It’s New Year and the world is about to be hit by the Doom, a disease that kills with a 100% mortality rate. However, there are some who are immune and amoungst those immune there are some who are developing powers. Like all power, some of it is being used for good, such as the couple Lana and Max, witches whose magic seems to grow more and more as the world crumbles around her and there are those who use their magic for darkness and destruction. Lana and Max must escape New York as it becomes more and more dangerous for those with magic and try and survive in a brand new world.

Please, I beg you, ignore my terrible synopsis of this book and read the official one, in fact don’t even bother just go out and get this book immediately. It’s the best book I have read all year, which is making this review really hard to write I’m resisting the urge to just write …. I love it, I Love It, I LOVE IT… over and over again. However, I have, barely, marshalled my thoughts so they make slightly more sense so I can say more than just “get it” and do loads of exuberant hand movements when I trying to say what I adore about it.

The World

I loved the world that Roberts has started to create in Year One, it reminds me of a mixture of the TV series The Walking Dead and the book series The Others by Anne Bishop. It has that mixture of survival in a world gone mad and the terrifying thought that the people around you are more dangerous than the environment in which you are now living. Roberts starts us in a world we all recognise and then unleashes a terrible disease, which seems to have some magical origin, and then shows us the results through different survivors eyes. Then there is the magic and the abilities that people seem to have evolved added to the mix, giving the familiar dystopian/zombie type story line a twist.

I loved it, I couldn’t wait to see what our familiar set of survivors would see and do next. How they could possibly survive in this lawless and seemingly hopeless new world.

The Survivors

This story is told through several different POVs, enough to keep it interesting, but not so much that it becomes dizzying and confusing. Through them you get to know several characters fairly well as you struggle through this new landscape with them. As I’ve already compared this to The Walking Dead, you realise this is a fantastic way to fall in love with different characters, but has potentially tear-jerking possibilities. But, I will say no more about that. Roberts had me invested in the whole group of people and now that I have finished the book, I am just dying to know what happens next.

The Story

Apart from the whole “the world is dying and we need to survive” thing, this series (a trilogy I believe) does seem to have a direction other than “survive”. With magic being introduced into the world there are those who wield it to help and heal and those who use it to destroy and kill. There’s a light side and dark side, it’s very Star Wars, to the extent that there may even be a Chosen One who battles for the light, a Jedi if you will. I love this melding of a fantasyesque type of prophecy with a gritty survival story, its a unique twist in the genre that had me hooked to the page

Conclusion

I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: I love it, I Love It, I LOVE IT. It’s mixture of action, adventure, magic, survival, a hint of romance, heartbreak and hope. I highly recommend you pick Year One and see for yourself the fantastic journey that Nora Roberts is taking us on.

If you ever read a book by Nora Roberts – forget everything you think you know about her writing. Year One is the beginning of something new and EXCITING!!!

Year One is the first book in a trilogy that is more complex and layered then anything I ever read by Nora Roberts. Instead of a typical trilogy with each book dedicated to a different couple – Year One is the beginning of an EPIC story that seems to span generations.

Think HIGH fantasy.

The author introduces an amazing cast during a chilling and world changing event. An epic dystopian storyline that fascinates, captivates and truly pulled me in to a point I didn’t want it to stop. Honestly, I hated the closer I got to the end. I did not want it to be done. I needed MORE!!!

As with other high fantasies, it took me a looooong time to connect with the plot as well as figuring out which of the characters were main or supporting cast. It actually took me until 60% to really fall in love with this book, and now I’m incredibly frustrated that I have to wait an entire year for book 2. I would have read hours more.

Year One is as fascinating and as thoroughly captivating as Stephen King’s The Last Stand. An epic fight between good vs evil. In Nora Robert’s version I love the added layer of magical creatures – fairies, elves, sirens, shapeshifter, sorcerers and witches. There are so many characters that I fell in love with. Distinctive voices and unique personalities.

And then came the big SHOCKER!!!!

Wow, I did not see that coming. From there on everything I thought I knew was turned upside down. Nora Roberts took a chance on a new concept and ROCKED it!!! Not everyone is going to like it. But that’s ok. I think it’s more important for an author to be able to try something different, then always follow the same formula. We all sometimes have to color outside the box. It makes for some unique results and Year One is the best example.

I can’t wait to read book 2.

For me Year One was just a sampler of what was to come. I got my feet wet and now I need more. Nora Robert’s epic tale has barely started and there are so many more stories to tell. The anticipation is literally going to drive me nuts. So, if you love the dystopian genre, big and interesting casts, and a story that spans generations – you need to pick this book up and give it a try.

My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel as an advanced readers copy. A plague called The Doom has spread rapidly across the entire Earth wiping out millions. Among the survivors are people that come to be called the uncanny because they have developed supernatural powers. Many use these powers for good but there are some who are completely evil. The plot follows several groups of people that come together to rebuild society. I look forward to the following the rest of this trilogy.

A man who gets sick on holiday brings that sickness home, infecting all those around him with the highly contagious virus. It spreads like wildfire, infecting more and more people around the world. The Doom. For which there is no cure, no vaccine, and from which no one can hide. And as the Doom brings death, something else is bringing magic back to the land. Ordinary people find they have untapped powers and abilities. Some turn toward light, doing their best to aid those in need. Others turn toward dark, reveling in their power and bringing more death and destruction. They collect followers, humans and more dark Uncanny, and set about hunting humans and those who won't follow the dark.

In the middle of this dystopian nightmare small bands of humans and Uncanny band together to survive and build a future.

Roberts fans know that she has a storytelling outline that you can kind of follow/predict in all of her paranormal trilogies. We can usually identify key characters and determine who's story will be the focus of the next book. Year One defies all of that. There are key groups instead of characters, and the story seems to revolve around one thing, then switches on you to focus on something/someone unexpected. Through it all, threads of hope fight the growing powers of evil. It's an incredibly well-written dystopian novel, as well as being paranormal. The romance of the book seems almost like an afterthought, yet it runs through the entire novel, bringing characters together over and over again. This may be one of Roberts' best paranormal novels yet, and throughly enjoyed it.

“Year One”is not a typical book by Nora Roberts. Bringing together the concept of a plague causing what is essentially the fall of civilization and the rise of magic, Roberts gives readers an amazing story. The tears were close several times as this reader followed the lives of characters both beloved and despised. The world building was a little too Pollyanna in places, which is why this gets a score of 4 instead of 5. Overall, WOW. Eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

Year One by Nora Roberts is an outstanding book. A pandemic has been released world wide. It started when a mystical barrier was broken and a darkness was released upon the world. It is called Doom and there are no survivors of Doom. Of the people who remain, who never contracted Doom, some have been changed and develop paranormal powers , some use their powers for good while others use them for evil. Protagonists Lana Bingham and Max Fallon flee New York City to try to find a safe place to live. But the story is more than their journey, it is about good vs. evil and the unspeakable things human beings can do to each other, but also the hope and triumph of goodness and kindness towards fellow human beings. The story reminded me of The Stand by Stephen King. Highly recommended