Released, an Urban Dystopian (Agents of Evil Series Book 1)

Released, an Urban Dystopian (Agents of Evil Series Book 1) eBook: Megan Duncan: leondumoulin.nl: Kindle Store.
Table of contents

How do people get free books? As the prices of books have mounted every year- I can't always afford them. Aubrey I agree with Kalen. Using my public library saves me a lot of money! What will be the title of the next book in this trilogy, when will it come out? I want to make sure I don't miss it! It is listed on her website under the release schedule.

See all 31 questions about Year One…. Lists with This Book. Oct 05, Emily May rated it it was ok Shelves: Roberts's romances may not be my thing, but I did enjoy the first few books of her Naked in Death series, and I've really been in the mood for a dark, post-apocalyptic dystopia. But, sadly, I think what started as a really great dystopian set-up quickly became a very stock urban fantasy novel.

It's honestly quite jarring how quickly it changes. The first few "The human race is finished, and in its place come the weird and the strange, demons from hell. The first few chapters set the scene so well - the creepy arrival of the Doom, the disease that becomes an epidemic almost overnight, the devastating loss of human life across the world It competes with some of the best pandemic fiction, like The Stand and Blindness.

And yet, it failed for me when the fantastical elements came swooping in. Suddenly, people are developing superpowers and running rabid through the streets. Lana and Max are even witches! The perfect opening fell into a chaotic story that seemed so at odds with the beginning. I just know I found it unpleasantly disorientating to discover that the meat of the novel was very different to the feel of the set-up. Roberts also uses a really strange fragmented sentencing style that I don't recall her using in her other books. I first thought there were a bunch of errors in my arc, until I realised that the author actually intended it this way.

Jonah, Arlys, Lana and Max are the main focus of the novel, and the latter two are expecting a child who it seems will become central to the war between good and evil, but there are many, many characters in this book and all of them seem pretty black or white; good or bad. The antagonists are so despicable that it is almost comical, and the protagonists are well-meaning and good, without complexity.

It's all a little bland. This is actually the most disappointed I've been in a while - I think mostly because the start of the book was so strong that I had been subconsciously writing a five-star review in my head. It was so sad that this became a standard gory, end-of-the-world story with characters not worth remembering. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube View all 86 comments. View all 7 comments. Sep 01, Celeste rated it it was amazing Shelves: Full review now posted! You had me scared there for a while, Nora, but you came through.

Just in a way that was different from what I was expecting. Have you ever picked up a book by an author you love and when you start reading it you keep having to remind yourself that said author wrote it? That was what I struggled with at the beginning of this book.

List of Dystopian Literature - Dystopian Novels

Yes, the writing style I had Full review now posted! Yes, the writing style I had come to love was still undoubtedly present. So, when I started reading Year One, I was thrown for a bit of a loop. Yes, I read the synopsis and knew it was going to be different for her, but I failed to comprehend just how different it would be. Now, The Stand is one of my favorite books of all time.

But reading something so similar to it in the voice of my comfort author made for some severe cognitive dissonance right out of the gate. However, once I got adjusted to the bleakness of the plot and accepted the fact that Nora would actually be killing off an insane amount of characters for her, I really appreciated the story. Again, this book bore a remarkable resemblance to The Stand, but in no way felt derivative of the aforementioned novel.

Seeing people learn for the first time that they are witches or elves or fairies, while they are struggling to deal with the fallout of a plague that wipe out massive amounts of the population, was a truly unique twist on the apocalyptic plague storyline that has been so popular for the past decade or so. And seeing those people choose sides, joining either the Light or the Dark, was a study in human nature.

One of my favorite things about The Stand was witnessing survivors finding each other and trying to rebuild society in the small community they created. That same societal rebuilding was present here, and it was a joy to read after the horror and darkness of the Doom. But watching our various main characters meet up and begin rebuilding was a beautiful testament to the resilience of mankind. And while darkness may on occasion win a battle, light will always win the war. At least, this is what I gather from the books she released this year and those slated for release next year.

I might not agree with the spirituality presented in the majority of her novels, but I do agree with the worldview: Also, for the first time in her career, Nora has published a book without a central romance, which I think it incredibly gutsy. Thank you for stretching your wings, Nora, and for sharing the story.

Original review can be found at Booknest. View all 28 comments. Nov 22, Jilly rated it it was amazing Shelves: Nora Roberts writing Urban Fantasy? It's a good day. And, she wrote one of my favorite book boyfriends into existence. How could I resist this? I need it as much as I need this: Our story is not that unique, I admit it.

It has a little bit of the feel of Stephen King's "The Stand", but in a less gross and creepy way - also about a million times shorter. The world ends by way of virus and the survivors come in a few assorted varieties. There are the ones who fi Nora Roberts writing Urban Fantasy? There are the ones who find themselves with powers that are good. The light, and all that stuff. They are elves, good witches, faeries, shapeshifters, etc Some of them are just kind of clairvoyant.

And some of them have powers that they aren't quite sure they want, like seeing other people's deaths. It's not all glitter and rainbows Next are the ones with the dark powers. They seem kind of demonish. They are totally into torture, rape, and killing as many survivors as possible.

The School For Good and Evil / Dream Cast

They really enjoy it. That's right, they are sea turtle level evil. That's the ultimate in evilness.

Best Dystopian Novels - List of Dystopian Literature

And, finally, we have the humans that were immune for whatever reason. Some are good, some are bad, but many of them have the mentality that we humans tend to have when something new and powerful comes along that we don't understand: We are a predictable lot. In this book we are following a few different main characters and their struggles to find other humans and safety.

I liked all of the characters and felt like they were developing nicely. There are also some romances that are happening, along with some mystery and danger. It really had a lot going on, and I appreciated that. I also liked the pacing of the book and never got bored or felt like skimming. One of my favorite characters, aside from Fred, is a guy who shows up really late in the book. He is helping a woman in labor and has to deliver her baby and is completely clueless about the whole thing.

Here are some of his thoughts that cracked me up: Three insane hours later, he know damn well there had to be a better system I know it hurts. I don't know why the hell it has to hurt so much. It's a crap system, but we're getting closer to the payoff. You can do this. Where's the "let's kill it" meme? Not only did I love this character, but felt like all of them were interesting and well-developed. Only the bad guys seemed one-note, but we never really followed them or got into their heads.

I wouldn't mind seeing one or more of them struggle for their humanity or something like that in future books. Which brings me to my biggest negative - waiting for the next book. Plus, I don't want her to slow down on the Eve Dallas series to write this one. But, I don't want her to be slow on this one to write Eve Dallas. Can we clone Nora Roberts or something? I like where this is going. View all 18 comments. A normal set of events on New Years Eve sets off a catastrophe that slowly turns the world on end. Half of the population is gone, governments lose control, law and order are a thing of the past and magick is unleashed The story chronicles the paths of Lana Bingham and her partner, Max Fallon; journalist Arlys Reid and her intern Little Fred; and paramedic Jonah Vorhies and doctor Rachel Hopman, along with others as they make their way to some sembl A normal set of events on New Years Eve sets off a catastrophe that slowly turns the world on end.

The story chronicles the paths of Lana Bingham and her partner, Max Fallon; journalist Arlys Reid and her intern Little Fred; and paramedic Jonah Vorhies and doctor Rachel Hopman, along with others as they make their way to some semblance of sanity. I was skeptical when I learned Nora was tackling this genre but I should have known better. She masterfully creates a world of chaos while interjecting normalcy through her characters. I was mesmerized while at the same time horrified at what might be around the next corner.

The characters got under my skin and atypical of the author, not all were sacred. Julia Whelan delivers the most wonderful performance in her narration, seemingly being several different narrators. Her storytelling was just perfect and her male interpretations were more than believable.

The underlying premise is mystifying but also kind of logical. The contrasts of good and evil with human nature is chilling as it has some parallels to current events. View all 21 comments. Jan 08, Phrynne rated it it was amazing Shelves: Nora Roberts is one of those authors who can write anything she turns her hand to and in this case it is a dystopian fantasy. The world is decimated by a plague which is followed by magical powers appearing in many of the survivors.

Of course where there is good magic there has to be bad also and just surviving the Doom does not mean you are going to live for long. Roberts has a knack for developing characters we care for and some of them do make it to the end of the book. However it is quite cle Nora Roberts is one of those authors who can write anything she turns her hand to and in this case it is a dystopian fantasy.

However it is quite clear that no one is safe yet and there are going to be many years before people will be safe again. I am looking forward to the next book and hopefully finding out what happened to Fred, Katie and the babies.

Customers who bought this item also bought

I enjoyed Year One very much indeed and I can recommend the audiobook version as well! View all 12 comments. Jan 14, Tiffany PSquared rated it liked it Shelves: They've gone mad, like she has. Immune to the virus, doomed anyway. It wasn't bad, but then again, it wasn't that good either. Want to know what this book was?

What I Liked - The Doom. Even the name gives it the weight it deserves. A plague on the land that decimates the human population and forces those that remain into survivor mode. Yes, I'm here for all of that. Faeries, witches, warlocks, shapeshifters, and, yes, magick! Gore and battle, survival and heroism, loss and victory. The book comes alive when the action is underway.

Sure, in every story the tide of action ebbs and flows. It just seems like there was a little too much ebbing hence the Little House on the Prairie reference. The survivors set up communities and we learn all about their attempts at husbandry and lawmaking, breadmaking and baby-burping. Unfinished sentences peppered the book and some where it was unclear who the speaker was.

It seemed out of character for Roberts. The "busy" parts of the book were well written. I felt the danger, the fear, the distress, and the determination. But the parts in between the action were disappointing in how bland and mundane they were. I know this is a trilogy and that takes some plot-building, but do I really have to know about it every time Lana cooks a meal or someone plants some rosemary?

There are so many of them maybe too many? How did they form so quickly? It's never mentioned if they are Uncanny or human. Are they motivated just to raid and nothing else? And the dark Uncanny -- who are the ones that aren't in human form? Where did they come from?

At this point, I almost feel like I could walk away from the series and be alright. That's not what a fantasy series is supposed to make you feel. Truth is, there are so many characters and so many stories, it was difficult to feel attached to any one character or set of circumstances. Not to mention that at certain times, Roberts takes a few pages from George R. Generally, I enjoy apocalyptic, dystopian novels.

They help me appreciate the relatively calm and generally peaceful world I live in every day. Plus, they help remind me to keep my go-bag full of new batteries and protein bars. Nora Roberts has put her pen keyboard? And what better way to start off a new year than to read about a pandemic plague that almost ended life as we know it? This book was alright. It had parts that were really well-written, but there are things about it that might keep me from recommending it to all.

Get A Copy

View all 3 comments. I haven't read many Nora Robert books preferring instead the works of her alter-ego JD Robb but as this is more fantasy I decided to give it a go. And I really enjoyed it. It doesn't re-write the apocalypse genre but it is a good read and I did like the magical twist. As with many of this type of book there's a host of characters but Nora juggles them well with lots of individual personalities and is some cases abilities.


  1. Year One (Chronicles of The One, #1) by Nora Roberts.
  2. Product details.
  3. Megan Duncan - The Independent Author Network!
  4. !
  5. .
  6. !
  7. ?

We have fairies, elves, telekinetics and more. I quite liked the inclusion I haven't read many Nora Robert books preferring instead the works of her alter-ego JD Robb but as this is more fantasy I decided to give it a go. I quite liked the inclusion of all the babies. That's an interesting twist and they've been set up for the most part to have big roles in the next few weeks.

I didn't quite enjoy the ending. I accept that we needed to follow the story of Lana and the birth of her daughter but her leaving the sanctuary of New Hope meant we didn't get to really say goodbye to the rest of the people in the book. As this is the first of a series I know they'll be back but it did feel a bit abrupt for me.

Oh and I kept waiting for the Big Bad to turn up and didn't quite get that. There are one or two characters that are bad and again you can see they will have more of a role in the second book but I was expecting a super-evil but I'm happy to wait and see what happens next. Overall I really enjoyed this. I'm intrigued enough to follow the series to its conclusion and looking forward to what happens next Free arc from netgalley Jun 21, Ben Alderson rated it liked it.

I have been mulling over what to rate this. I am not the biggest fan of reviewing books on goodreads but I really want to explain this rating The reason this book lost two stars for me.. I really didn't see enough 'Uncanny' characters. I wanted more explanation to the differences between witches, fairies, elves bla bla bla. I just found the reading experience so hard to visualise what was going on. That being said, I did enjoy this book. Anyway, sorry for this grammar filled, gross spelled review.

Similar authors to follow

I am having a coffee now but it seems to not be working.. Dec 05, Ron Charles rated it it was ok Shelves: Anyone monitoring the mutating strains of pop fiction should have seen this new hybrid emerging from the Queen of Romance. Yes, the ground is already littered with the corpses of earlier apocalyptic novels, but Roberts will have no trouble clearing a spot to land.

What better way to celebrate the centennial of the Spanish flu? The trouble starts, as it so often does, at a. To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post: View all 16 comments. In New York, as people sickened and died, terror and madness spread throughout the community. And they had to escape the madness while they could… Max Fallon and Lana Bingham were two such people — as was journalist Arlys and rookie Fred who manned the local TV station.

Getting out of New York City any way they could, they encountered horror and evil in streets that had been obliterated of anything familiar. Separately each small group headed out, as did other survivors; Rachel, a doctor; Jonah, a paramedic along with Katie and her babies. None of them knew where they would end up — or even if they would survive — but they would do all they could to start a new life. The magic that some felt inside was filled with light — but others knew only darkness. The travellers needed to be careful who they trusted.

What would be the outcome? Could they feel hope for the future when it seemed there were very few people left? This woman is amazing! She can write anything. I absolutely devoured Year One and am really looking forward to book 2 in the hopefully not too distant future. A dystopian fantasy novel which is fast-paced, intriguing, magical and just plain exhilarating, Year One is one I highly recommend. View all 9 comments. That is until I started and realised what a slog this was going to be for me. Not because this was awful, it so wasn't, It was just I couldn't gel and was actually finding reading this a chore.

Anyone who knows's me knows I devour books in one sitting and this took me eleven days to get finished which is a lot for me. So Year one is a post-apocalyptic supernatural exstravaganza. And this may have been my issue I would have prefered one or the other, for me, the two together didn't quite work. As the world, as we know it, starts to disintegrate new factions spring up clawing there way out of the resulting chaos. Of the five million dead, Mankind and the newly emerged magic kind, regroup into factions of light versus dark. The wickedness of mankind, that has previously hidden behind a persona, soon becomes apparent in the decimated population left behind.

And It's also a new world filled with all sorts of magical creatures both light and dark. I'm not entirely sure why I struggled so much with this as Year One was very well written and I have also enjoyed various Nora Roberts works before. All roads ultimately leading to New Hope.

But I found this style of writing had me ultimately failing to connect with the characters. As soon as I had sat down and got comfy things were changing directions for me it was making me giddy all the swift changes involved here. I also found the many different individuals introduced somewhat confusing to behold, I would have to stop and think or check back pages to work out who they were. I found this aspect very distracting indeed.

But despite my gripes, I did finish this I'm just not yet sure if I'm invested enough to continue on to the next book in this series. On the one hand, I would really like to see what happens next in regards to Lana, but I'm just not sure that I'm invested enough to keep me going. I will have to decide nearer to the time.

Year One, I imagine will be a solid hit with many, for me, it just failed to live up to my expectations. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm https: Year One by Nora Roberts is a dystopian novel that has a lot of diversity to keep you entertained.

After a virus kills off billions on people the survivors are left with a fight of good against evil. Many of the survivors learn that they now have developed strange powers. In this new post apocalyptic world its survival of the fittest. I'm am looking forward to the second book in this trilogy to find out what happens to the many interesting characters. Feb 02, Suzanne rated it it was amazing. This book was so amazing! This is a story of survivors trying to not only survive but restart civilization.

I really cannot think of other things to say that would not spoil things. Heck, I cannot even put something about one of the main plots because it would completely destroy some of the story. So I will leave it that this book is epic. It is a must read for sure. My quick and simple overall: This novel starts out following multiple story lines and perspectives through a world where a plague dubbed "The Doom" is swiftly wiping out the population.

As the story moves along, the character's paths begin to cross. This novel has many very likable characters and the audio version did a great job with the various voices. The narrator really added a lot of fun and personality to the reading. While you get to know many of the characters in depth, Max and Lana are the two main characters who really push themselves into the forefront of the storyline. Once the Doom sets in, Lana, along with many others in the world, have suddenly discovered that they have various magical capabilities--some of which embrace the darker side of magic.

This novel was a very unique, yet odd mixture of post-apocalyptic, survivalist-type fiction and some pretty heavy fantasy. It may have just been me personally, but I would often get so into the on-the-road, survival action that I would forget that this was also a fantasy novel until someone whipped out their fairy wings or started flying into the air among black smoke When radio transmissions of a resistance offering shelter and safety cease, Abby is tempted to give up.

Struggling to overcome life-threatening obstacles in their dangerous journey, Abby and her companions quickly discover there are much worse things lurking in the dark than they could have ever imagined. Read more Read less. Books In This Series 2 Books. Page 1 of 1 Start Over Page 1 of 1. Kindle Cloud Reader Read instantly in your browser.

Customers who bought this item also bought. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Blackout Crossbreed Series Book 5. Sponsored products related to this item What's this? The only thing I know for sure is that someone in this city is watching me. And I just hope to God it isn't my past catching up to me. Adam Riding Hard Book 1. An injured stunt rider returns to his family home to find that the shy girlfriend he left behind is now a strong and beautiful woman. Can she take on the world's most elite drivers to become the first female world champion You'll love this totally original young adult novel.

This former Navy fighter pilot always gets what he wants A Shot in the Bark: Intelligent plotting; fun, eccentric characters; a dash of romance; and dogs. Over five star reviews on Amazon. Product details File Size: March 20, Sold by: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review.

Read reviews that mention megan duncan new mexico friend max post apocalyptic brother carter edge of my seat best friend abby and carter looking forward well written next book along the way felt like long time carter and max abby and max demon apocalypse agents of evil military base really liked.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Odd man out yet again. The premise was good so I was really disappointed with the execution. For myself, I just did not feel the flow. The dialogue, the relationships, even the random encounters were stilted and choppy. I did not feel a connection with the characters or care what happened to them. Ultimately, when they got to where they were going, I would have been disappointed if I actually cared so it is just as well.

On the unrealistic side, among end of the world scenarios, having the world end with demons and prophecy just seems more hopeless than anything else. How can you fight against supernatural doom? It pretty much seems a losing battle to know God really has it in for the human race. Either that or you need to give the humans some kind of wild card edge like a bunch of rebel angels decided to fight for team humanity or something.

Overall I did enjoy Released. It's got an interesting story line, I haven't read many yet that demons are the cause of society falling apart, instead of say zombies, disease, etc.. I also did enjoy the characters, especially Abby. But there were a few things that just didn't do it for me in the story. What I did like: As I said I liked the story. While I will say I prefer zombies over all other forms of societal destruction, I do say that I really enjoyed how the author used demons and slowly introduced different versions though out the book. As the characters learn about them so does the reader so there isn't a whole bunch that you have to learn about all at once.

Also the ending is obviously a lead in to the next book in the series, but it isn't a sheer drop off. It does it's job of leaving the reader wanting to find out more about what is going on and what is going to happen to the characters that you've met so far. There's one line at the end of the book that really got to me. I can't share it, cause it will completely spoil the whole story of the book I liked the characters. The book is told from Abby's POV so you only get to know the other characters through Abby's interactions with them. But it was enough for me to feel familiar with her brother, his friend Max and some of the others they meet along the way.

I liked Max and Carter, however there were a few that I think I was supposed to like that I just didn't. For me I think that was just I didn't like certain characters personalities, not a failure in anyway on the way they were written. Things I didn't like: There were a few details I'll try to explain without giving away any big ticket item spoilers. My biggest issue is electricity. The world has basically gone to hell.

Yes, pun intended So many people have 'disappeared' that as far as the reader can tell the three main characters are only a handful of people actually left. Electricity, or the lack there of, isn't really discussed or brought up by the main character. While there is mention that they'll have to be siphoning gas and there are references to camp cooking stoves and generators it's never said about whether power is out completely or just in certain areas.

But I assumed from what I read that yea, the powers out.

See a Problem?

Then there are two scenes in the book where the power is suddenly there. In one scene a bit into the book the characters stop at a gas station and after one of them goes inside to turn on the pumps they find one that works and fill up their car. Now at this point I'm going on the thought that there is no one left to keep the grids up so there is no power. So my issue is how did they turn the pumps on and how did they get the pumps to pump without electricity? I know older pumps, WAY older don't rely on electricity in the same way new ones do, but it isn't mentioned that this is an older gas station or anything like that.

Plus before this scene the characters had already been siphoning gas from other cars. In another scene they come upon another survivor who seems to have electricity in their home to power a radio and do laundry. But they aren't there long enough to explain if the person is using a generator or not. It just struck me as odd plot holes in a book that otherwise I really didn't have an issue with. I know some would say I'm nitpicking, but it really bothered me. I reread the book up to those points to see if the electricity issue was brought up and it wasn't.

Not really one way or another. The story was good enough that I can ignore the power issue and I want to see what happens to the characters in the next book. Plus I got the book on Amazon for free so it's not like I was out any money. But it is still something that I think needs to be mentioned. Even if the author didn't have access to an editor to point out the issue, a decent beta reader should have been able to.