Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I examine one of my most anticipated upcoming thrillers for 2026 with the epic new Rogue Team International novel from Jonathan Maberry, Red Empire.
I have made no secret over the years about just how much I enjoy the crazy works of author Jonathan Maberry. A highly inventive author with a knack for awesome action sequences and a love of horror, Maberry has been writing impressive novels since 2006, with his chilling Pine Deep series. Since then, he has gone on to write a stagging variety of novels, including the zombie apocalypse Rot & Ruin and Dead of Night series, his V-War comic series, as well as several awesome standalone novels like the disturbing Ink. Maberry has also had fun diving into the fantasy and science fiction genre in recent years, including his exceptional Kagen the Damned dark fantasy trilogy, made up of Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), and The Dragon in Winter (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2024), as well as the science fiction novel NeckroTek (the sequel of which, Cold War, I’m hoping to read soon).
While I’m a huge fan of all the above series, my favourite body of Maberry’s work remains his iconic and long-running Joe Ledger series. Following the titular troubled protagonist as he works as a part of an elite government special forces team detailed to stopping terrorist attacks or criminal organisations using advanced and unusual technology, the Joe Ledger novels were impressive and complex thrillers with over-the-top science fiction or horror elements. The original series, which ran for 10 books, features some amazing novels, including Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, Assassin’s Code, Predator One and Deep Silence just to name a few. Each of these novels were amazing reads on their own, although I also got really drawn into the ongoing storylines and recurring villains.
Following the end of the original Joe Ledger books, Maberry continued many of his storylines in the sequel Rogue Team International series, bringing back the major characters and setting them up as independent intelligence operatives working for themselves. This series was also extremely exciting, and I have appreciated the way in which the author has continued some of the complex story arcs and villainous narratives from the first series. The Rogue Team International books have so far featured Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Cave 13 (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) and the 2025 release, Burn to Shine, each of which have been pretty damn amazing and filled with some dark and captivating narratives.
Due to how much I love this extended series, I am already quite excited about the next upcoming Rogue Team International book coming out in early 2026, Red Empire. Set to be the fifth entry in the Rogue Team International series and the 15th overall Joe ledger novel, Red Empire has an intriguing plot that sees an old enemy of Ledger and his organization engage in a new plot to destroy the world, while shocking secrets and ancient mysteries come to light. Set for release in March 2026, Red Empire sounds amazing, and I am already extremely eager to get my hands on it.
Plot Synopsis:
In the next novel in the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, the team faces new and old enemies alike as a bioengineered version of The Black Death surfaces.
Hundreds of years after the first waves of the bubonic plague swept through Europe, a new, more dangerous version threatens London. Joe Ledger’s old enemy the Red Empire—reborn as a far more powerful political and military group—has bioengineered a weaponized version of yersinia pestis—the bacteria responsible for The Black Death that killed tens of millions in the Middle Ages.
As Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International race against the clock to put a stop to the Red Empire’s plans, they’re sucked into the strange and mysterious past of the man called Mr. Church. Secrets come to light that make even his staunchest allies wonder who –and more precisely what—Church really is.
With whispers of an elixir vitae—or elixir of life—circling, Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International are facing the highest possible stakes in their work together yet. As the tension builds and the balance between life and death sways precariously, it seems like tragic losses among them might be inevitable.
Oh yeah, I am already very excited for this. Based on this above synopsis, Maberry has pulled together another intriguing plot for Red Empire, and I’m looking forward to seeing it unfold. Seeing the return of an old enemy organisation, the sinister Red Empire, is going to be amazing, especially as they attempt to unleash a deadly biological weapon upon the world. I look forward to seeing the plot revolve around this new battle between Ledger and his foes, and I’m expecting a lot of epic action and intense carnage as a result.
While the focus on the Red Empire and their new strain of the Black Death will be awesome, the part of the synopsis that I, and most long-term Joe Ledger fans, are most interested in, is the section that talks about the secret origins of Mr Church. Church, the founder and leader of the titular organisation and its predecessor government department, has long been an enigmatic figure, bending world leaders to his will and boasting an insane set of skills and contacts to save the day. Maberry has strongly hinted about a supernatural origin to Mr Church over the years, including in the shocking final scene of Burn to Shine. However, the full details of who, or what, Mr Church is, as well as his connection to his chaotic antagonist Nicodemus, has yet to be completely revealed. From the sounds of the synopsis above, as well as some details revealed by Maberry, it looks like we are finally going to get the full origin story of Mr Church in Red Empire. I’ve honestly been waiting for this background on one of Maberry’s best characters for years, and I cannot emphasise just how excited I am to finally find out the true tale of Mr Church and the origins of his war against evil.
I think it’s very clear from this long Waiting on Wednesday post that I’m very keen to get my hands on Red Empire next year. This upcoming Joe Ledger/Rogue Team International novel from Jonathan Maberry sounds so damn cool, and I cannot wait to see all the carnage and trauma that the author will unleash upon his fans with this new book. Throw in the fact that Maberry is finally going to reveal one of his series’ most intriguing and long-running secrets, and this is already one of the books I most excited to read next year. I can guarantee that I will be listening to Red Empire the very second it comes out, and I already know I’m going to love everything about it.
The Unseen Library 