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.
