Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts

 

Book two in the series Chronicles of The One by Nora Roberts is Of Blood and Bone. We've jumped ahead in time nearly thirteen years from the end of The One and we see how the survivors of The Doom and the ensuing chaos are managing to rebuild society. We also begin to learn about The One, the savior in this post-apocalyptic world. Like any good fantasy book, our hero is a teenager, this time a girl. Fallon Swift leaves her family on her thirteenth birthday to begin her rigorous magickal, logical, and physical training.

Can we pause here and allow me to rant for a moment? Okay, I don't read a lot of fantasy; a little, but not a lot. I understand there are rules and conventions to the genre, but it makes me twitch a little every time I read the word magick or magickal. I'm sure there is a long-standing tradition for adding that k, but it trips me up and pulls me out of the story a little every time I read it. Okay, rant over. My apologies to all the fantasy fans out there. It's just not my thing.

Often, the second book in a trilogy is a bit of a bridge book: the story needs to move from the interesting part at the beginning (book one) to the interesting part at the end (book three). Book two can be less compelling, but not in this case. I enjoyed reading about Fallon's training and growth from young thirteen-year-old lightly-skilled witch to nearly-adult sixteen-year-old leader and warrior.

We are introduced to more characters (oh, the list grows ever longer), but they continue to add to the story rather than weigh it down. We also see the way power-hungry men have taken advantage of the vacuum of organized government to terrorize and impose their religious fanaticism. They rule with mandatory conversion and attendance to worship services. Public torture and executions are used to rid the world of those they deem evil and to keep everyone else in line.

The battles are laying the groundwork for the coming war. I hope the final book in the series delivers a satisfying end. I'll leave you with this quote that I'm adding to my collection:

Knowledge is a blessing, and a power, and a weapon.

Year One by Nora Roberts

 

WHERE have you been, Smart Girls??

Oh, wait. It was me that was missing in action. I will not insult you by offering a weak excuse for my absence, but please know that I have recommited to sharing the books I read. The last couple of years have been less read-y for me, but I'm hoping that changes as well. All we can do is try.

My first book of 2024 is Year One by Nora Roberts. I've never read a Nora Roberts book before now because I only knew of her as a romance writer and that's not really my jam. When a friend recommended this sci-fi trilogy, I was intrigued. The copyright is dated 2017, but boy was this book about a global plague ahead of its time. Fortunately for us, the pandemic we just endured was not nearly as bad as the one in Roberts' books.

A mysterious flu sweeps the Earth, taking out 80% of the world's population. In its wake, some of the survivors discover new magical abilities. It isn't difficult to imagine the power struggle that ensues.

The cast of characters in this first book is lengthy and I did find myself forgetting who they were and needing to flip back a bit to remember. Max, Lana, Arlys, Fred, Chuck, Poe, Kim, Jonah, Rachel, Will, et cetera, et cetera. 

It's a lot.

I was immediately drawn in by the description of how The Doom, as they call it, makes its way across the globe. The different groups of characters that we watch as they begin their survival is interesting. This being the first in a trilogy, it needed to lay out a lot of information. At times, that became a little tedious for me, and near the end, I wasn't sure I would want to continue the series. Fortunately, the last couple of chapters renewed my interest.

I will give this book a hopeful three stars.

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I hope you're reading something wonderful, Smart Girls. There are so many fantastic books out there!