(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

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.

I don't usually like to leave one-star reviews - a book has to be absolutely dreadful for that to happen: clichés, tropes, poor grammar and punctuation...all those things.

Well, at least Nora Roberts can spell...

Aside from that, this book was just awful. Took me three attempts to get past about 20% - it was just that hard to read.

Take a dash of Stephen King's "The Stand", a bunch of tropes from YA angsty-dystopian novels, and some tips and tricks from the best Urban Fantasy authors, mix it all together but forget to actually do the hard work like plots and character developments...

Honestly, some authors can broach multiple genres with ease - Nora Roberts certainly did not do that here.


Paul
ARH

'Year One' started out strong and on a well-defined path, and then lost focus. The pacing became really sluggish and the action scenes scattered throughout the middle of the book - and even to the end - weren't enough to jolt it back to life.

The characters were flat and hard to connect to for their lack of complexity and depth. Character motivations were black and white, with characters only ever on one side or the other. The lack of conflict between characters on the "good" side made so much of this book a struggle to get through: it didn't feel genuine or realistic. I also didn't feel anything when certain characters died - which is highly unusual for me when it comes to deaths in books.

I loved a lot of the concepts in 'Year One' - the Uncanny, for one, and the reliance on magic after the Doom struck - but this almost became a way of dressing up the characters, rather than an exploration of what it'd actually mean to develop such powers and have the world change so much.

Overall, a disappointing read.

Wow! What a magic sort of book! Literally. This novel was completely unexpected and a delight. I had no idea what I was in for and this is generally not the sort of genre/ book I would usually pick up. It had all the trappings of this ground zero, apocalyptic world, mixed with a mythical, magic sort of thing, romance and relationships and even computer hacking, news media and murder. Very broad spectrum, I daresay you would find it hard not to enjoy this book. It took me a little while to get everyone's story straight as it chopped and changed very quickly (and my copy is an early copy where the chapters ran into each other) but once I did, I got very into it and just wanted to know what happens next!

Year One is a difficult book to review due to it's massive plot and too much I can give away, so i'm going to leave it at the fact that it is an epic novel and you'd hate to miss it!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nora Roberts hands down is a fiction writing juggernaut and anything this author puts out is always going to be welcomed with great glee by her army of fans. The news that Roberts was turning her talents to the post-apocalyptic (which well when done well, is my absolute favourite of all genres) was a real boost for the genre and well received by the reading (and reviewers!) community.

As one American family enjoys their break at their Scottish holiday home, a terrible sickness is released when blood is spilt on ancient magical land. The sickness travels with the family back across the oceans and within an alarmingly short period of time, more than half of the world’s population is dead. The virus seems to be unstoppable.

Of those that do survive, latent powers of certain humans rise to the surface. The ‘Uncannys’ are a new breed of superhumans, blessed – or perhaps cursed – with the magical abilities of characters of folklore. Elves, fairies and witches are now fighting for survival in this new world where tyranny rules and misinformation is the norm. A journalist, a chef, a writer, a paramedic and others come together to try and find somewhere save to live and ride out the horror that has over taken the world. Strangers become family and form a town of broken refugees who must put aside their differences and prejudices to survive in a new order where governments are gone, the authorities no longer exist and prejudice is rife.

What you will quickly discover as you dive in is that this dystopian novel is unexpectedly populated by fantasy characters like elves and fairies, sensitives and telekinetics etc. The novel would have worked well as a straight post virus work, or as a fantasy novel. YEAR ONE is a uncomfortable blend of both that does not quite hit the mark. Going into this read I wasn’t anticipating the fantasy elements, and it was quite disappointing to encounter them. Can’t help but feeling a little cheated by the inclusions of characters that have such handy superpowers at their disposal to deal with any challenges that come their way.

Roberts always creates characters that you will want to invest your time in, and this is the min strength we see again in YEAR ONE. They won’t all survive, and the readers will have an interest in seeing through which ones will make it with or without newly acquired abilities. It is not a dark read as the fairy elements are a bit ridiculous and lighten the mood. As a beach read it serves very well and the impetus in picking up the next novel is to see where everyone ends up – what new alliances will be formed, who will go on to lead, who will be able to adapt and survive.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm a big fan of Nora Roberts. She has an understanding of women and the way their minds work. Recently her novels have become more pragmatic, the characters more practical and feminist. It's been enjoyable to read and appreciate the gradual change in her style into something almost cinematic. Her stories have always been compelling and thoroughly entertaining. I am sorry to say, therefore, that Year One fell short. I was initially very interested in the concept - a deadly virus wipes out 2 billion of the earth's population and magic, dark and light, emerges. But it seemed to be jumping all over the place and I couldn't get enough of a feel for the main characters. I felt there were too many components to the story and in places the writing characters seemed stereotypical, the dialogue forced. at no point did I feel any emotional connection to any of the characters, or their relationships. I am still not sure where the story is going, or even if I want to find out. Disappointed.

This fantasy story and the developing characters is a gripping and enjoyable read.

THE DOOM – The flulike pandemic is so concievable. Those surviving the virus are in a struggle to then persevere under the new conditions. The virus seems to enhance the good or bad instincts and abilities.

The new world evolves with some survivors endowed with strange and magical powers. Lana Bingham has the ability to ensure the future world of goodness.

3.5 stars. I requested this book because the blurb sounded exactly like something up my alley, I then freaked out a bit when I heard Nora Roberts predominantly wrote romance, but this book did not disappoint. There was a few hints of the romance writer in this book, but overall this was a great dystopian novel that really makes you reflect on how you would react if the majority of the world was wiped out by a horrible disease.
I was kept entertained and cared a lot about the characters and what they were going through and I feel Roberts really nailed the many ways people would react to something like this happening.
The book lost stars for the fact that it felt a bit too long, at times I was ready for the scene to move on, but I was reading an unpublished version this may have been rectified.
I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

It all seemed to start when a single drop of blood struck the ground after a 50-year-old man scraped his hand while out hunting. A traditional family gathering on a farm associated with many happy memories left most of them dead from what appears to be a virus. The virus aka the Doom is quickly becomes a pandemic as its transmitted from person to person and results in billions of deaths across the world. The few survivors left have all but given up hope someone will develop a vaccine in time to save lives.
Out of all the resulting chaos, emerge stories of survivors with special powers aka The Uncanny eg growing wings. Many of the survivors blame The Uncanny for all the death and destruction and take revenge in extremely barbaric ways.
Some of the survivors who made an impression on me were Arlys the newsreader who continues providing a service for as long as possible, Rachel the doctor and Jonah the paramedic. They band together with others to survive and build a community in the new world.
I would class this as having an apocalypse theme without the zombies. I was uncertain about pigeon holing it as witchcraft, paranormal, supernatural or something else.
Normally I am a fan of books by Nora Roberts and although it was an easy read it just have the appeal of other books by the same author. I thought it started really well with plenty of zing then seemed to wind down as the survivors tried to create communities. A lot of time was spent discussing how they should run their new community. As this is the first in a trilogy, maybe things will start to heat up.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy of the book via Netgalley and the opportunity to provide a review.

Not what I expected, and some fans of Nora might be disappointed. However, it will strongly appeal to the dystopian/fantasy fans.

Occasionally I start reading a book that I just can’t finish. I try, but the times I pick it up become further and further apart. That was the case with this book.
I did keep going back and reading a little bit more, bit I think that it’s probably a couple of weeks since I did now, so I think that means I’m done.
There wasn’t anything wrong with the characters, or the story, and if it was a movie I could leave on in the background I would, just so I could know what happens in the end.

Year One appealed to me because I’m a sucker for dystopian fiction and I was fascinated by the idea that Nora Roberts had ventured into the genre. I associate her name with light – but enjoyable – romance novels and crime fiction. Though really, it’s probably not such a big leap to go from crime fiction to end-of-the-world stories. Same thing really, just scaled up.

I was a little baffled by the first few dozen pages. Some guy catches a fatal illness from a bird in a remote area of Scotland while celebrating New Year’s Eve with family. He then travels back home and infects a bunch of other people along the way. The disease quickly goes global and billions die. The pandemic is nicknamed The Doom because catching it means certain death.

At this point it pretty much felt like a re-run of Outbreak.

Then some survivors developed wings. Others became telepathic, or were suddenly able to cast spells. Not all of them were particularly friendly.

Year One is the first in a new series about the beginning of a new world. It’s a light style – typical of Nora Roberts – but the content is fairly dark. There are LOTS of characters and they’re fairly two-dimensional, but they’re varied and likeable.

This novel will appeal to lovers of the Twilight series – if you’re happy to suspend disbelief and return to your overemotional youth, this is the perfect book for you.

Personally, I loved the Twilight series. Even though I read it while rolling my eyes a little, it was fabulous escapism and very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the next book in Nora Roberts’ new series.

Anyone who picks this up expecting One of Nora Roberts paranormal romances is going to be very surprised, maybe disappointed. I am reading reviews where people are saying they feel cheated – come on – there is enough evidence around, even interviews given by the author, to give you a hint that this is totally different. YEAR ONE is dark, very dark – and good people die – but the story kept me glued to the pages for the most part. The parts I didn’t stay glued? When the icky bits happened. Icky bits? Come on – it’s the end of the world – organised law keeping has gone – it’s every man, woman and child for themselves. When Ross MacLeod killed the pheasant it landed on sacred ground – not sacred nice, but sacred evil and this action is the signal for the dark forces to escape and start to make the world theirs. How quickly ‘The Doom,’ as it becomes known, spreads is very, very feasible. A sick man and his sick wife spread the infection to other people as they travel from London to New York – very quickly millions of people get infected as each of the new victims carry their germs around the world as they fly hither and thither.

Jonah the paramedic, Arlys the reporter, Lana the chef and Max the novelist are the main characters in this first book, each of them immune, not all of them with powers. They gradually form up with other people as they all decide to get out of New York until, inevitably, they all join together just a bit past halfway through. I’m not sure why I said inevitably, because nothing is a certainty and there are a few twists and turns until the reader is brought to the end of book one. An ending which leaves the reader knowing that although things look for good now – it is going to get a whole lot worse – and the characters know it.

YEAR ONE is the scene setter, the world is falling apart and the characters are trying to work out their place in this new world. And the descriptions of the world’s descent into chaos is amazing, and those who live violently quickly come out into the open with no fear of repercussions, and fall under the influence of the dark without even being aware. So many horrible things happen, actions done by people are horrific –without even the dark magic influencing them – they are just psychopaths. There is a strong thread of magic, but it is part of the story stopping just short of enough to call it a fantasy. The magical elements are a result of the fall as people who had no idea they had this element now have it. The characters discuss among themselves how, and why, it is happening. But like the reader they have no answers – it just is.

There are still unanswered questions at the end of the book, but seeing as it is the first in a trilogy this did not come as a surprise. There is no cliff-hanger at the end, which I liked, but the world is splitting into good and evil – which I think would happen despite a magical element – and it is obvious that strong good magic is going to be needed to defeat the bad.

Whatever path Ms Roberts is going to take us down with this story in the next two books I feel that readers should be complacent – I for one am really looking forwards to travelling them with her.

I’ve been reading Nora Roberts for probably over 20 years. I’ve read a countless amount of her romances and although I haven’t kept up with the In Death series that she writes under the name of J.D. Robb, I’ve read a handful here and there. This is something very different yet again and I was intrigued from the time I first heard about it.

I’ve read a few books where an apocalyptic event wipes out a huge portion of the world’s population via some sort of hideous disease and this book starts the same way. It begins in Scotland, with a family who are flying back home to America and from there it sweeps the globe as people come in contact with infected people and take it with them overseas on holidays, for business, etc. It also appears that if you’re immune, you’re immune. Exposure results in a relatively quick downward spiral and so the people who are left standing at the end of a few weeks are generally believed to be unable to contract the disease, or if they do, it doesn’t affect them in the same way it does the majority. They begin to band together, creating camps, communities, learning to protect themselves against the threats that still remain.

For the first half of this book, it honestly didn’t feel like Roberts was bringing anything new to the post-apocalyptic table. It felt like reading an episode of The Walking Dead but instead of zombies, there are crusaders who want to take resources for themselves and distrust those in the surviving population who are ‘gifted’ in ways that are difficult to explain. The gift seems to manifest in either a good or evil way – it’s almost like witchcraft although there are othes that display traits of elves or fairies, even Lycans. That is touched upon briefly when gifteds are encountered in the storyline but it really only starts to seemingly play a prominent role in the latter half of the book. The first half is mostly dedicated to the disease wiping out half the world and the immune finding each other and banding together. A catastrophic invasion scatters them toward the end of the book and after that we follow only one main character, whereas previously we had followed several.

I was into the post-apocalyptic story because I love a good one of those. I am a big fan of the genre and I love the ways in which society can fall and be rebuilt. I enjoyed the journeys of the characters to find each other and the way they began a new civilisation and attempted to govern, working together as a group. Those with skills pitched in and those who didn’t found other ways to contribute. And there are always dissenters, wherever you go, whatever the circumstances so those that appreciated the anarchy of the world were included too. But…..

I’m not as convinced about the supernatural part of the story. It felt a bit clunky for me and it wasn’t explored any where near enough, especially with Lana and Max before the disease even begins. There’s no real explanation and some of the abilities that manifested just seemed really random. People fall into two camps – either good or evil. Those without gifts fall into either two camps – those ok with what they see and those that are really really not. The battle scene felt foreshadowed really obviously although I was surprised by one particular event. After that I’m just not sure I could buy a character being able to make it so far on their own, especially in their condition and the rest of the book felt a bit contrived. I was left wondering what had happened to the others from the town that had been built. I guess they will crop up at some stage in book 2 but it was a bit weird to leave them behind considering they’d been along for most of the ride in this book.

I know it’s just the first book and it will be built on and more explained and some of the groundwork was quite good. I’m really keen to know what’s happening in other parts of the world as well, although with communications mostly down this wasn’t an option in this book. Hopefully there’ll be some more info – even though I didn’t super love this, I think I’m interested enough to read the next one and see where it’s all going.

6/10

I am a fan of Nora Roberts and will happily read anything that she writes. In Year One she tackles a dystopian future, where an avian flu pandemic has swept the world. Her description of the spread of this deadly disease seems all too real and she sweeps the reader along as she introduced her main characters and their fight to leave New York before the authorities grab them for their strange abilities. I have read many books with dystopian futures and I really enjoyed the first section of Year One. However I found the mixture of witchcraft and realism disconcerting, as if Roberts had started off with the science fiction premise of a world gone wrong and then takes on the fantasy aspect of magic, fairies and elves, which stuck a slightly discordant note.
There are a lot of characters to remember In Year One, and I was very invested in their survival. I was surprised in the later part of the book when Roberts concentrated on just one part of the story and left me wondering what had happened to the other main protagonists, but undoubtedly they will reappear in future stories. Readers looking for a big dose of romance in Year One will be disappointed, although there are strong relationships and people that you care about.
I will definitely pick up the next in the series and with so many main characters already introduced can see quite a few books to come!

Year One is the first book in the new series by Nora Roberts called Chronicles of The One. Ross Macleod was at the annual get together at the family farm in Scotland when while out hunting with his brothers shot a pheasant. Next day Ross Macleod fell ill and spread a deadly virus that killed billions. The readers of Year One will continue to follow to see anyone survive this fatal outback.

Nora Roberts has done it again. Year One is a lovely fantasy that I enjoyed reading. Nora Roberts is a fantastic storyteller and can write in many genres. That's ability of Nora Roberts allows her readers to engage with her in any genre she writes in. I love the characters and the way Nora Roberts portrayed them especially Dr Hopman and Jonah. The way Nora Roberts described the settings of Year One and to ensure that her characters entwine beautifully with each other and the plot of this book. I like Nora Roberts description of the virus and the way the illness affects some and not others, and I could believe that it could happen.

Thank you to NetGalley for my free ARC copy for an honest review. I recommend this book.

I requested this book on the basis of Roberts’s name (even though I’ve only read one of her early romances, from memory) and the cover. It sounded promising. And it starts out that way.

A man contracts a new disease, which is eventually dubbed Doom, whilst on holiday in Scotland. Doom is so highly contagious that he and his family members quickly spread it throughout the world where it kills most of the population with an alarming speed. With the deaths comes the collapse of society as we know it - again, with alarming speed - and the rise of lawlessness.

I liked this part. Although it’s a plot line that’s been done before a zillion times, I still enjoyed the scenes of the characters trying to survive in the city with people still dying and resources dwindling. There are a lot of characters introduced (some reviews say too many, but it seems the norm for this type of book), including Rachel, a doctor, Jonah, a paramedic, and an author, Max and his chef wife, Lana. I especially liked the character of Arlys, a reporter who soon learns that reporting the truth is as much of a health hazard as the illness.

However, around the time most of the characters decide to flee the city, the book’s style seemed to alter and my enjoyment level took a dive.

It turns out that those immune to the disease also quickly developed supernatural powers. The various characters become witches and faeries and elves and whatnot. This wouldn’t have annoyed me utterly but for the complete black and white of those with powers. There’s the goodies (the heros of the book obv) and the baddies, who have decided to go over to the dark side of their powers and the whole thing seems very immature and the style seems to be targeting a younger reader than the beginning of the book. (I must point out that even though the book probably suits the young adult audience, there are many many passages dedicated to the Dark’s crimes including rape and murder, so perhaps still 18 up.)

Max and Lana’s group settle in the mountains, and soon it becomes apparent that one or two of the group are part of this Dark side. This is one of the most disappointing sections of the book. This should have been totally creepy. There should have been lots of tension and build up to the reveal of just who was involved in the satanic rituals in the woods etc, but it was cliched and obvious who it was from the beginning, and the big climactic scene was weak and over far too quickly.

After this, Roberts connects the dots with the main characters and they all meet up. We get a few chapters of them working together until suddenly the book’s tone changes yet again.

Instead of the plethora of characters and their various stories, Roberts jumps to focus solely on one of the leads, and this continues right through to the end. The ending was so cliched and disappointing that I am now undecided whether or not I’ll search out the next in the series. It doesn’t seem that any of the ideas I was interested in -- the disease and its cure, the fate of the President, the creation of a new society -- will feature in the next book and we will instead get some sort of Yoda-like character training up a kid to be the 'chosen one' (*yawn*).

I have to mention the distinct lack of romance in the book too. I know it’s not advertised as romantic, but with Roberts writing I would have thought there’d be some UST to keep me satisfied or some couple I’d be cheering on. But, although she did pair up a few characters, it was bland and boring and those scenes were clunky and awful. Seems odd for a ‘queen of romance’. *shrugs*

Look, this wasn’t a bad book, but when there’s a plotline that’s been used so many times before, I think the writing needs to be above average. And surprisingly, considering just how many books she has churned out over the years, Roberts’s effort was merely mediocre.

3 and ½ stars out of 5.

‘When Ross MacLeod pulled the trigger and brought down the pheasant, he had no way of knowing he’d killed himself. And billions of others.’

A family gathering on New Year’s Eve, a celebration in anticipation of the coming year. One family member falls ill. Then another family member falls ill, then another and the illness spreads rapidly. It’s uncontrollable and, while it is fatal, not everyone falls victim. People panic as their families, towns and cities succumb. What can the survivors do? The year that follows will become known as Year One, a year full of disaster and (perhaps) some hope.

Those who survive make their way west. The illness, known as ’The Doom’ is not the only danger they need to face. Many of the survivors appear to have some supernatural (magical) skills, and some view those skills (and those who have them) with suspicion.

Ms Roberts creates a number of memorable characters in this novel, the first of a trilogy. While the magical aspects don’t always work for me, the various skills demonstrated serve to keep the story moving at a speed faster than that which (perhaps) more conventional skills might enable. The more deeply I became involved in the story, the more I started to care about what might happen next (and why) rather than how. And who really knows what strengths (powers) we each might be able to tap into when fighting for survival?

I won’t write more about the story for fear of introducing spoilers. I think that this is a novel to immerse yourself in, to accept the world described and to recognise that each of the characters has a place and a part to play. By the end of the novel, I was certain that I’d be reading the second instalment: I want to know what will happen next.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Enjoyed Nora Roberts trying a new genre. Will definitely read the rest of the series. Reviewed on goodreads.

Well if you think you know what you are getting into you being a Nora Roberts book you are wrong this is not her typical Romance or Mystery novel, it is a post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel. It is so different from anything that Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb) has written before.

The Doom is a deadly virus that causes people to die, over half the world’s population has died and the survivors that are immune to the virus find that they have powers that they did not have before. There are people who are now either faeries, elves or witches or have powers like telekinesis.

The story starts off with patient zero on New Year’s Eve in the Scottish countryside. He travels back home to America, the virus spreads like wildfire.

We then follow the survivors through the first year. The main characters are Arlys a reporter, Jonah a paramedic, Lana a chef and Max a novelist. Oh, and a set of twins. There are many more characters in the book too. I won’t go into any details of the story as I don’t want to give and spoilers away.

I have to give credit where credit is due if Nora Roberts was not author of this book I doubt I would I picked it up but since she was I had to read this book. I will admit I do not read post-apocalyptic dystopian/fantasy novels. But I really did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to book two to see what happens with my favorite characters that I was rooting for throughout the book. I laughed, I cried, I even felt sick and was gagging at times with the characters. This book has it all, there is some romance and mystery, then there is the fantasy and magic.

Could you survive The Doom? It is a question I asked myself after reading this book. I have to be honest, I think I would struggle to survive but I would give it my all like the characters and not give up easily. I would of course miss life’s luxuries.

I would recommend this book with no hesitation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.