I recently finished this trilogy, and I have to say, overall, I loved it! It’s my first introduction to Nora Roberts’ writing, and I will definitely be reading more. I’ve separated my thoughts into sections about each book, with a bit of a summary of my thoughts at the end.
Book One: Year One
Blurb
(From Goodreads)
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.
My Review
I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoy post-apocalyptic stories. I think it’s because they often include so much development of what happens next. I find, for the most part and in varying degrees, they are full of hope. It’s very rare that I find a post-apocalyptic novel where bad becomes worse, then even more bad, until nothing is left but silence and dust blowing among the relics. I do recognize that this, in itself, is a terrible idea for a story, which means that this is probably why I have not yet come across it, explaining why generally I find these types of books hopefully.
But I digress.
This was my first introduction to Nora Roberts’s writing. I know that she is prolific and I know that she is popular. Having worked for a long time, and a long time ago, in a bookstore, I remember how well her books sold. But I also thought they were romance.
Romance is not a problem – I love a good romance and read it as widely as I do most other things. However, I wasn’t expecting the postapocalyptic angle and so I picked this one up out of curiosity. It was a such a nice surprise.
I really liked the braiding of multiple story lines and experiences as the main characters are introduced and navigate the end of the world. The characters are both likeable and relatable. They are not, on the face of it, traditionally “heroic” types. Instead, they are introduced with their vulnerabilities and quirks.
I also liked the magic system. Before this, I had not yet read an end-of-the-world-with-a-disease novel that included fairies, elves, shape-changers, and other denizens of the northern European pantheon of magics (please correct me if I have my mythology wrong).
While some reviewers liked this novel to The Stand by Stephen King, I think it’s only similar on the face of it. By that I mean that, yup, it’s an end of the world thing. Otherwise, to my mind, it’s a very different book. The Stand is epic on a wildly different scale to this novel. If you are looking for a 5-star, intense, amazing read, read that one.
But, Year One is what you read when you want something post-apocalyptic, but also very sweet. Nora Roberts writes the relationships between the characters with kindness and warmth, and it is here that novel shines. The focus is on connection and empathy, and on how good people support each other and work for kindness in the face of darkness. It is for this feature that my mushy little heart loved it.
Book 2: Of Blood and Bone
Blurb
(From Goodreads)
They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.
Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before—the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted—and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.
In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.
My Review
This book is satisfying, mainly in its filling in of details about the lives of those we came to know in the first book of the trilogy. If you have not yet read Year One, though, do not read this, since it will make little sense.
A lot of this volume of the series surrounds Fallon Swift, the daughter of Max and Lana, who we read about in the first book. She is portrayed as both a typical 13 year old person and as the prophesied saviour of the world. So, someone with lots of responsibilities and expectations, but who is still moody and gets grumpy with her brothers. This feels like it would be accurate.
The characters remain well drawn and likable. The bonds between them are described vividly, as well as the work necessary to create and maintain those bonds. I like that it is made clear that connections between people against any backdrop must be maintained through the efforts of both parties and don’t simply exist at will. It’s a good reminder of what we need to do in our own lives to maintain our connections.
Something I really liked was the descriptions of New Hope, the settlement created by our characters from the first novel. Roberts spends a lot of time describing the day to day work of building, maintaining, and growing a settlement in the face of such destruction. I think it was almost a character unto itself in this novel, separate to to the people who also populate the story.
Finally, this is a very purposeful novel. It creates something worth fighting for. The combination of characters whom the reader can grow to love, and a place that is meant to be full of love and light, makes us all the more invested in the development of Fallon as a potential saviour. That, combined with the training of The One, and the introduction of characters who help her to grow, shows us how Fallon is meant to fulfill the role that has been thrust upon her.
All in all, a good read.
Book 3: The Rise of Magicks
Blurb
(From Goodreads)
After the sickness known as the Doom destroyed civilization, magick has become commonplace, and Fallon Swift has spent her young years learning its ways. Fallon cannot live in peace until she frees those who have been preyed upon by the government or the fanatical Purity Warriors, endlessly hunted or locked up in laboratories, brutalized for years on end. She is determined to save even those who have been complicit with this evil out of fear or weakness–if, indeed, they can be saved.
Strengthened by the bond she shares with her fellow warrior, Duncan, Fallon has already succeeded in rescuing countless shifters and elves and ordinary humans. Now she must help them heal–and rediscover the light and faith within themselves. For although from the time of her birth, she has been The One, she is still only one. And as she faces down an old nemesis, sets her sights on the enemy’s stronghold, and pursues her destiny–to finally restore the mystical shield that once protected them all–she will need an army behind her…
My Review
I did enjoy this conclusion to the trilogy. There are many battles and pronouncements of the light not going quietly into the dark, but it was exactly as expected. Which, in a trilogy like this, is okay. While this is the first Nora Roberts series I have read, I have since read a few others of hers, and this book feels the most like a “Nora Roberts”.
I hope I am going to write this and get across my thoughts properly. I read this series because I was looking for a light series in a genre that I already enjoy. End-of-the-world-lite, if you will. I did not go in expected something like The Stand, or Station Eleven, likely my favourite post-apocalyptic novels, or at least the ones that spring to mind. I went in looking for a fun novel about the end of the world. As one does.
As a third novel to round out this series, it was great. Narrower in scope than the first, which did a great job of world and character-building, it was the logical conclusion to a series that had promised a happy ending. It delivered, and I regret none of the time spent reading this one. It even made me cry a couple of times.
Final Thoughts
This is a really fun, feel-good series about how the world ends, but love brings it back. Not just romantic love, but love between friends, family, found family, and neighbours. It’s solid and comfortable. I think that Nora Roberts did a great job in writing in a genre that differed from the rest of her works, and still provided what people love about her writing.
The focus of this story is on the relationships between characters and how they work together, not on events. This is important and ultimately brings the strength to the series.
I love stories that take place after life as we know it ends because they portray such hope. As in, yes, the world ended, but even after the worst happened, we still managed to find a way to continue on. And maybe, just maybe, a few things got a little bit better? Perhaps? It’s hard to explain.
Yes, there are criticisms that I could raise about this novel, so for those of you who like to go into a series with open eyes, here are they are. If you are someone who likes to plunge headlong into a series and know nothing that might spoil it for you, stop reading here. Enjoy the series, and know that what I am going to write below did not ruin the trilogy for me at all.
For those of you who want to know what might irk you, read on…
*Possible Spoilers*
Another teenager saving the world? A bit irritating in a book that is not intended for young adults. I understand that all has been foretold in a world where dark magick ended civilization, but still. All those people who lived through it, survived, and are rebuilding civilization could have contributed more than reminders about staying safe.
It stays on a solid Hero’s Journey script, making it a bit predictable. But, sometimes that’s just what you want.
The battle scenes are short! There would be pages and pages of epic lead up to the big battle, but then, boom, done in a couple of pages.
Despite these, read it anyway.