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.

Titles in the Chronicles of The One trilogy/series include — Year One —◊— Of Blood and Bone —◊— The Rise of Magicks —◊—

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Year One
Series:  Chronicles of The One #1
Author:  Nora Roberts
Genre:  Thriller, Paranormal, Dystopian
Published:  December 5, 2017
Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press
My Rating:  5 stars

Year One begins the trilogy/series Chronicles of The One.  There are anticipated series that I’ll hold off on reading because I know the titles will be released about a year apart, and I really want the entire experience all at once – one book after the other until the end.  Chronicles of The One was one such reading experience that I put off until the trilogy was complete.  I don’t regret that decision, yet I also wonder what my reaction would have been to this story if I had read Year One before a pandemic broke out in my own real world.

When this novel was released in December of 2017, our world had not yet heard of COVID-19, yet with the skill of a storyteller (and a very good research ability) Ms. Roberts was able to take me back to those early days of the pandemic when the virus was spreading throughout the world when the shortages began when we (at least, some of us) hunkered down in our homes for the duration of the madness overtaking the world we once knew.  Of course, there were those who wouldn’t believe in science, who instead moved to violence in its many forms, and who blamed certain segments of society for the cause of all of what we all went through.  That is reflected in the opening chapters of Year One.

But, of course, the imagery of what takes place in Year One comes from the talented imagination of an amazing author with research skills that show… and magic.  I saw no magic in the world’s pandemic but it certainly exists and enhances what takes place in this fictional world.

Everything you would want or need to know before picking up this novel can be found in the cover description.  There is no need for me to rehash that for it is far, far better for your reading experience to see, feel, and react to these events as they unfold.  I was so easily caught up in what was happening to the many characters we meet in Year One.  And was disgusted by the actions of those who made violence their choice.  Yet, was also uplifted by the courage, determination, and passion of survivors who stubbornly, against all odds survived as they rebuilt their lives far from home and all they once knew.

There are more than a few twists – not unexpected ones really, but like waiting for that second shoe to drop when it happened it was so completely unexpected.  Again, a sign of a good storyteller.  We will encounter heroes and villains, and that distinction won’t always be apparent immediately.  With the thread of The One woven throughout we begin a journey in a wrecked landscape of humanity’s past as we head towards the unknown future.  I loved every moment spent in Year One, and I’m about to dive into Of Blood and Bone.  If you love a good thriller with touches of paranormal and a definite dystopian atmosphere then Year One is a story you’ll want to get your hands on… soon.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available for multiple formats including your favorite e-reader