Year One
Chronicles of The One, Book 1
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4.4 • 3.2K Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (December 2017)
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 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The Doom is a virus that’s killing people by the billions. It also propels a dystopian horror story that’s far from ordinary—Year One is populated by witches and faeries called the Uncanny, who are seemingly immune to the disease. We were on the edges of our seats tracking some of their rank—a chef, a news intern, an EMT—as they flee New York, fighting dark forces and each other on their way to creating a new society. Veteran yarn-spinner Nora Roberts calls back to such cultural touchstones as The Stand and The Matrix with this gripping, inventive work of magic and hope.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The entertaining latest from Roberts (Come Sundown), the first of a trilogy, concerns a magical blight that wipes out most of mankind and leaves some survivors with otherworldly powers. After what becomes known as the Doom is unwittingly unleashed by a hunter's bullet, Uncannys people with magical inclinations, such as the witch Max Fallon and his lover, Lana Bingham experience a surge in their abilities. Others discover newfound capabilities, like Little Fred, who realizes that she's a fairy. Then there are Uncannys like Max's bitter younger brother, Eric, who's long lived in Max's shadow and whose resentment darkens his inclinations. The world quickly divides into factions of good and evil as those immune to the Doom try to find one another and start over in communities. After dodging marauding gangs and evil Uncannys who want to kill her, Lana learns that she holds the key to saving this new world. Roberts knows how to write a page-turner, though her prose often relies on repetitive exposition and her attempts at depicting diversity can be cringeworthy ("I'm a good driver. No Asian driver cracks, black boy"). Characters are pretty much stock good or evil, but readers who are after a well-told apocalyptic story with magical touches will be satisfied. 1,000,000-copy announced first printing.
Customer Reviews
Unique characters and story
Loved the plot and the main characters. Sometimes the lesser characters blended together and were not developed but overall an enjoyable book.
Fantastic!
Absolutely loved this book. Can’t wait to see what you do with the rest of the series!
Wow
Very different from her usual. Dark. But could not put it down. Excellent. Looking forward to the next!