. The beginning comes next.
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Took some time to pick up but then I couldn’t get to the 2nd and 3rd fast enough!
Great characters and storyline
True Nora Roberts style!
When I started this book I wondered if I should continue…To read about a pandemic in the midst of one might not be a good idea. From the beginning the feeling built and was intense with the terrors and the hopelessness of the virus. The people leaving and surviving and their challenges kept me reading. I am ready for book 2.
Nora Roberts has done it again. At first, I thought, oh another end-of-the-world book. I could see a slight similarity to The Stand by Stephen King, but even though it is your classic “good vs. evil” story I love the way the destiny of The One draws you in and keeps you rooting for good to finally overpower bad. I fell in love with the outstanding characters Nora Roberts has created. Lana, the protagonist in this book, is both strong and weak. With all the new Magick, dark and light, the book has its own unique style and story. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Fallon Swift, her very special baby, who is supposed to save the world. I couldn’t put this down once started and will start on the second book as soon as I can.
I am not usually a huge sci-fi fan (leaning more to horror), but I found this book extremely entertaining. I really like the way it was written and how the characters were developed, and it contained enough twists and turns to keep the reader involved.
I usually don’t read Nora Roberts but her switch into fantasy, and the plot of Year One, gained my interest. This is the first book I’ve finished reading in a long time. That said, I did skip some chapters. The story starts with some excellent pacing but somewhere near the midddle, when the two main groups converge it gets bogged down with too much day-to-day discussion. Alot of that could’ve been cut out to keep the story moving. Also, the lead female, Lana, wasn’t very interesting until the very end of the book. In fact, the best character in the entire story, Simon, doesn’t show up until the end which is too bad because he was very interesting. Overall a good read. I’d recommend for faans of dystopian, magic, or fantasy.
I am not a romance reader so I was pleasantly surprised by this Nora Roberts book. Not her typical book. More of a paranormal slant with only a smidge of romance. I really enjoyed it. Entertaining and I couldn’t wait to read the 2nd book in the series.
Wow. Not at all what I expected but this book was brilliant! An amazing start to this trilogy.
Very well written book about what could happen in the future.
This book is great and keeps you wanting to read more. This is the first of a trilogy, all of which are excellent reads.
Normally this isn’t my type of book futuristic, but it was written so well I literally could not put the book down. I read the book in one day and actually stayed up all night long just finished the book before I went to work. Excellent
Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Nora Roberts does it again. The beginning of this trilogy has everything you might want to keep you interested in the next books. There’s romance, there’s friendship, there’s death, but that is overcome with a sense of hope. Of course, there’s magic(k) and a lot is changing in “Year One” ‘ s version of the world. There are, as usual, the good and the bad, but the book leaves us with a feeling that, as always, the good will win the war, even if it might lose some battles. I can’t wait for the second instalment of this series.
Nora Roberts
Nora Robert’s is one of my faves. Always check out what she has out.
I’m a huge Nora fan, but resisted starting this series because I wasn’t ready to read an apocalyptic series. I’m so glad I did! Can’t wait for the next two in the series. This one packs a punch!
I loved all three books in this trilogy about the end of the world as we know it and the new world that emerges. As usual, Nora creates wonderful, memorable, real characters and takes them through years of twists and turns in the new world. I waited until the third book came out as I knew I’d want to read all three back-to-back and I did. Highly recommended!!
Year One: Chronicles of The One, Book 1 Kindle Edition
by Nora Roberts
I received a copy of the trade paperback for my birthday.
I am a huge fan of End of the World/Dystopian novels. I loved them since I read The Girl Who Owned a City and Swan Song. I never expected one o the queens of romance to have crafted such a thrilling and magickal tale.
Told from varying points of view, we are plunged into a world where a disease wipes out most of the human race in just a few months. It also brings magick out in the world, some people discovering new powers or that they are indeed another race. Much like the Stand and Swan Song, this piece of the trilogy involves multiple groups moving across the US to semi-safe compounds.
We travel with Max and Lana, two married witches who may hold the hope for the future as they follow signs left by Arlys, a TV Journalist and her intern Fred.
The lines between good and evil, light and dark, reveal themselves slowly. Some of those reveals are so very shocking.
I’ve never read Nora Roberts or her alter-ego JD Robb before. I do have one of the Robb books in my ever growing To-Be-Read-Mountain. So I was incredibly, and pleasantly surprised at the depth o character and the breadth of imagination that were needed to create this world and this book. Whether it was a passing reference to a character seen later, or a battle between the light and dark Uncanny, Ms. Roberts is precise without being terse.
I, as a Wiccan, loved that she included the K in Magick and Magickal. Well done, madam, well done. She is also aware of the various magickal dates and the properties of various items.
It wouldn’t be a Nora Roberts novel without a little romance. Those scenes aren’t much on the steam, but they are big on the romance.
And it wouldn’t be a TEOTWAWKI novel without tragedy. Not just from the Pandemic – here called the Doom which is a better name than Captain Trips (Just sayin’) – but from the survivors as they choose where they stand on the good/bad line.
I took my time reading this because I didn’t want to rip through a novel this good. But toward the end o the book, I read faster and more often.
I already have the second book’s mass market paper book in my cart. And I foresee reading more of this amazing author!
4 stars out of 5
I’m not sure what I expected when I saw that Nora Roberts had written a sci-fi novel about the End of the World as We Know It. I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the parts that didn’t remind me of The Stand or The Walking Dead. Nora Roberts is a genius at writing relationships, and this book is full of all kinds of relationships, lovers, strangers, interdependent communities, enemies — all the things that make a fictional world feel real. Although the book isn’t completely satisfying by the end, such is the nature of a series. We are supposed to want to read more and I do!
Wow – Ms Roberts has taken the post-apocalyptic world to a new standard. fascinating mix of magic and humanity.