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  • Year One

  • Chronicles of The One, Book 1
  • By: Nora Roberts
  • Narrated by: Julia Whelan
  • Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (804 ratings)

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Year One cover art

Year One

By: Nora Roberts
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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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

Summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (December 2017)

A stunning novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts - Year One is an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magick, 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, 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.

©2017 Nora Roberts (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Year One

Average customer ratings
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  • jj
  • 28-01-18

Great story

Really enjoyed this book, good fast moving story with likable characters. Looking forward to the next one.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

great story and performance by all. eagerly awaiting next edition, will listen to this book over and over.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it!

I was a bit sceptical about reading another apocalypse book and it being one that you would not want to stop reading to go to bed. but it was!
following two late nights and tuning out a shop full of customers I am about to start book two, because I want to find out how they're doing.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well written

Well written, and the narrator captured Lorna beautifully. I wasnt expecting a fantasy novel but I cannot wait to start Book 2

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jo
  • 15-12-17

Fantastic

I am new to this author but will definitely try some of her other books now.
A nice twist on the survival/apocalypse genre and I greatly look forward to the next in the ser

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great listen

A thoroughly good listen. I'm looking for Year 2 as I listen to the last 5 minutes.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Teen Read

This story was okay to listen to but I never had that feeling of "I can't wait to hear more". The narrator does her best to give characters their own voice but emotion was missing also hindered by the dialogue which was fairly bland and monotone making the characters one dimensional. This is why I think teens who like vampires and a bit of gore would be better suited to this book hence only three stars. I won't be buying the next volume as there are better writers of apocalyptic novels out there!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lots of potential mostly missed

This book had all the potential to be a classic. There are lots of things to like in there, mostly about mystery and some really likeable characters. The worldbuilding is also very promising and enjoyable.

However, for me there were two major problems.

The biggest problem for me is that most major occurrences that move the plot feel very unnatural. In more than one occasion I felt like the writer decided on what would happen to the protagonists and then patched on top disasters to force the protagonists down the plot. In more than one occasion I felt peoples reactions to be extremely unnatural; disasters random.

The second problem is with the other survivors. Their behaviour doesn't seem right. With the world still able to make produce, while modern society would fall, society as a whole wouldn't. We know that because some thousand years ago people lived and were much fewer than is. And they flourished too. Our survivors have access to modern knowledge and magic powers!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING

As per usual with this author this book is amazing. keeps you gripped throughout and the narrator tells it brilliantly.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant world to escape to, I’m hooked

Scored lower in performances only because I prefer male and female narrators together.
Enjoying this adventure.

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