Get a free audiobook
Year One
Audible Editor Reviews
Editors Select, December 2017
Best-selling author Nora Roberts' new postapocalyptic dystopian fantasy novel is a departure from the romance fiction for which she's known (or the suspense of her alter ego, J. D. Robb), but it showcases the masterful storytelling that fans know and love while embracing the kind of world-building called for in this genre. Julia Whelan's nuanced narration captures Roberts' wide swath of characters and their authentic relationships. When the earth succumbs to a new plague, otherworldly powers manifest, and humans traits come in both life-affirming and monstrous ways in the first of a promising series. —Abby, Audible Editor
Publisher's Summary
A stunning new novel from the number-one New York Times best-selling author - an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives...
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, magic 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.
5 Genre-Bending Series That Showcase Fantasy’s Great Diversity
More from the same
Author:
Narrator:
What listeners say about Year One
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jenn W
- 2019-03-30
It's okay...but JUST okay.
I love a good dystopian future / apocalypse novel. Sadly, this is not one.
The story has potential - a great premise. Unfortunately, it falls flat and my impression is that the author already has a dedicated audience who doesn't habitually demand very much in the way of well-crafted, complex, and emotionally-mature prose.
1. The characters are not believable, and, well, boring. They're all either totally good or totally bad. The reality of human complexity, the reason that we're an interesting species - is that we struggle with greed and selfishness, we don't always do, say, or think the right thing. There's virtually none of that internal conflict going on, with any of the characters.
2. We never get a glimpse into the world of the antagonists. What are their feelings, motives? The book would be so much better with hints of what is truly driving the conflict. Instead, it's just passive 'good characters' reacting to the aggressions of the 'bad' ones.
3. I don't think the foreshadowing of a certain character's death could possibly have been more heavy-handed. Hands up, who knew from the beginning? Everybody, right?
4. The magic is just...there. Again, it's boring. There is WAY more to be said about an entire chunk of the human race suddenly acquiring magical abilities. The struggle to come to terms with one's changed existence, the personal journeys of learning and growing that ability...why gloss over that? That should be the heart of the novel but instead the reader is expected to take it all for granted, with no exploration of its nature? LAME.
On the upside, the narrator does a great job. Even though her husky 'man' voices are kind of funny.
My summary: this author is lazy and this is a dissatisfying read. I won't be wasting any more credits on her work.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2019-02-17
Starts strong, crashes and burns
Opening chapters appealing, nose dives thereafter. Simplistic dialogue, uninteresting characters. Narrator lacks definition between characters
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Trudy Bolduc
- 2017-12-18
Characters
I found it difficult to tell the male voices apart. All male characters had the same voice,
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aelytacchan
- 2017-12-12
Excellent!
As always, Julia Whelan dazzles with her performance! she inhabits the male characters astonishingly! Wow!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Sally
- 2020-04-15
Silly
I thought this was going to be a relevant book about a serious subject but when it turned into a bunch of people trying to save their lives and suddenly developing super powers like Harry Potter characters it totally lost my interest.
Silly.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-04-07
Terrible narrator, bad story.
The female narrator makes the male characters feel unbelievable. The voices are strangely effeminate and I had a hard time "believing" the characters - they felt forced rather than natural. The story also feels like it was written by a woman for women. The narrated thoughts and relationships between characters felt ovely feminine and "feely", especially in regards to the male characters. will not be following this series.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tanya Jarvis
- 2019-10-08
Compelling
Didn't want it to end! Don't know which were more compelling... the story or the characters!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- SES-P1963
- 2019-04-27
Nice twist to the post-apocalyptic story.
Really enjoyed this first book. Not your typical story of a virus wiping out most of the world's population. The addition of magic kicks it up a notch or two. The Narrator is really good - the kind of good that allows you to fully emerge yourself into the characters and story.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- ShawnW
- 2018-04-10
Magical awakening in post apocalyptic world.
This is a blend of Heroes (TV show) meets The Stand.
More about magic than surviving a virus apocalypse .
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ulysses
- 2020-08-18
This is a harlequin romance novel
If you're looking for gritty post-apocalyptic fiction, this is not it. This is a harlequin romance novel with witches and faeries that happens to take place during the apocalypse. Maybe it's my own fault for not looking into the author before buying this, but it is definitely not what I thought it would be.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bresee
- 2020-01-05
Ahhhh finally! A book that hooked me!!!
I've been looking for a book like this. one that grabs you right from the get, all the was thro till the very end. This is a well written novel with fantastic characters!!! A few of the characters had me rolling Everytime they had a dialogue. I'm starting book two and was literally up ALL NIGHT finishing book one... There was really only one con, several parts, for me, were a little predictable. However I didn't take any stars of for the bc I felt the book made up for that in many other way but mostly bc, I'm just very very good at predicting story lines. It baffles my husband. So I realized that not everyone is going to find those part predictable like I did. Like the main villain, had him pegged right off the bat. But maybe many others won't see it coming so idk.
Anywho, can't wait to get started on book two... If you like video games, let me put it this way, if Fallout and Skyrim had a book baby, this would be it. GOOD STUFF!
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- T. Mirandi
- 2019-11-11
The story has zero depth
I’m baffled how this story has such good reviews. The author follows way too many people to add depth to any of them in order to care for the characters. And for a Post-apocalyptic world, everyone seems to have everything they need and everyone with the correct profession to utilize those supplies. What a miraculous safe haven!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kelly M
- 2019-06-05
Wonderful listen & story
NUMBER OF HEARTS: 5
When the end of the world happens what will you do. Will you take it sitting down? Will you hide and hope it passes you by? Or will you fight with every fiber of your being?
Year One takes us on an amazing journey of the people of the world as they face the end of the world. We meet so many characters along the road, some will be allies and some will be enemies. The question will be can they figure out who is who before it is to late.
This is was a wonderful book. Nora Roberts is a great world and character building. I am very much looking forward to the next two installment in this series.
This was the first book I have listened to that was narrated by Julia Whelan. Julia did a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life for me. I love when a narrator is able to narrate a book and it feels like I am in the story.
Disclaimer:
I purchased this audiobook and this review is my own opinion and not a paid review.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nate P.
- 2018-02-28
Sub-par fantasy novel written by a great romance author
I made up a drinking game based on how many times the word “good” was used to describe “it, him, they, the day, everything, all of... that.” The author’s writing style shined while describing things like an orgasm, child birth, and the calm satisfaction and deep happiness of a holiday with family at a cabin, but was laughably ambiguous when describing the magical powers her characters possessed, and how to use them. I wish she could have established some rules about how the magic can be used, rather than just saying “I felt it growing in me, through me, of me, and I willed it to push and defend.” There seemed to be no limit at all of what it could do, and the knowledge of what Lana could do with magic just seemed to come out of nowhere. It was disenchanting, to be honest.
There were strong parts, however. I felt shock and disbelief and grief when characters died, or when other characters suddenly betrayed our protagonists. Also, the first few chapters were excellent. I was hooked after the first chapter, listening to her description of the family in the farm in Scotland on New Year’s Eve. The world-building when describing the Doom’s spread and each of the character’s origins was also very good.
I believe the title of this review sums it up quite well: a fantasy novel written by a romance author.
The performance of this book was a very difficult endeavor for any narrator. There were at least a dozen characters to be voiced, and Julia Whelan did an excellent job. She was limited when portraying the male characters voices, however, since her feminine voice could only imitate a male voice so many different ways. There were a couple times where I couldn’t tell if it was Max or Will speaking, but I completely understand the difficulty and managed just fine.
285 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kit C
- 2017-12-20
If you like The Stand you’ll wonder why you didn’t just re-read that
As someone who loves a good story about the apocalypse and supernatural forces, I enjoyed this book simply (and only) based on those attributes. The story was absolutely derivative, in fact several plot points almost felt like fan fiction versions of The Stand (I’ve read The Stand at least six times, trust me on this point). It was totally obvious to anyone with half a brain what the major plot points would be (who would live/die, etc). I did like the addition of the overt supernatural forces and beings, but the supernatural aspects of the world felt very poorly developed and relied heavily on tropes. So far in this series there’s nothing original or even compelling about the story, but it was vaguely entertaining the way you find an innocuous Hallmark Christmas movie to be pleasantly generic background noise while wrapping Xmas gifts. With all that said, I will most likely get the second in the series because I enjoy pleasantly generic background noise on my commute and I like the topic.
187 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Crowd of Nevadans
- 2019-08-28
Don’t listen to bad reviews
This book is slightly YA , but it is an interesting mix and well done
I really liked it
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leslie W.
- 2018-12-24
Best book I have read in a long time!
I hesitated over this book for so long. I just did not think that I would like a dystopian future novel. But I was very very wrong. It took me a day and a half to finish book 1 and I’m now on book 2. I hope she has a book 3 coming out in the next 24 hours or I’m gonna be very upset. This is great writing and great narration. Well done.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kitty
- 2017-12-07
Magical Apocalypse "Lite"
I would give this about 2.5 stars if possible.
I am a Nora Roberts fan but not a romance fan. She is one of the very few authors in that genre that I will read. Fantasy/Horror type genres are much more up my alley. So I was pretty excited when I saw that Nora Roberts was releasing a book that was more to my usual tastes.
I REALLY wanted to like this book more. But I found it rather underwhelming.
Now, I wasn't expecting a lot of explicit violence and gory details. But.
It is very much in the vein of iconic books like The Stand or Swan Song. There were even shades of The Walking Dead, in setting more than in the zombie apocalypse sense. The fact is that this was one of the most boring apocalypse scenarios that I've ever read.
The story is told from rather a distant POV. We get very little of the nitty gritty detail of what it would actually be like to live through end-of-the-world-via-plague like you get in The Stand or even TWD. We have the same exit from New York scenario that is standard fare, but apart from a rather awkwardly-worked-in single scene, it's nothing like the harrowing journeys that make you really feel you are by the character's side, and bond with them, and root for them. You get no sense of the daily reality of what it is actually like to LIVE in a post-apocalyptic world.
The same can be said of the "magical" element. People seem to mostly take it for granted that wow, suddenly now people are sprouting wings and hurling fireballs. It's all very ho-hum. The reaction is similar to what you might expect if suddenly discovering a talent for painting, or playing the trumpet. I tell you, if I suddenly sprouted wings and discovered that I was in fact a human-sized faerie, it'd have a hell of lot more impact on my life, my way of thinking about the word and interacting with it!
Then, there seems to be little actual point to the appearance of all this magical ability. It doesn't play much of a part in the story, other than as a dividing wedge between "normals" and "uncanny". We don't get any kind of intimate insights into how it changes people or changes the situation.
Maybe the way this book was written has to do with Nora Robert's usual fanbase and the kind of writing and subject matter they are used to. That's not a put-down, but I generally don't go to NR for gritty realism and heart-pounding adventure. It's kind of like an "Apocalypse Lite" kind of story. Which is understandable and fine if that's what they were shooting for. If the story is geared toward drawing in readers who aren't normally Nora Roberts fans, then not so much.
Seeing as this is her first book dealing with this kind of subject matter I'm still willing to try the next book. Hopefully it will be a bit deeper as far as connecting me to the characters and making me really believe I am experiencing the story along with them.
319 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Lizzystick
- 2019-03-07
Umm...not for me
I like a lot of dystopian books/movies and even some fantasy fiction but I do believe a dystopian novel should have some element of "this can in possibly happen in my lifetime" to it , well, when you add in Magik's (magical people) and Fairies into it you lose me. They just didn't fit with the scenario in my opinion, I think they took away from the story instead of adding. I Tried twice to listen to this book because of the good reviews but I just couldn't finish it.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mitchell
- 2017-12-08
best APOCALYPTIC book yet!!!!
If you like books with apocalyptic themes, then you will love this book. There is no doubt this is a 5 star book. You cant ask for a better narrator, Julia Whelan does a flawless job of reading the large variety of voices. This novel is full of heartbreaking scenes and conflict. So readers/listeners be mindful of this, because Nora Roberts does a fabulous job of emotionally attaching you to the characters.
I would have to say its not necessarily a "new" idea for a series, but still wrote in a different and captivating way. bottom line is buy this book and you will not be disappointed. i will definitely be getting the next book!!!
134 people found this helpful