Year One: Chronicles of the One, Book One by Nora Roberts

Published in 2017. This is the first book of a new series by the prolific author, Nora Roberts. In this saga, the world is plunged into chaos when a devastating disease kills off over five billion people on Earth. The survivors must make their way through the violence and horror of the new world, creating a new society from the ashes. This is a dystopian novel, the end of the world as we know it, but with a twist. The survivors not only include humans who have a resistance to the disease, but also witches, wizards, elves, and faeries. They’re referred to as the Uncanny and are being hunted down for causing the disease or the Doom.

Lana, a witch, and Max, a wizard and writer, were already together prior to the catastrophe and leave New York City in search of Max’s younger brother, Eric. They find him safe and move in with him and his friends in Pennsylvania. As they wait for good weather, they conceive a child who is destined to save the world. But Eric turns to evil and tries to kill Max and Lana. They leave to find safety.

The use of magic is what differentiates this book from thousands of other dystopian novels. But it’s use is somewhat limited thus far. I would have thought more of it would be used to help the people survive. Perhaps, the next books in the series will add more magic to the mix.

The book is easy to read and moves well, but so far, is just another dystopian novel.