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Kelly (279 KP) rated Year One: Chronicles of The One in Books

Jan 8, 2019  
Year One: Chronicles of The One
Year One: Chronicles of The One
Nora Roberts | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting characters (1 more)
Use of fantasy mixed into the apocalypse
Post apocalyptic with a sprinkle of fairy dust!
Originally purchasing this based on my previous purchases, I have to honestly confess that I had never heard of Nora Roberts! How I have missed this author, I do not know. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely be reading the remainder of the series.


Year One is the first in the three novel series - The Chronicles of The One. The novel itself definitely has undertones of Stephen Kings ‘The Stand’, and follows a similar format with the bulk of the worlds population being wiped out by a mysterious infection, leaving behind the survivors, who quickly divide into a good/ light side or bad/dark side. Unlike The Stand, which to me had slight biblical undertones, the unique selling point of Year One, is the addition of the uncanny’s, magical beings who have been living amongst us, some knowingly different, others benign until the doom releases their powers. I felt this added a new twist to the common post apocalyptic format.


I felt that the characters were varied and relatable within the story. Nora Toberts clearly spent a lot of time creating a varied population for cast, which helped their reactions within the story become more believable.


There is a lot going on within the story,which jumps between places and people as well as over the course of months, but as a reader I found this was necessary for the plot to develop. Surprisingly, despite all of the jumps, the story is still a relatively easy read. Throughout the narrative, I also find that Roberts gives very clear clues as to the direction that the next books will take, through the dreams/ visions of the characters.


The weakest part of the novel for me was the start, which is why I have only scored this a 9, rather than 10. It is probably me being picky, but I would have preferred another 50-100 pages giving me a little bit more background to some of the characters prior to the doom. I felt the background for some of the characters was there, but for others was a little sketchy, although ultimately this did not stop me engaging with them in the long term.


Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fantasy and, or post apocalyptic novels. It is an interesting, enjoyable and easy read.
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Perfect Remains: A Gripping Thriller That Will Leave You Breathless in Books

Aug 30, 2018 (Updated Aug 30, 2018)  
Perfect Remains: A Gripping Thriller That Will Leave You Breathless
Perfect Remains: A Gripping Thriller That Will Leave You Breathless
Helen Fields | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very good, gripping crime novel based in Edinburgh. Recently arrived French detective Luc Callanach finds himself at the wheel of the force's biggest crime, while still trying to find his feet in his new city.
As the reader is made aware of the "murderer"'s identity from very early on, this feels more like an early Mark Billingham book than an Ian Rankin or Ed James. Not a true whodunit, more of a case of watching the story unfold, which is thrilling and you get to see the criminal and the detective's view of the events, but may put others off.
While the story is very well crafted, the pacing is top notch and the action exciting, a few aspects irritated me at times. Luc Callanach seems to have coped very well with his change in circumstances, and at times it is almost like he (or the author) has forgotten he is French completely! And also the attitude and conclusions of what was supposed to be a very experienced psychological profiler just didn't feel plausible. And finally, as so often happens with "detective x crime series" books - if the main character didn't see it, it didn't happen. This means that Callanach has to abandon his massive case and oddly decide to go off with another detective in order to discuss something, purely as a plot device - i.e. he has to be involved in it for it to be an important part of the story. In places this worked, and got to the point, but at other times his actions just seemed so unusual as to be ludicrous, just to meet a plot point. Why the lesser characters can't have a PoV chapter is beyond me. It works perfectly well in fantasy fiction, why not in crime?!
 However these were minor quibbles, an otherwise great book.
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