Year One
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4.5 • 49 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A deadly pandemic known as The Doom kicks off in the Scottish countryside. Who doesn't want to read this? - Emerald Street
Nora Roberts weaves a powerful story of a deadly plague in this gripping, movie-like narrative - Good Housekeeping
As this world ends, a new one begins.
From number one New York Times bestseller Nora Roberts - an epic, apocalyptic tale of good and evil, love and loss.
With one drop of blood, the old world is gone for ever. And in its place, something extraordinary begins...
They call it The Doom - a deadly pandemic that starts on a cold New Year's Eve in the Scottish countryside. There's something mysterious about the virus and the way it spreads. As billions fall sick and die, some survivors find themselves invested with strange, unexpected abilities.
Lana, a New York chef, has the power to move things and people with her will. Fred can summon light in the darkness. Jonah, a paramedic, sees snatches of the future in those he touches. Katie gives birth to twins, and suspects that she has brought fresh magic into the world, along with new life.
But The Doom affects people differently. Along with the light, a dark and terrifying magic will also rise. As the remaining authorities round up the immune and the 'Uncannies' for testing, Lana, Katie and others flee New York in search of a safe haven. The old world is over, and Year One has begun.
'Nora Roberts weaves a powerful story of a deadly plague in this gripping, movie-like narrative' - Good Housekeeping
'A deadly pandemic known as The Doom kicks off in the Scottish countryside. Who doesn't want to read this?' - Emerald Street
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.
