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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I didn't love this book, but I also didn't hate it. This was my 2nd foray into Nora Roberts, with the first one being one of the books from her wedding quartet series a few years back.
Year One was not something I would have expected from Roberts, despite my limited experience with her work. It was interesting, with elements of mystery and a LOT of the fantastical. I don't think I realized that there would be so many supernatural elements in the book -- all I really knew going in was that a plague hits, and the survivors are left to deal with the new world left in its aftermath.
I really liked how the book started, with the genesis of the plague itself, soon leading into the introduction of what would end up being some of the main characters of the book. The beginning of the illness spreading was both fascinating and terrifying. As someone who is a little OCD/germophobic as it is, I was horrified at the spread of the mysterious illness that wiped out so much of the world population in the book.
It was also interesting to watch how quickly things fell apart, and how the "main" characters dealt with it. I have to say, in terms of the main sets of characters, I found Arliss and co. to be much more interesting overall than Max and Lana. Lana was fine, but I never really found myself caring much about Max, even though it times it felt like I should -- probably because Lana cares about Max so much. Regardless, he left me cold. I did, however, love when they ran into Eddie, and he was one of my favorite characters.
I felt the story dragged a bit in the middle. I found myself wondering where, exactly, it was going to to go. When it finally did go somewhere new, I both did and didn't expect what happened next. Without saying too much about the final portion of the book, I will say I liked the ending a lot. This is the first book in a series, so obviously it had to end on a cliffhanger of sorts. But I liked where things were left at the end of the book. It let the reader know fairly clearly where at least select characters stand, and left me wanting to know more about what was going to happen next. I think I'll be likely to pick up the next book in the series once it comes out.
Year One was not something I would have expected from Roberts, despite my limited experience with her work. It was interesting, with elements of mystery and a LOT of the fantastical. I don't think I realized that there would be so many supernatural elements in the book -- all I really knew going in was that a plague hits, and the survivors are left to deal with the new world left in its aftermath.
I really liked how the book started, with the genesis of the plague itself, soon leading into the introduction of what would end up being some of the main characters of the book. The beginning of the illness spreading was both fascinating and terrifying. As someone who is a little OCD/germophobic as it is, I was horrified at the spread of the mysterious illness that wiped out so much of the world population in the book.
It was also interesting to watch how quickly things fell apart, and how the "main" characters dealt with it. I have to say, in terms of the main sets of characters, I found Arliss and co. to be much more interesting overall than Max and Lana. Lana was fine, but I never really found myself caring much about Max, even though it times it felt like I should -- probably because Lana cares about Max so much. Regardless, he left me cold. I did, however, love when they ran into Eddie, and he was one of my favorite characters.
I felt the story dragged a bit in the middle. I found myself wondering where, exactly, it was going to to go. When it finally did go somewhere new, I both did and didn't expect what happened next. Without saying too much about the final portion of the book, I will say I liked the ending a lot. This is the first book in a series, so obviously it had to end on a cliffhanger of sorts. But I liked where things were left at the end of the book. It let the reader know fairly clearly where at least select characters stand, and left me wanting to know more about what was going to happen next. I think I'll be likely to pick up the next book in the series once it comes out.
It was a solid read. While the story is definitely slow paced and focuses on the day to day, I loved the characters and was intrigued to find out what happens next. Definitely a great read and I'm curious to find out what happens in book 2.
Loved it. Nora's adventure in new genre was successful! Characters are maybe too much black and white, but it serves the light vs. dark theme of the book. The story made me care about a lot of them, and I've had many, many feels. Can't wait to read the next one!
Through the years I've discovered that I can be a fan of a person and not of that person's art.
That has got to be how it is with Nora Roberts. I've never read a book by her that I've loved or even really liked. But I am just such a fan of her on a personal level. Her work ethic, her no bullshit attitude, even down to how she helps others without shouting it from the rooftops. I'm just such a fan.
Sadly though, I'm just not the same fan when it comes to her writing.
I love post apocalyptic fiction, even when it's liberally splashed with fantasy, but the story wasn't fleshed out well at all. This book could have doubled in size then it might have had time to tell the story it was trying to get out. As it was, the pacing was all out of whack and I would have killed at least one paragraph of description per chapter. It felt rushed. Like it wanted to hurry through and get to the good part... but you don't because this is the first in a series.
That has got to be how it is with Nora Roberts. I've never read a book by her that I've loved or even really liked. But I am just such a fan of her on a personal level. Her work ethic, her no bullshit attitude, even down to how she helps others without shouting it from the rooftops. I'm just such a fan.
Sadly though, I'm just not the same fan when it comes to her writing.
I love post apocalyptic fiction, even when it's liberally splashed with fantasy, but the story wasn't fleshed out well at all. This book could have doubled in size then it might have had time to tell the story it was trying to get out. As it was, the pacing was all out of whack and I would have killed at least one paragraph of description per chapter. It felt rushed. Like it wanted to hurry through and get to the good part... but you don't because this is the first in a series.
My Recommendation: WOW. I thoroughly enjoyed this even though it was darker and more violent than I thought it would be. I avoided reading it for a couple of weeks because I thought it would take a lot longer to read at nearly 420 pages, but it flew by! Now that it seems The Doom has settled I'm interested in seeing where the story will go with the anti-magic cult that's risen and the good and bad magical beings. I'm looking forward to it, but will probably space the next two books out over the next couple of months. And, one last thing, I'll probably look at Roberts' other non-romance novels as this was engaging and clearly, she knows how to write a story!
My Response: WHOA. So, I'm really glad I didn't read this book two years ago this time or I would've been freakin' the f*** out as coronavirus took over the planet! Thankfully, I didn't discover the fibercast Needles at the Ready (Instagram link) until late 2021 where one of the hosts, Ray, recommended this series.
It was bad enough when I read The Names We Take in May 2020 (or even Severance back in late 2019) where a virus wiped out huge swaths of the world's population, but Roberts takes it to an entirely different level! The opening chapter is gut-wrenchingly dark and I actually stopped reading it in bed the first night I started because it was seriously creeping me out.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
My Response: WHOA. So, I'm really glad I didn't read this book two years ago this time or I would've been freakin' the f*** out as coronavirus took over the planet! Thankfully, I didn't discover the fibercast Needles at the Ready (Instagram link) until late 2021 where one of the hosts, Ray, recommended this series.
It was bad enough when I read The Names We Take in May 2020 (or even Severance back in late 2019) where a virus wiped out huge swaths of the world's population, but Roberts takes it to an entirely different level! The opening chapter is gut-wrenchingly dark and I actually stopped reading it in bed the first night I started because it was seriously creeping me out.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
DNF. Too much like the pandemic and I couldn’t get into the storyline.
I didn't like this book and thought quite a few times about not finishing it. Stephen King's The Stand had a similar premise and was WAY better. This had the addition of magic in a weird half-formed way, but it dragged and I found it annoying. I wouldn't recommend and won't be reading the rest of the series.
mysterious
This book was like The Walking Dead meets Covid-19 with an added dash of light and dark magick. This isn’t a genre I typically pick up, but I’ve read a couple of Nora Roberts’s fantasy-esque trilogies and really enjoyed them, so when I found the first two books of this series at McKays, I decided to try out another one.
I liked the varied stories within the book. All experiencing the same pandemic and its effects, but different storylines. I was anxiously awaiting for the characters stories to come together. When I got to the end, I didn’t feel like there was a big event that happened, just a lot of little events. Different from what I usually read, but I’m intrigued and ready to start the next book!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Surprisingly, I could not put this book down. It lacked a lot of qualities that I adore in my stories and yet I felt compelled to keep reading anyway. The third person perspective very rarely let us get more than a glimpse or two into the minds of our main characters which is usually not my preference, but I knew enough about each character to still feel attached to them and invested in their storyline.
That being said, this book could have emotionally wrecked me if we had spent more time with Lana, Max, Arlys, etc in detail. If the book had been twice as long and went more into depth into the backstory and history of the characters, their trials and woes would have devastated me. That is one of my criticisms that still stands. I always crave more detail and more information. For example, within the first few chapters the reader is plopped into modern day New York where apparently magic is faintly real. This is never really explained much. The storyline moves just fine without the explanation, but I'm left feeling unfulfilled and questioning how witches/magic existed prior to the apocalypse that makes magic grow strong and wild.
That being said, I did get the sense though that Year One is really just acting as a prequel to the bigger story that will be told in the coming books. And I doubt we would want a huge book that serves only as an explanation to the main storyline that is yet to come. So part of me understands why some things were rushed/not detailed fully, and I appreciate what the writer did. However, the other part of me demands like an entire series dedicated solely to Lana, Max and company, followed by another series that finally tackles the exploits of The One. Obviously I ask so little :D
That being said, this book could have emotionally wrecked me if we had spent more time with Lana, Max, Arlys, etc in detail. If the book had been twice as long and went more into depth into the backstory and history of the characters, their trials and woes would have devastated me. That is one of my criticisms that still stands. I always crave more detail and more information. For example, within the first few chapters the reader is plopped into modern day New York where apparently magic is faintly real. This is never really explained much. The storyline moves just fine without the explanation, but I'm left feeling unfulfilled and questioning how witches/magic existed prior to the apocalypse that makes magic grow strong and wild.
That being said, I did get the sense though that Year One is really just acting as a prequel to the bigger story that will be told in the coming books. And I doubt we would want a huge book that serves only as an explanation to the main storyline that is yet to come. So part of me understands why some things were rushed/not detailed fully, and I appreciate what the writer did. However, the other part of me demands like an entire series dedicated solely to Lana, Max and company, followed by another series that finally tackles the exploits of The One. Obviously I ask so little :D