Sunday, August 23, 2020

Book Review: Year One by Nora Roberts reviewed by Benni Chisholm




BOOK REVIEW
YEAR ONE
by Nora Roberts
Published October 2018
St Martin’s Press
Paperback 464 pages
YEAR ONE was written more than two years in advance of Covid-19. The story is a spell-binding mixture of romance, thriller, and fantasy. Prophetically, its main antagonist is a virus.
The fictional virus infects its first victims at a New Year’s Eve (Hogmanay) house party in Scotland. It voraciously spreads as relatives and friends fill trains, airports and airplanes to return home. Unlike covid-19, the virus is so deadly that only those with natural immunity survive it. Desperation soon engulfs the world and murderers and vandals take advantage of the chaos.
In New York, several disease-free folk manage to escape the vandal-ridden city. They meet up with other healthy people and after overcoming incredible obstacles they begin to restore a deserted town. They rename the town New Hope. A few survivors, called “Uncannys,” have developed “magickal” talents which they use in positive ways.
But, as in every cross-section of human beings, a few bad-apples prove it’s easier to destruct than to construct. These bad-apples attack the innocent and destroy the existing order in an attempt to gain personal power.
Not wanting to be a story spoiler, I’ll simply tell you the story is a page-turner. I look forward to reading the second book in the trilogy.