Disappointing Dystopian Opener A Not Very Promising Start

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

A businessman on holiday in Scotland goes on a hunting trip with family, where he's exposed to tainted pheasant's blood.  He starts feeling poorly almost immediately; by the time he's on the plane back to the U.S. he's deathly ill.  Within 48 hours of exposure, he's dead.  The sickness spreads rapidly, killing 1/3 of the world's population in a matter of weeks.  With widespread death and decimation comes fear, anarchy, and chaos.  Out of the ashes of the dying world something even more unsettling rises—magick, both good and evil.

As the immune flee New York City, running toward the hope of safety, strangers will band together for survival.  Despite rising conflicts between the Uncanny, the immune, and everyone else, those who desire good must work together to fight the powerful forces that want only destruction and domination.  The trick—as it turns out—is knowing one from the other.

I love me an immersive dystopian series, so I've been looking forward to Year One, the first book in a new one by Nora Roberts.  Hoping for a rich, engaging read, I found myself disappointed.  What plot there is in Year One isn't very original or surprising.  Its cast features too many characters with too little personality—it's difficult to keep track of who is who.  The book's overly long and by the end, I just did not care (although I did read to the end).  This means I won't be continuing the series, which is a bummer because initially I was very excited about it.  Ah well.  Such is the reading life sometimes.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and a little of the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear; and Light] by Michael Grant)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Year One from Barnes & Noble with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.