Year One

This is the third book in the "disease that wiped out most of the human population" genre that I've read in the last couple of years. The other two were [b:Fever|112750|Darkfever (Fever, #1)|Karen Marie Moning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392579949l/112750.SY75.jpg|108558] by [a:Deon Meyer|283304|Deon Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225442760p2/283304.jpg] and [b:Oryx and Crake|46756|Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668379066l/46756.SY75.jpg|3143431] by [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg], so I'm naturally tempted to make comparisons. There are also several older books based on the same trope, which makes it almost a genre of its own. Other is in the genre include [b:Earth Abides|93269|Earth Abides|George R. Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320505234l/93269.SY75.jpg|1650913] by [a:George Stewart|53501|George R. Stewart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1308205401p2/53501.jpg] and [b:The Stand|87591651|The Stand|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674820514l/87591651.SX50.jpg|1742269] by [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg].

[b:Year One|59980|Batman Year One|Frank Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574630214l/59980.SY75.jpg|2501570], however, was published in 2018, a year before the Covid-19 pandemic actually changed the lives of many people, and so it was interesting to see how what actually happened differed from what [a:Nora Roberts|625|Nora Roberts|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1505847251p2/625.jpg] envisaged what might happen. Of all the others in the genre this one most resembles Fever, in that both pictures small groups of people travelling in convoys to join survivor communities, and motorbike gangs preying both on the survivors and the settled communities.

There are differences, too, obviously, otherwise both would have been almost the same book. Year One has a more New Agey feel, in that some people, for unknown reasons, but thought to relate to the pandemic, transform into mythical or folkloric creatures like faeries, elves and the like. It loos as though this book might be the first of a series, so perhaps it might be revealed later in the series why these changes took place.

If you find the genre interesting (and since the Covid-19 pandemic, who doesn't?), it's worth a read. Fever (see my review here, which also mentions some of the others in the genre)is somewhat better in the main body of the story, but has a very disappointing ending. This one has a better ending, but is overall not quite as good.