Throwback Thursday: Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry

On September 25, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday17 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 25 April 2017)

Series: Joe Ledger – Book Nine

Length: 17 hours and 45 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I check out Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry, the 9^th novel in the action-packed, over-the-top Joe Ledger series.

People familiar with my blog will be aware that over the last year or so I have been making my way through Maberry’s Joe Ledger science fiction thriller novels. I have been a little obsessed with these books ever since I first checked out the 10^th novel in the series, Deep Silence, and then went all the way back to book one, Patient Zero, to see how the series started. Ever since then I have worked my way through the rest of the Joe Ledger novels, each of which has proven to be a pretty top notch read. I absolutely love the clever writing style, unique stories and distinctive characters that Maberry features in these novels, and I usually power through them in extremely short order. Dogs of War is no exception, as I was able to get through this in less than a week and it did not take long for me to get addicted to its intriguing and exciting plot.

Following the disastrous events of Kill Switch, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS), a secret American counterterrorist unit that focuses on dangerous and unusual technology and science, is damaged and discredited. However, they are still determined to do good throughout the world, and their main field agent, the legendary Joe Ledger, is always keen for a new case. So when his brother calls him out of the blue with an unusual mystery, Ledger does not hesitate to head back to Baltimore in order to investigate.

Arriving in his former hometown, Ledger discovers a curious set of circumstances. A young street worker went on a rampage, killing several people before dying herself. The cause of her madness appears to be a new strain of rabies, which was apparently triggered by nanobots in her brain. Attempting to investigate more into the case, Ledger finds himself and his family targeted by ruthless killers with advanced technology, determined to ward him off the case. It soon becomes apparent that the death of the young girl in Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg, as other mysterious events and attacks occur across America, many of them targeting members of the DMS. A new enemy has risen from the ashes of the DMS’s old foes, and she is determined to bring about a new world order. Worse, the DMS’s most dangerous enemy has returned, ready to rain chaos and destruction down on the entire world. Can Ledger and his team defeat this ruthless team of villains before it is too late, or will Ledger face the greatest tragedy of his life?

So, after reading all 10 Joe Ledger novels (as well as the spinoff novel, Rage), I have come to the conclusion that is actually impossible for Maberry to write a bad Joe Ledger novel. I was once again blown away while reading this ninth book as Dogs of War contained an epic and addictive story that I could not stop listening to. Maberry continues to utilise his distinctive writing style in this book, setting up a captivating and clever story that is loaded with intense action, likeable characters, memorable antagonists and a devious plot to end the world. This results in a very captivating read and Dogs of War gets an easy five stars from me. This is actually one of my favourite novels in the series and is probably the best one I have read this year (by a very small margin; Predator One and Kill Switch are both really good). Also he briefly mentions my Alma mater, ANU, so yay for that!

Dogs of War contains an absolutely fantastic story that sees the fun and complicated protagonist, Joe Ledger, face off against another world ending threat. Just like in the rest of the series, Dogs of War’s narrative is cleverly constructed with about half the novel is told from the point of view of Ledger, as he encounters the antagonist’s plot in real time. However, the rest of the novel features a large array of alternate perspectives and preceding time periods that expands the range of the story and helps to create a complex and captivating narrative which really grabs the reader’s attention and interest. Maberry backs up this great storytelling with a thrilling and action-packed narrative that is fast-paced and delightfully over-the-top. I really love the unique science fiction thriller storylines that Maberry features within Dogs of War and I appreciated all the cool connections that it has to previous novels in the series. This cool story will appeal to a wide range of different readers and it is extremely accessible to people who are unfamiliar with the Joe Ledger series as Maberry goes to great lengths to explain all the various story elements and characters featured within the book. That being said, I really need to emphasise just how truly over-the-top this story could be, as there are a number of scenes that some readers may find uncomfortable or hard to read. This includes some very graphic fight sequences and some rather disturbing sexual content, some of which, if I am being honest, is way too excessive (one flashback scene features the underage antagonist getting deflowered by a literal demon right after her mother’s funeral, which happened to coincide with 9/11). Still I have a lot of love for the way in which Maberry constructs a Joe Ledger story, and Dogs of War is a truly fun and thrilling story as a result.

Just like with the previous novels in this series, Maberry has anchored his amazing story on a fantastic collection of characters who really help to enhance the narrative and turn this into a first-class read. The main character is the series’ titular protagonist, Joe Ledger. Ledger is an extremely complex character due to his fractured personalities and intense emotional range, and it is always incredible to see the story through his eyes, whether he is feeling each and every emotional blow that comes as way as a result of the case, or he is dishing out severe and brutal vengeance to those who have wronged him. Ledger is also the cause of most of the book’s enjoyable humour, as he has an extremely flippant outer personality, including a hilarious and sarcastic inner monologue, which becomes especially funny when he encounters the various strange and over-the-top elements that this series is known for.

In addition to Ledger, Maberry also does an amazing job reintroducing and utilising the various recurring characters who have been featured in the previous entries in the series. All of the side characters have their own distinctive and enjoyable personalities, and fans of the series will really appreciate seeing many of these characters return and continue their various individual storylines. This includes the two surviving members of Ledger’s personal strike team, Top and Bunny, who serve as a great backup throughout the novel and get into some dangerous scrapes of their own. I particularly appreciated the way in which the author examined and showcased the emotional damage that these two characters have been dealing with since the traumatic events of Kill Switch, and it added an amazing sense of realism to the story. I also absolutely loved seeing more of Ledger’s attack dog, Ghost, the best and most lovable canine killing machine in all of fiction. It is an absolute testament to Maberry’s writing ability that he is able to install such a fun and memorable personality into a fictional dog, and you can’t help but love it when Ghost is on the page doing his thing. That being said, one of the best characters in the novel has to be the mysterious head of the DMS, Mr Church. Church is a calm and measured figure throughout the novel, grounding the various main characters and providing stable leadership to them. However, the main appeal of Church lies around his enigmatic nature and past. Maberry has built up such an amazing amount of mystique around this character that anytime a little hint or mention of his past is presented the reader absolutely laps it up as they try to figure out who or what he is (is he an alien, an angel, some form of immortal hero from history? You just don’t know). Dogs of War features several more tantalising hints and clues about this, and you get some very interesting glances into his past, although there is still so much mystery. I really loved seeing all these great characters again, and it was fantastic to see how the story unwinds around them.

No Joe Ledger novel would be complete with a sensationally evil villain with a complicated past and an elaborate master plan, and Dogs of War features both in spades. The main antagonist of this novel, Zephyr Bane, is a rather intriguing character with a unique view on the world and a range of connection to some of the villains previously featured in the series. Maberry does an outstanding job building up this antagonist throughout the course of Dogs of War, including through a series of interludes that show key moments in Zephyr’s life, such as how she came up with her plans and how she was tutored in the art of villainy. While Zephyr is a great antagonist, Maberry doubles down on the villainy in the novel by introducing another sinister opponent for the DMS to face. This second antagonist is someone who has appeared in several of the past Joe Ledger novels, although his identity is hidden for a good part of the book (although fans of the series will work out who they are rather quickly). This character is another particularly mysterious being, who spends most of the book manipulating events from the shadows, giving the reader hints at who they are and what they are capable of. A major highlight of this novel is this villain’s long-awaited showdown with a major Joe Ledger character, and this fated interaction does not disappoint, even if it leaves the readers with more questions than answers. Overall, these are some fantastic antagonists, and I absolutely love seeing the outrageously evil opponents that Maberry comes up with for these books.

I also have to highlight the extremely complex and intricate evil plot that these antagonists came up with for Dogs of War. This was a great, high-stakes plan that contained a lot of different elements that are slowly revealed to the reader throughout the course of the book. Not only does Maberry make great use of flashbacks and interludes to show how this plan came to pass and the various planning stages but he also spends time examining how the antagonists attempt to counter the inevitable interference from the DMS. Both of the main antagonists have had interactions with the DMS before, and they know that any plan they implement will gain the attention of the DMS at some point. As a result, they come up with a number of counters and tactics designed to directly target key elements of the DMS in order to take them off the board. This was a really clever part of the story, as not only does it add an extra level of drama to the narrative, especially when Ledger is emotionally targeted, but it also represents a clever bit of continuity with the rest of the series. A lot of the weaknesses that the antagonists attempt to exploit were previously introduced or discussed in some of the previous Joe Ledger novels. The antagonists subsequently try to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors when they utilise these weaknesses, resulting in a lot of tension as some of the characters you are invested in are personally targeted. I think this was one of the more inventive master plots that Maberry has come up with for the Joe Ledger series.

One of the most fascinating parts of Dogs of War was the author’s examination of certain real-world technologies. Throughout the course of the book, the author examines all manner of technological marvels in great detail, including nanobots, advanced robots, drones, computer technology and artificial intelligence. This results in a number of intriguing discussions as the various characters consider all the applications and impacts that such technology has on the world, these technologies are then cleverly worked into the plot of the book as the antagonists utilise them for their evil plans. Not only is this immensely interesting and highlights the research that the author has obviously done, but all this technology adds a certain amount of real-world menace to the book. As Maberry takes pains to explain at the very front of the book, all of the technologies that he features within Dogs of War is either in development, currently being tested or already exist in the real world. As a result, the reader gets a little bit of dread at the thought that a lot of the terrible things that Maberry features within Dogs of War could happen in real life. This of course helps to ratchet up the tension and suspense within the novel, and I really appreciated how the author used this to make the story even better. Also, you get to see the protagonist go up against a bunch of robotic dogs, which is just awesome on so many levels.

In order to enjoy Dogs of War I checked out the audiobook format of the novel, which has a decent run time just short of 18 hours. I absolutely love the Joe Ledger audiobooks and they are by far my preferred way to enjoy these fantastic novels. The main reason for this is the awesome narrator, Ray Porter, who has lent his talent to every novel in the Joe Ledger series, including Dogs of War, and whose voice really enhances these books. Porter, who is probably my favourite audiobook narrator at the moment, does an amazing job bringing the characters and the story to life, thanks to his memorable voices and the impressive way that he loads each word with so much emotion and personality. You always get an incredible sense of the character’s emotions, as the anger, rage, fear or grief that they go through always comes through so clearly. I particularly love the way that Porter brings the series’ main character, Joe Ledger, to life, as he perfectly captures Ledger’s diverse emotive range, including his boundless anger and his outrageous and sarcastic humour. I also love the incredible voices he utilises for some other characters, such as the mysterious Mr Church, and his depiction of him contains all the necessary gravitas and power to match the character described in the text. I also liked the way in which Porter loads one of the antagonist’s voices up with such pure menace and hatred, turning them into a very threatening figure in this format. All of this made listening to Dogs of War an absolute treat, and I cannot recommend the Joe Ledger audiobooks enough.

Dogs of War was another excellent and addictive entry in Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, and I had an amazing time listening to it. Featuring an outstanding story, awesome characters and so many other fantastic elements, this was an incredible read and I am extremely glad that I checked it out. I have to admit that I am actually a little sad to have finished off Dogs of War, as that was the last Joe Ledger novel that I had to read. I have really enjoyed going back and checking out all of the wonderful novels in this superb series, and I will have to get my science fiction thriller fix somewhere else in the future. Luckily, Maberry actually references several other great series in Dogs of War that could be worth checking out, including the Sigma Force, Seal Team 666 and Chess Team thriller novels, all of which apparently exist in a shared universe with the Joe Ledger books. I will have to have a think about look at some of these in the future, especially as I wait for Maberry to write another entry in his spin-off Rogue Team International series. In the meantime, Dogs of War is really worth reading and it comes very highly recommended from me.

Amazon Book Depository

Top Ten Tuesday – Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies

On August 18, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn List8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants need to list the books that they think need to be adapted into a Netflix show or movie. My first thought when I heard about this topic was, is Netflix sponsoring this post somehow? Are they that desperate for new ideas that they are conducting some sort of sneaky market research on us? If they are, I am personally fine with it. Netflix has a pretty good track record of turning some popular books and comics into some fun shows and movies, many of which I have enjoyed. An obvious recent example is The Witcher, although other great examples include The Umbrella Academy (I just binged the second season over two days), A Series of Unfortunate Events, You, The Last Kingdom, and Orange is the New Black. So if Netflix is looking for some more books to turn into awesome shows, I am all for it and I definitely have some ideas for them.

In order to do this list, I scoured through some of my favourite books and comics to try and decide which ones would make the best television series. I already had a few on my mind the moment I found out what this week’s topic was, as several of these novels have television potential that really stands out when you are reading. As the topic was Netflix shows and movies, I did try to exclude any series or universe that had already been bought by another streaming company or which is already in development at Netflix (such as any of Mark Millar’s comics). As a result, you won’t be seeing The Lord of the Rings or The Wheel of Time on this list, as both are already in production in some form or other, and I have also excluded any comics or books owned by Disney or DC Comics (although a Doctor Aphra Star Wars series would be pretty epic).

I eventually came up with quite a few books, series or comics that I thought would make a good television series, and I was able to whittle away a few options to make a Top Ten List. I am actually rather happy with how this list turned out, as there are some interesting options on this list. People familiar with my blog will not be surprised by some of the entries I included, but I think there are some good surprises in there that will make this stand out a little. So let us see how this turned out.

Honourable Mentions:

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind Cover

As one of the best fantasy series ever written, The Kingkiller Chronicle is an obvious choice for this list, as its potential to be an awesome series is hard to deny. However, due to the fact that an adaption for this series is already in the works, I decided to leave it as an honourable mention. The Kingkiller Chronicle is a special case, as the last I heard about the adaptation was that it was going to avoid the main story of the novels and instead do a whole new narrative in the same universe. As I personally think a good Netflix adaptation of the main story would be much better, I decided to include this series on the list and hope like heck any adaption turns out alright.

Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz

out of the dark cover

This is a fun and exciting spy series that features a rogue super-agent on the run fighting criminals and helping people as a vigilante. I have been absolutely loving these books, including the last two novels Out of the Dark and Into the Fire, and I think that these novels could be turned into something really cool, for example: Out of the Dark features the protagonist going up against the entire Secret Service in order to kill a corrupt President, which is pretty damn awesome.

The Cleric Quintet by R. A. Salvatore

Canticle Cover

It’s apparently quite hard for me to do a Top Ten Tuesday list without mentioning one of my favourite fantasy authors, R. A. Salvatore. I am a major fan of Salvatore’s writing and I think many of his books would make awesome shows or movies. However, as it would be pretty impossible to adapt any of his Drizzt Do’Urden novels into movies of television shows (you can imagine the issues they would have trying to cast and portray any Dark Elf characters), I have instead featured The Cleric Quintet fantasy novels. The Cleric Quintet follows a young priest and his unusual friends and companions as they attempt to defend their region of the Forgotten Realms from all manner of evil. This is a great piece of classic high fantasy fiction and I think that viewers would love the intriguing tales included within (I personally loved the second book, In Sylvan Shadows, the most), as well as the fantastic development shown by the main characters throughout the course of the series.

Top Ten List:

The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie

The Blade Itself

When I was coming up with the entries for this list, the first books I thought about were The First Law novels by Joe Abercrombie. This is because The First Law books are an outstanding dark fantasy series that features all manner of blood, brutality and manipulations, which would translate extremely well into a powerful and addictive television series. The real strength of these novels is their unique collection of complicated and flawed characters, each of whom is doing their best to survive in an extremely harsh world. There are some great protagonists in these novels, each of whom has the potential to become an iconic television character if portrayed right, including a deadly warrior with severe rage issues, a pompous dandy who has greatness violently thrust upon him and an exceedingly manipulative mage whose wisdom and plots are entirely self-serving (think an evil version of Gandalf). The main reason these books could be adapted into an epic show is thanks to the character of Sand dan Glokta, a dark and ugly character, physically and mentally twisted by years of torture by the enemy, who now dishes out torture himself as an inquisitor, when he finds himself investigating some of the strange events troubling his nation. Glokta is an incredible character, and with the right actor he could easily be the next Tyrion Lannister. As a result, I really want to see an adaption of this series, and Netflix can easily make something pretty epic from these books, including the recent sequel novel, A Little Hatred.

Joe Ledger novels by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero Cover

Now these are some books that would make for an exciting television series. Jonathan Maberry’s action-packed Joe Ledger novels are a compelling thriller series that sets government agents against some of the weirdest things that science can create. There are some amazing stories contained within the Joe Ledger novels, including weaponised zombies (Patient Zero), ancient vampires (Assassin’s Code) and genetically modified killers (The Dragon Factory), and the clever way that Maberry sets out each novel with interludes and chapters told from the antagonists perspective would translate very well into a television series. These books also have some fantastic characters, including some insanely brilliant villains, a damaged protagonist and a mysterious spy master, that are just waiting to be brought to life by a group of talented actors in order to become something iconic. Out of all of the entries on this list, this one might have the most potential to get made as Maberry already has connections with Netflix, after his V-Wars series of comics were turned into a show last year.

The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora Cover

This is another exceptional series of fantasy novels that I thought would make an incredible show as I was reading it. These books follow a group of con men who attempt to swindle and steal from some of the most dangerous people in their fantasy world. These books are amongst some of the best pieces of fantasy fiction out there, and their unique blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements would definitely make for a memorable and exciting television series.

World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z Cover

Now this was an entry that my editor/wife Alex wished me to include on this list. I have to admit that I have not read this book (I’ll get to it at some point), but I did enjoy the movie. I understand that this awesome book is substantially different to the movie, comprising of several vignettes detailing different experiences of the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to the rather narrow perspective represented by Brad Pitt in the film. Alex seems to think that a Netflix series would probably be a much better way to translate this fantastic story to the screen, and from what I have heard about the book I think I agree, especially after I really enjoyed Brooks’ latest book, Devolution.

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend

Legend is an amazing classic fantasy novel that contains an incredible storyline that depicts an epic siege, as the largest army ever assembled attempts to conquer an impenetrable fortress. This was such an awesome read, filled with large amounts of action, adventure and memorable characters, including the world’s most legendary hero, who chooses to die here rather than wither into obscurity. Legend has so much raw potential as either a limited series or a movie (I think a six episode series might be good), and it also serves as an excellent entry into Gemmell’s wider fantasy series, which would also make for some great shows.

Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri

Rome's Sacred Flame Cover

Netflix already has some great historical fiction adaptions, such as The Last Kingdom television series, but if you want to see some wild and troubling bits from history, then they need to adapt Robert Fabbri’s Vespasian series. The Vespasian series follows the titular Emperor Vespasian from the beginning of his career as he navigates the deadly minefield that is ancient Rome. Watching the protagonist attempt to gain power and influence in this outrageous city would make for an incredible show, especially as Fabbri spent a lot of time highlighting all the insanities of the various Emperors who ruled Rome during Vespasian’s lifetime. I am a major fan of this historical fiction series (make sure to check out my reviews of Rome’s Sacred Flame, Emperor of Rome and Magnus and the Crossroads Brotherhood) and I believe that Netflix could make a very crazy and impressive television adaption of these books.

The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan

promise of blood cover

This is another dark and epic fantasy series that would definitely make for a good television series. The Powder Mage books (starting with the awesome Promise of Blood) are set in the aftermath of a bloody revolution and follow several key figures as they attempt to keep their nation intact, while also uncovering ancient secrets and terrible plots. There are a ton of amazing elements to these books that would translate extremely well into television awesomeness, but I personally would love to see the unique gunpowder magic brought to life, as all the resultant explosions and displays of power would be quite a spectacle to behold.

Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory

Chew Volume 1

I had to include at least one comic series on this list, and I could think of nothing better than this weird and wonderful series. Chew is an action/comedy hybrid series that follows a detective who gets physic impressions from anything he eats, allowing him to solve crimes in the most unique, and often disgusting way. Chew is an incredibly creative series, with a lot of fun elements to it, all of which would work extremely well as a live action adaption, and I really think that Netflix could turn this into quite a magical and entertaining television series.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

When you think ‘epic fantasy’ these days, you really cannot exclude the massive and extraordinary series that is The Stormlight Archives. Sanderson is one of the best fantasy/science fiction authors in the world today, and each of his books are an absolute joy to read. While I was strongly tempted to include his young adult novels Skyward and Starsight on this list, in the end I had to feature his main body of work, The Stormlight Archive. Starting with the exceptional novel, The Way of Kings, this is a deeply impressive series of fantasy novels that feature massive wars, incredible characters and a huge interconnected universe. While any adaption might need to tone down some of the connections to some of Sandersons’ other series, a television version of The Stormlight Archive easily has the potential to become the next Game of Thrones, and Netflix would be smart to jump aboard that as soon as possible.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Into the Drowning Deep Cover

Into the Drowning Deep is a fun horror novel that would make for an awesome Netflix movie. Written by the exceedingly talented Mira Grant, this book and its preceding novella, Rolling in the Deep, set humans against the most dangerous predators in the world, mermaids. This book was one of the best novels of 2018, and I loved the way that Grant was able to make the mermaids so dangerous and frightening. You would need to combine Into the Drowning Deep with Rolling in the Deep to get the full story, and there is a really outstanding movie waiting to be made when you do. Plus, it would also be really cool if it encourages Grant to write a sequel to Into the Drowning Deep, which is something I really want to see.

Whew, that is the end of that list. As you can see, I have put a lot of thought into what books and comics Netflix should adapt, and I honestly believe that each of the above books could become something really incredible. I really hope we see some form of adaption of each of these in the future, and if any of them ever get made, then they would be at the top of my to-watch list. In the meantime, make sure to let me know which of the above books and comics you enjoyed, as well as which novels you think Netflix should adapt in the comments below.

Throwback Thursday – Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry

On July 24, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday8 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 26 April 2016)

Series: Joe Ledger – Book Eight

Length: 17 hours and 56 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

I recently found myself in the mood for another intense and crazy thriller novel, and luckily I knew exactly the book to check out, as I ended up listening to the eighth entry in the fantastic Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry, Kill Switch.

People familiar with my blog will know that I have been really getting into Maberry’s writing over the last couple of years. In particular, I have been making my way through the Joe Ledger series, which follows the titular agent as he investigates all manner of weird science and world-ending plots. This has swiftly become one of my favourite series of all time thanks to the incredible stories that Maberry has come up with, and my intention is to finish off all the Joe Ledger books before the end of the year. As a result, I knew far in advance that I was going to enjoy Kill Switch and I ended having an amazing time reading it.

In this eighth novel, Joe Ledger, agent for the clandestine Department of Military Sciences (DMS), is investigating a strange anomaly down in the Antarctic. A secret military research facility has gone offline, and Ledger and his team need to find out why. However, what at first appears to be a routine mission quickly devolves into an unnatural horror show as the DMS agents uncover a mysterious facility deep beneath the ice. The things that Ledger and his team see will haunt them for the rest of their lives, and by the time they escape all three are infected with a deadly disease that places them into a coma.

Awakening several days later, Ledger discovers that much has happened in his absence. America has been targeted by a ruthless terrorist organisation that apparently has access to an advanced EMP weapon that can turn off all power and technology in a certain area with devastating effects. Worse, thanks to the consequences of the mission down in Antarctica and other recent failures, the DMS no longer has the confidence of the President, who refuses to give them the case.

Frustrated at being left out in the cold, Ledger and the DMS investigate where they can and soon come across several strange and seemingly unconnected events. Able to piece together a pattern that no one else can see, Ledger soon finds himself in the heart of a vast conspiracy that aims to launch a shocking attack on the American people. However, before they can intervene, Ledger and his team find themselves under attack from the most unlikely of places. Can even the legendary Joe Ledger defeat an opponent who can attack him in his own mind, or will America face a wave of death and destruction the like of which they have never seen before?

Kill Switch was another fantastic and amazing novel from Maberry that continues the amazing Joe Ledger series. This eighth book contains a captivating story that combines several different genres together to create an exciting and fast-paced read with some rather enjoyable elements to it. I had an awesome time listening to this book, and while it is not my absolute favourite entry in the Joe Ledger series (I would have to give that honour either to The Dragon Factory or Code Zero), it was still a very impressive book that gets a full five-star rating from me.

In this eighth Joe Ledger novel, Maberry once again uses his distinctive style to tell another impressive and intriguing story that draws the reader in and ensures that they cannot turn away until it is finished. Kill Switch contains a rather clever thriller storyline that deals with the protagonist attempting to stop another terrible terrorist plot utilising advanced technology. While some of the elements to Kill Switch’s story are familiar, Maberry really gives this book a distinctive dark horror tint, as the novel deals with a number of Lovecraftian horror elements. While this genre is not something that I have ever really gone out of my way to check out, I did enjoy its use in Kill Switch, especially as it sent its already unstable protagonist through some particular vivid and trippy vision sequences. The various horror, science fiction and thriller aspects of the book’s narrative work together extremely well and it is a testament to Maberry’s skill as an author that the plot did not get too convoluted or hard to follow. Instead, Kill Switch has an extremely elegant and fast-paced story with some great flashes of humour, enhanced by the author’s trademark use of multiple perspectives and interludes set before the main plot. Maberry rounds this out with the return of the series enjoyable and long-running cast of characters, including protagonist Joe Ledger, who provides a first-person narration for around half the story. Ledger’s warped and eccentric view of all the events going on around him adds so much enjoyment to the plot, resulting in much of the book’s humour. This all ensures that Kill Switch contains another top-notch story that was an absolute pleasure to read.

The key parts of any Joe Ledger novel are the complex and memorable antagonists and the elaborate and destructive plots that they weave. Maberry does another great job of this in Kill Switch, introducing some compelling villains and associated side characters who have some fascinating motivations for initiating the events of this book. Thanks to a series of interludes and short chapters that are told from the perspective of the antagonist and their puppets, you get a full sense of why these characters are doing what they are doing, especially when you get a glimpse into several key moments of their lives. Seeing so much of the antagonist’s past and the formation of their plans adds quite a lot of depth and tension to the story, and I always really appreciate the way that Maberry tries to expand these character’s narratives. I was also quite enraptured by the complex and detailed plan that the antagonist set in motion, especially as it required using some unique technology in some novel ways. I especially enjoyed the cunning way in which the villains went after Ledger and the DMS, including by destroyed their image and their influence, and I appreciated the way in which it was easier for them to achieve this due to an inadvertent backlash at the organisations prior extreme successes and advanced technology.

Kill Switch ended up being a major part of the overall series with some big moments occurring and some interesting connections to the prior novels, ensuring that this is a must-read for established Joe Ledger fans. This book ended up continuing a bunch of key storylines that were introduced in the fifth novel, The Extinction Machine, with several plot points from that story revisited, as well as some antagonists. In addition, several of the story elements introduced in Kill Switch are heavily utilised in future novels, such as in the tenth book, Deep Silence, which also matches its Lovecraftian horror vibes and story. In addition, readers might also really appreciate the cameo appearance of Maberry’s alternate zombie-filled universe that is used as a setting for several of his other series, such as the Dead of Night books and his iconic Rot & Ruin/Broken Lands young adult novels, all of which feature a different version of Joe Ledger as a character. There were also a couple of references to the town of Pinedeep, which served as the setting for Maberry’s first series, and which Ledger visited in the short story Material Witness.

While Kill Switch does have some intriguing connections to some of Maberry’s other works, this novel is incredibly accessible for those readers unfamiliar with the Joe Ledger books. Like all the novels in this series, Kill Switch’s narrative is mostly self-contained, and you can start reading this book without any issues. While there are a number of references to the events of the prior books, Maberry also makes sure to cover the relevant backstory, expertly inserting anecdotes about prior books and description of key plot points into the story often in a great entertaining manner (mainly because the protagonists still cannot believe that these previous events actually occurred). This ensures that readers have more than enough background information to follow the story and understand who all the various characters are and what their personalities are like.

While it is extremely possible to read Kill Switch out of order, I would strongly suggest that readers read this series from the first novel, Patient Zero, rather than starting at the eighth book. Not only does this allow you to see the various characters develop and progress throughout the course of the series, but it also enhances the emotional attachment that readers will have to the events of this book, including a couple of key character deaths. Reading the series in order also helps to cut down on spoilers for some of the prior books. This was something that I particularly noticed while reading Kill Switch, due to the fact that I have already read the sequel novels Deep Silence and Rage. Both of these books make several references to the events of Kill Switch, so I had an idea of some of the events that were going to occur, as well as the identity of who the main antagonist was going to be. While this did not derail my enjoyment of Kill Switch by too much, it did slightly reduce the suspense, which was not ideal.

I cannot review a Joe Ledger novel without commenting on the impressive and graphic action sequences that occurred throughout the course of the plot. Maberry always does such a fantastic job writing his action scenes and the various close combat fights and shoot outs that occur throughout these novels feel extremely realistic as the protagonist and the narrator provide detailed explanations of what is occurring and its destructive impacts. Kill Switch contains some very impressive action sequences as Ledger and his comrades are placed in some unique fight situations. While there are the usual swift and one-sided fights against nameless goons, the characters often find themselves facing off against unexpected opponents who visit surprising violence upon them. This makes for some truly shocking scenes, especially as Maberry’s excellent writing ensures that the reader fully understands the various characters’ surprise and despair. You also have a unique situation where Ledger, generally considered to be one of the deadliest killers on the planet, finds himself severely handicapped in several fights due to the machinations of the antagonists. This adds a whole new element to the typical fight sequences from this series, and it is nice to see the protagonist have some new challenges. All this action helps to pump the reader up as they enjoy the excellent story and it is an amazing part of the overall book.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read my prior Joe Ledger reviews that I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Kill Switch, which in my opinion is the best format for enjoying these fantastic novels. The Kill Switch audiobook has a run time of just under 18 hours, which I was able to get through incredibly quickly, and it was once again narrated by Ray Porter, whose voice work is easily my favourite thing about this format. I have extolled the virtues of Porter’s narration in several of my other reviews due to his impressive vocal skills and his ability to move the story along at a swift and exciting pace. Very few narrators are as in touch with the characters that they voice than Porter especially when it comes to the series’ titular protagonist, Joe Ledger. Porter always does such an outstanding job capturing Ledger’s intense emotions and sweeping personality, and this enhances the listener’s experience when it comes to these books. Porter also does amazing and consistent personifications for all the other characters in these books and it was great to hear all the familiar voices of the series’ recurring characters again. This first-rate narration from Porter makes the audiobook format of these novels, including Kill Switch, an absolute treat to listen to and the audiobook format remains my preferred format for enjoying this series.

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry is an excellent and impressive thriller novel that served as a great eighth entry in the incredible Joe Ledger series. I had an absolute blast going back and reading this book, and I really enjoyed the clever and intriguing story that Maberry cooked up for Kill Switch, especially as it contained an outstanding blend of different genres. This was a fantastic read and it comes very highly recommended. At this point in time I only have one more Joe Ledger novel to check out, Dogs of War, which I am really hoping to read before the end of the year, and I am also looking forward to checking out Maberry’s new upcoming novel, Ink.

Amazon Book Depository

Throwback Thursday – Predator One by Jonathan Maberry

On March 26, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday16 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 7 April 2015)

Series: Joe Ledger series – Book Seven

Length: 16 hours and 55 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this latest Throwback Thursday, I decided to I wanted something fast-paced and action-packed, so I went and checked out another book in Jonathan Maberry’s dark and thrilling Joe Ledger series with the seventh book, Predator One.

Those familiar with my blog will be aware of my recent love affair with the Joe Ledger series. I first encountered this series back in late 2018, and after massively enjoying the tenth book, Deep Silence, I have been slowly reading and reviewing my way through the entire series from start to finish. There are so many different things that I enjoy about these novels, including the outstanding action, gripping stories, fantastic characters and the crazy scenarios each book is set around. When combined, these elements help produce some truly incredible books, and I had an amazing time reading several Joe Ledger novels last year. I also read the first book in Maberry’s Rogue Team International series, Rage, which was one of my top books (and audiobooks) of 2019. I am hoping to finish off all the remaining books in the Joe Ledger series this year, and Predator One is the first one that I have so far checked out in 2020. I have to say that I was once again blown away with Maberry’s writing ability, as Predator One is another epic and remarkable read which gets a full five-star rating from me.

It is the opening day of the new baseball season, and Joe Ledger, point-agent for the high-tech counter terrorist organisation, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS), is enjoying a well-earned day off. Everything seems to be going well, the sun is shining, the beers are flowing, and a decorated military pilot is about to throw out the first ball. Then a model airplane flies out onto the field, a replica of the one flown by the war hero. Everyone assumes it’s a harmless prank, everyone except Ledger, who can only watch in horror as the toy plane explodes. Within seconds, a swarm of bomb-laden drones appears, devastating the crowd and leaving Ledger injured in the wreckage of the stadium.

As Ledger attempts to process what has happened, a series of coordinated attacks are taking place across America. While some of the attacks appear random, several are deliberately targeting the friends and family of key members of the DMS, attempting to distract the agency and take them off the board. It soon becomes clear that an old enemy has risen from the flames, determined to get revenge on those that they believe have wronged them in the past, including Ledger and everyone he loves. Worse, they have teamed up with a force of pure evil whose deepest wish is to torment and destroy the head of the DMS, the mysterious Mr Church.

Diving back into the action, Ledger and his team attempt to find and neutralise the source of this new threat. But at every turn, they find themselves outmatched, outmanoeuvred and severely outgunned, as the enemy has access to advanced technology that allows them to take control of America’s military vehicles, aircraft, ships and drones. As the attacks against America worsen, their opponents even gain control of Air Force One, with the President aboard, and start to fly it towards New York City. Can Ledger save the day one more time or have the DMS finally come up against an enemy even they can’t outsmart?

Wow, just wow. Predator One is another impressive and extremely captivating thriller novel that I had an outstanding time listening to. Maberry has come up with another incredible, action-packed story which utilises his trademark writing style to present a first-rate novel. Readers are treated to a multi-layered story, which cleverly features multiple character viewpoints, flashbacks and deep examinations of a several major characters’ pasts and motives. All of this allows Maberry to tell a complex and intriguing thriller story that never lets up on the excitement. The various storylines flow together perfectly thanks to the short chapters and constant dancing between different character perspectives, and all the storylines lead up to an epic and memorable conclusion. Maberry really knows how to ramp up the tension and the excitement throughout the book, and the final couple of hours are exceedingly thrilling, as several exhilarating scenarios come into effect at the same time. All of this results in a deeply exciting read, which I really loved and is another perfect Joe Ledger story.

Just like so many books in this series, amongst the best things about Predator One are the fantastic antagonists and their over-the-top plot against America, Joe Ledger and the DMS. For the main antagonist, Maberry goes back to some of the earlier books in the series, and brings back the Seven Kings organisation, which is being led by an old, established opponent of the DMS. While a new, complex villain for this book could have been fun, I really loved the author’s use of the historical antagonist, especially as they have been substantially transformed since the last book, and they are now aiming for a destructive end. This older antagonist is paired with the mysterious, evil character, Nicodemus, and together they form quite a partnership. Nicodemus is a character that has been hinted at and featured in the shadows of several previous books, so it was really cool to see him in a more substantial role. The key to Nicodemus is his extremely enigmatic persona and history, as no one quite knows who or, more importantly, what he is. He seems to have some sort of mystical abilities, and it is hinted in this book that he is some form of demon or devil, although it is never fully revealed. This mystery and mystique make for a quite an intriguing addition to the series, and the two main antagonists work together quite well as an evil, villainous pairing. On top of them, Maberry also throws in a good secondary antagonist who acts as a crooked assistant to the leader of the Seven Kings and who serves as a useful narrator, as well as the standard sexually depraved henchmen. Combined, these excellent antagonists make for a fun and exciting opposition for the main characters and they help produce some extremely interesting storylines.

I was also a major fan of the fantastic and complex master plan that Maberry envisioned for the antagonists of this book, which served as a fantastic basis of much of the story. Maberry crafted a sinister and exceedingly destructive campaign of terror and destruction that culminated in the takeover of Air Force One with the President and other key characters on board, sending it on a kamikaze mission. This proved to be a rather fun villainous storyline to follow, and I enjoyed seeing it unfold from both the protagonists’ and antagonists’ points of view, as these different perspectives led to some very intriguing scenes. I also liked the way that that the origins of the plot were explored in a series of interludes, allowing the reader to become familiar with the key players of the scheme, and get hints of the full extent of the planned destruction. It was also rather cool to see these antagonists land some real blows against the DMS. Maberry has never been shy about killing off key side characters (for example, he killed off the main secondary character and primary love interest in the second book, The Dragon Factory), and he ensures that some real damage is done to some DMS characters in Predator One. This helps add a real emotional edge to the story, and I liked the way that it upped the stakes, as well as the obvious emotional and psychological impacts that it had on some of the series’s well established, long-running protagonists.

Maberry makes sure to bring back the full and unique bevy of good-guy characters for this seventh book, most of whom have appeared in multiple books before. At the fore is the series’s titular protagonist, Joe Ledger, who is the sole first-person narrator in the book, with around a third of the story told from his point of view. Ledger is his usual witty and damaged self in this book, infecting his parts of the story with his wicked humour and sarcasm, while also unleashing his barely hidden rage and special brand of hyper-violence. Ledger goes to some dark places in Predator One, especially after his friends and allies are attacked, and the way he ends the villain is particularly gruesome and memorable. In addition to the usual examination of Ledger’s complex psyche, I really liked the way that a number of other side characters got some substantial sequences in this book. Joe Ledger series stand-out character Mr Church gets quite a lot to do in this book, and it was excellent to not only see him calmly lead his people in a severe crisis, but also react to some substantially personal attacks from the shadowy Nicodemus, who he has some obvious history with. The DMS’s psychiatrist, Rudy Sanchez, also gets quite a few scenes in this book, as he and his family come under substantial attack from the antagonists. It was really intriguing to see Rudy, whose usual role is to calm and centre the rest of the protagonists, come apart a bit in this novel, and it was quite stirring to see him pull himself together in a major way. I have to say that I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Toys as well, especially as Maberry has written a rather good redemption arc for him in this book. Thanks to the author’s use of multiple viewpoints, each of these characters, and more, get multiple moments to shine in this novel, and this helped create a full and captivating thriller tale, especially as the reader inevitably becomes invested in these characters’ survival.

I can’t go past a Joe Ledger novel without commenting on the exquisite and ultra-violent action sequences that are heavily featured throughout the book. Maberry is an expert at writing detailed and explosive action scenes, and Predator One is filled with a substantial amount of battles and fights, with all manner of armed and unarmed combat. These scenes are an absolute delight to behold, and it is always cool to see these well-crafted fights come to life. There are a number of large-scale battle sequences throughout this book, and Maberry did an amazing job switching between several fights that were happening simultaneously towards the end of the book, resulting in some extremely action-packed and exciting sections of Predator One. I really enjoy the way that the author breaks down the fight, and it is interesting to hear about the tactical reasons or destructive capabilities for certain moves or weaponry. All of this makes for a really cool book, although readers should be warned that there is a lot of extreme violence in this book that might not be for everyone, especially the graphic torture scenes.

Just like the previous Joe Ledger novels I have been lucky enough to enjoy, I chose to check out Predator One’s audiobook format, which was narrated by the exceedingly talented Ray Porter. Running at 16 hours and 55 minutes, this is one of the longer Joe Ledger audiobooks (not by much), but I found myself able to power through it in only a few days, and the audiobook format remains my favourite way to enjoy a Joe Ledger book. Porter’s outstanding narration is the highlight of this format, and I will never get tired of praising his vocal work in this format. The voices that Porter comes up with for these productions are pretty damn awesome, and he has perfected some amazing voices for the characters featured in this series. I once again have to highlight Porter’s take on Mr Church, as his version of the character has some real presences, authority and gravitas. I also liked some of the voices that he did for the villainous Nicodemus, especially as the script called for a change of accent and voice mid-sentence, something which Porter pulled off perfectly, and which made the character sound pretty sinister in this format. However, nothing can top the amazing work that Porter puts into the series’s titular protagonist, Joe Ledger, as the narrator is scarily in sync with this character, and expertly portrays all his emotion, personality and raw sarcasm. I cannot emphasise enough how impressive the Joe Ledger audiobooks are, and if you are keen to check them out, this is the format to do it in.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry is an outstanding and captivating tale of revenge, destruction, action and war, as the author’s team of elite warriors go face to face with an army of pure evil. This was an intense and thrilling read, which I once again completely failed to put down multiple times. Filled with amazing characters, including some very well-crafted evil antagonists, a fun story, violent action sequences and some outrageous story elements, this book is relentlessly entertaining and it proved to be an impressive addition to the Joe Ledger series. Predator One comes highly recommended, especially in audiobook format, and I look forward to finishing off the final two books in the series later this year.

Amazon Book Depository

WWW Wednesday – 25 March 2020

On March 25, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Hitler's Secret, House of Earth and Blood Covers
Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements (Trade Paperback)

This is the fourth book in Clements’s Tom Wilde series of historical thrillers, a series that I have been reading from the start (check out my reviews for the last two books, Nucleus and Nemesis). I am about halfway through Hitler’s Secret at the moment, and so far it is probably my favourite book in the series.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Audiobook)

I started listening to this book earlier in the week, and I am only a few hours in so far. Maas is one of the author’s I have been meaning to read more of, especially after I had such a good time with her comic book novel, Catwoman: Soulstealer. I am actually really enjoying this book at the moment, and Maas has come up with a compelling story inside a vast new fantasy world. I am very curious to see where this story ends up, although it might take me a little while to get through.

What did you recently finish reading?

Riptides, Predator One Covers

Riptides by Kirsten Alexander (Trade Paperback)

A short review of Riptides will appear in Thursday’s Canberra Weekly.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I am putting a Throwback Thursday review for this book up tomorrow night.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Gathering Dark by Candice Fox (Trade Paperback)

Gathering Dark Cover

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

WWW Wednesday – 18 March 2020

On March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday3 Comments

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading?

Riptides by Kirsten Alexander (Trade Paperback)

Riptides is a compelling and tragic historical drama set in 1970’s Australia from Kirsten Alexander, the author of one of my favourite debuts from last year, Half Moon Lake. I am about a third of the way through this book at the moment, and I am already really enjoying the complex and powerful story it contains.

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry (Audiobook)

I was in the mood for another fun and over-the-top science fiction thriller, so I went back to Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, which I have been really enjoying over the last year or so (make sure to check out my review for the previous book in the series, Code Zero). Predator One is another exciting addition to this great series, and I am flying through it at the moment.

What did you recently finish reading?

Where Fortune Lies by Mary-Anne O’Connor (Trade Paperback)

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott (Audio Play)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements (Trade Paperback)

That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Throwback Thursday – Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

On January 10, 2020March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Extinction Machine Cover.jpg

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 26 May 2013)

Series: Joe Ledger Series – Book Five

Length: 14 hours and 53 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For my latest Throwback Thursday, I once again go back to one of my absolute favourite series as I check out Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry, the fifth book in the exciting Joe Ledger series.

Long-term readers of this blog will be familiar with my recent obsession with the Joe Ledger thriller novels. The Joe Ledger series is one of the main bodies of work from bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, which follows a secret military organisation that targets any organisations or individual who attempts to utilise the latest science and technology for their own dangerous ends. I absolutely fell in love with this series in late 2018, when I read the 10^th book, Deep Silence, and I have been slowly reading my way through the earlier Joe Ledger books ever since. So far, each of the Joe Ledger books I have read has been absolutely amazing novels, and I have awarded all of them a full five stars. I also recently read the first book in Maberry’s sequel Rogue Team International series, Rage, which was released a couple of months ago and which I consider to be amongst one of the best books (and audiobooks) of 2019. I am actually reviewing Extinction Machine a little out of order, as I have already reviewed the sixth book in the series, Code Zero, despite reading Extinction Machine first.

For years, Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences (DMS) have faced off against some of the most advanced and devious weapons human ingenuity and insanity is capable of creating. However, what happens when they are forced to go up against something that is literally out of their world? In Extinction Machine, a series of strange and seemingly unrelated events begin occurring around the world. America’s leading weapons manufacturers are being targeted by elaborate computer attacks that are impossible to trace. An advanced prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during its test flight by an impossibly fast craft, while sightings of UFOs are occurring all around the world. In the midst of all this chaos, the impossible happens: the President of the United States vanishes from the White House. The only evidence of his abductors is a crop circle on the White House lawn.

Despite being officially sidelined by the corrupt Vice-President, the DMS attempts to investigate after receiving a strange message from the missing President promising unprecedented destruction. Ledger and his team soon find themselves caught in the midst of massive conspiracy involving alien technology and the deepest secret of America’s military industrial complex. Can the DMS uncover the full conspiracy before it is too late, or will the world tremble at the hands of mysterious beings who want their technology back?

Extinction Machine proved to be yet another thrilling and enjoyable entry in the Joe Ledger series, and I really had a great time listening to it. Maberry has produced another fantastic and elaborate story which utilises a number of his trademark and classic storytelling elements to produce a first-rate read. The reader is once again treated to a fast-paced and captivating narrative which is enhanced by the author’s clever use of different perspectives, point-of-view characters and time periods, which not only focus on the protagonists hunt for answers but also showcases all the fascinating aspects of the villain’s complex master plan. Extinction Machine also continues to feature some outstanding action sequences and a number of amazing and relatable protagonists, including the series’ titular character, Joe Ledger, whose ultra-sarcastic narration and half-broken psyche make him one of the most fascinating and enjoyable action heroes out there. All of these familiar elements have made the previous Joe Ledger books some of my favourite thrillers out there, so I quite enjoyed the fact that Maberry once again utilised them for Extinction Machine, especially as they were once again used to great effect to produce an overall excellent story.

In addition to using all the awesome trademark storytelling elements of the Joe Ledger series, Maberry also makes Extinction Machine stand out from the existing novels in the series by including several new and exciting plot inclusions. At the centre of this is a fantastic overarching story about alien craft that have crash landed on Earth sparking a long-term hidden arms race. This is a deeply fascinating main plot point for the book, which explores a vast and complex conspiracy theory that turns out to be true, as not only have the crashed alien craft allowed the world’s leading arms manufacturers to advance their technology at an accelerated rate, but now the world’s various superpowers all have top-secret programs aimed at obtaining certain alien components and using them to construct a working alien craft, known as a T-Craft. Maberry does an amazing job of introducing the full history and breadth of this alien technology conspiracy at an excellent pace, and it was really intriguing to see him craft an action-packed story around it as Ledger and his team must try to counter not only the antagonist’s plans to utilise the alien technology for their own twisted purposes but also the unexpected consequence of all this secret work. I also think that this story was an excellent way to introduce the concept of aliens into the series as a whole, especially as it is used again in some of the later books. Having Ledger straight up face off against aliens in this book (and presumably win) would have been a bit too much, even for a series that has so far featured genetically modified Nazis and vampires. But by having the protagonists deal with self-interested humans who have spent generations researching mysterious alien technology, Maberry is able to introduce the concept at a much more controlled pace which works a heck of a lot better.

There are a number of other amazing elements introduced or utilised in this novel that were a real highlight for me. These include a several excellent action set-pieces, including a well-choreographed fight sequence out in the woods between Ledger and a lethal hit team and a large-scale assault on the enemy’s compound; some cool new characters, including a major love interest for Ledger; and the first time political attacks hampered the DMS (which later becomes a recurring theme). I also liked the idea of Ledger and his team essentially going up against the Men in Black (known here as the Fixers), who are the henchmen for the book’s antagonists. The Fixers have some devastating alien technology which really help amp up some of the action scenes, and they are also able to pull of a pretty major attack against the DMS with it. Finally, I had a real laugh at the way that one of the main antagonists, the apparently most lethal member of the Fixers, is taken down, especially as Maberry telegraphs how it’s going to happen by mentioning a certain movie scene. All of these new elements are fantastic additions to the story, and I felt that they worked extremely well with the author’s existing writing style for the Joe Ledger books to create another awesome read.

While I really enjoyed Extinction Machine, I have to admit that it is probably my least favourite Joe Ledger book that I have read so far. To be fair, part of this might be because it falls between two of my absolute favourite entries in the series, Assassin’s Code and Code Zero, and I might be unfavourably comparing Extinction Machine to them (especially as I read these three books back-to-back in quick succession). However, in my opinion Extinction Machine’s story went a bit too slowly in places and it lacked the truly compelling villains that the other books in the series feature (even if the antagonists in this book do manage to pull off the biggest attack against DMS yet) all of which slightly tanked my enjoyment of this book. That being said, this is still an amazing read, and even my least favourite book in this series still deserves 4.75 out of 5 stars.

The audiobook is my format of choice for enjoying the Joe Ledger series, and I ended up listening to Extinction Machine over a couple of weeks while I was away travelling. The Extinction Machine audiobook runs for a little under 15 hours and is narrated by the incredible Ray Porter, who has leant his amazing vocal talents to all of the other Joe Ledger audiobooks. I have spent a lot of time over the last year singing the praises of Porter for his work with the Joe Ledger series; in my opinion, he is one of the best audiobook narrators out there. Porter has the rare ability to fully encapsulate the characters that he is voicing, and his perfect take on the character of Joe Ledger is so very impressive. Needless to say, he does another standout job with Extinction Machine, and I highly recommend this format to anyone interested in checking this book out.

Overall, I felt that Extinction Machine was another excellent addition to the Joe Ledger series, and I had a real blast checking it out. There are a lot of cool elements to this book, and I really liked where Maberry took the story this time around. This is a must-read for fans of the Joe Ledger series, and I would also highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and exciting science fiction thriller.

Amazon Book Depository

Top Ten Tuesday – Pre-2019 Books

On December 24, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn List9 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For the last couple of weeks I have been using these Top Ten Lists to highlight some of my favourite books of 2019. So far, I have already examined my favourite debut novels of 2019, my favourite audiobooks of 2019 and my favourite new-to-me authors. For this week, I am going to look at books I read for the first time this year that were released before 2019.

This year I have ended up reading quite a few books and comics that were published at some point prior to 2019. I have checked these various books out for a number of reasons, such as the book had an awesome plot synopsis, it was part of a series or an expanded universe that I had been exploring, or because I wanted to see an author’s earlier works. Most of these older releases are really good, and in some cases they are amongst my favourite books I read all year. I have also featured quite a few of these books as part of my Throwback Thursday series, and pretty much all of them receive a full five out of five stars from me. As a result, I wanted to highlight which books amongst these series are my absolute favourites and decided to feature them in their own Top Ten list.

For this list, any book with a pre-2019 release date is eligible for inclusion, and I was able to come up with my 10 absolute favourites, as well as a generous honourable mentions section. I am pretty happy with the below collection of pre-2019 releases, although it is hard to ignore that quite a few are part of either the Star Wars franchise the excellent Joe Ledger series. This was mainly because those were the books I was in the mood for, and I was really happy to check all of those books out. All of the below books are quite fantastic, and I would highly recommend each of them to anyone looking for an awesome read.

Honourable Mentions:

Cold Iron by Miles Cameron

Cold Iron was one of three books that feature on this list which were released last year and which I featured on my Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read in 2018 list. This was an outstanding novel that featured an amazing story and an excellent new fantasy world. Unfortunately, I just could not fit Cold Iron in the top ten. Still, Cold Iron comes highly recommended, and I really enjoyed its sequel, Dark Forge.

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno

The first of several Star Wars novels that are featured on this list, 2014’s Tarkin was an enjoyable novel which presented a whole new history for the titular character in the current Star Wars canon.

The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry

The King of Plagues is the third book in the Joe Ledger series, several entries of which are going to be featured in the list below. The King of Plagues was a really solid entry in this great range of thriller books, and I gave it a full five stars when I reviewed it.

Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

The only book from the old Star Wars Legends range of books in this article, Scoundrels by legendary Star Wars author Timothy Zahn was a fun and exciting novel that featured a heist set in the Star Wars universe. A fantastic read, this one was a lot of fun to check out, and after reading it I am very much tempted to check out more Star War Legends books in the future.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Legend by David Gemmell

Legend was a classic from 1984 that I had an incredible time with earlier this year. Featuring perhaps the best siege storyline I have ever had the pleasure of reading; Legend is an outstanding fantasy novel that I had been meaning to check out for some time. I am extremely happy that I had the opportunity to enjoy Legend, and it is one of the top books I read all year.

The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry

While I first started listening to the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry in 2018 with Deep Silence and Patient Zero, 2019 was the year that I fully invested myself in these excellent thriller novels. The first one of these that I enjoyed this year was the second book in the series, The Dragon Factory, which was just all sorts of amazing. In my opinion, Maberry started to really hit his stride in this second book, as he was able to produce some fascinating antagonists with a complex plan and some astonishing plot twists that really got the story going. This was an outstanding novel, and I am really glad that I decided to continue exploring this series.

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

The Ember Blade was another novel that I wish I had checked out in 2018. Featuring a massive and elaborate fantasy storyline with some complex and detailed characters, The Ember Blade was a powerful and impressive read that is very much worth investing the time it takes to get through this substantial book.

Darth Vader (2015) series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

I am going to cheat a little here and include all four volumes of the clever and captivating Darth Vader (2015) comic book series, as well as the Vader Down crossover volume, as a single entry. While there were a few comic book series which I read this year that I could have included here, such as the first volume of the Star Wars (2015) series or the ever-entertaining Doctor Aphra comics, in my opinion, the Darth Vader (2015) series was the easily the best and most consistent out of all of them. All five of these volumes get an easy five stars from me, and while I have only reviewed Volume One so far, I will hopefully get reviews up for the others soon. This Darth Vader series contained a deeply compelling storyline that really helps to redefine one of the most iconic film villains of all time while also showing off how dangerous and determined he really is. Not only was this an epic comic, but it also introduced one of the best new Star Wars characters of the decade, Doctor Aphra. These comics are a must-read for fans who want to see how incredible the franchise can truly be.

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

I ended up reading this book early in 2019, and I was so annoyed that I did not read it any sooner. Lies Sleeping is one of the best urban fantasy books I have ever read, which has a perfect combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements. A fantastic read that ensured that all of Ben Aaronovtich’s books are very high up on my to-read list from now on.

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry

The fourth book in the Joe Ledger series, Assassin’s Code, was a fast-paced and action-packed novel that introduced some amazing new characters into this franchise and featured an epic group of modern vampiric antagonists. A thrill ride from start to finish, this was a lot of fun to read and a terrific book to boot.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

I had been hearing some incredible things about the Powder Mage series for a long time and decided that this was the year that I would finally check it out by reading the first Powder Mage book, Promise of Blood. I was in no way disappointed, as Promise of Blood more than lived up to the hype, containing a deeply compelling and extremely enjoyable tale of betrayal, revolution and war, while mages whose powers are derived from gunpowder unleash hell across an inventive and embattled new world. This is fantasy writing at it’s very best, and I really need to read more of these books in the future.

Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry in this article from Timothy Zahn, which isn’t too surprising as he has been dominating the Star Wars novel scene for over 20 years at this point. After enjoying the second book in the Thrawn trilogy, Alliances, last year, I decided to go back and check out the first novel in the trilogy, Thrawn, before the third and final book, Treason, came out this year. While I knew I was going to love this book as the titular character of this series, Grand Admiral Thrawn, is one of my favourite Star Wars characters of all time, I was nonetheless surprised at how deeply impressive I found this book. Featuring an incredibly addictive story set around a calculating tactical genius, Thrawn absolutely blew me away, and it is easily the best Star Wars novel I have so far had the pleasure of reading.

King of Assassins by R. J. Barker

I had been meaning to read this book ever since it’s 2018 release, especially as the first two books in The Wounded Kingdom trilogy, Age of Assassins and Blood of Assassins, were pretty spectacular. I ended up listening to this book earlier in the year, and it was an amazing end to the trilogy that provided the reader with a deeply captivating story. I still have to finish off my review for this book, although it gets a full five stars from me, and Barker’s latest book, The Bone Ships, is going to appear on my upcoming Top Ten Favourite Books of 2019 list.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The final book on this list is Code Zero, the sixth book in the Joe Ledger series, and the latest one that I have been able to read. Code Zero was an extremely clever entry in the series, which featured an exception story, a compelling antagonist and a plot that utilised and paid respect to some of the best parts of the previous Joe Ledger books. This was easily one of the best books in the series, and I am really excited to check out the final three Joe Ledger books that I haven’t yet had a chance to read.

I like how the above list turned out, although I think it really highlights how much time I spent reading Star Wars and Joe Ledger books this year. I am planning to keep up with a similar reading pattern of new releases and awesome older books in 2020. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish off the Joe Ledger series next year, and I will definitely try to listen to more of David Gemmell and Brian McClellan’s books in the future. I also see myself listening to bunch of other Star Wars novels in 2020, because there are some amazing gems there. In the meantime, which pre-2019 books did you enjoy this year? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to check in next week as I list my favourite 2019 releases in the final Top Ten Tuesday for the year.

Rage by Jonathan Maberry

On December 10, 2019March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller47 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 5 November 2019)

Series: Rogue Team International – Book One/Joe Ledger – Book 11

Length: 17 hours and 28 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Well damn, now this was an impressive book. Prepare for all manner of action, excitement and chaos as bestselling author Jonathan Maberry presents an incredible and outstanding start to a new series that features his long-time protagonist, Joe Ledger, with Rage.

The Joe Ledger books were a series of 10 military thriller and science fiction hybrid novels that ran between 2009 and 2018, which focused on a group of military action heroes as they faced off against a number of advanced, mad science threats. Maberry actually concluded the Joe Ledger series last year, but the stories and adventures of the titular character have been continued in the new Rogue Team International series, of which Rage is the very first book (although it could be considered the 11^th Joe Ledger book). This sequel series focuses on some new circumstances for the protagonists while still maintaining the heart and soul of the original books.

People who are familiar with my blog will know that I am a massive fan of the Joe Ledger books. Ever since I picked up the 10^th and final novel, Deep Silence, last year, I have been really getting into this incredible thriller series and have already gone back and read the first six Joe Ledger books. Each of these books that I have reviewed so far has received a full five out of five stars from me, and it is easily one of my favourite series at the moment. As a result, I have been very keen to get a copy of the first instalment of this sequel series for a while now, and it has been very high on my list of books to read before the end of 2019. However, nothing was able to prepare me for how awesome this book was and for how much I was going to love it.

For years, Joe Ledger was the top field agent for the Department of Military Sciences (DMS), a top-secret United States military organisation tasked with protecting America from the most advanced and devastating weapons that mad science can produce. However, the political situation in America has become untenable, with the DMS no longer able to effectively do their job under the current administration. Seeing no future working for the US government, the head of the DMS, Mr Church, has disbanded the department, and has instead formed a new organisation, Rogue Team International. Independently funded and controlled by no government, Rogue Team International is able to deploy anywhere in the world against the worst sort of threats imaginable.

However, their first major mission has some very high stakes. A mysterious group of terrorists have unleashed a new bioweapon on a small, isolated island off the coast of North Korea. This weapon drives those infected by it into a murderous rage, causing them to attack and kill anyone they see in a brutal fashion. Worse, whoever is behind the attack has gone out of their way to frame the United States and South Korea for the crime, creating a dangerous situation which could see these countries dragged into a devastating war with North Korea and China.

Deployed to the island, Ledger and his team attempt to identify who is behind the attacks and what sort of weapon they have unleashed. It soon becomes clear that they are up against a deadly and powerful organisation, that is determined to cause as much chaos as possible. As a second attack is unleashed in South Korea, Ledger must find a way to stop his opponents before it is too late and the world is engulfed in war. However, their new foes are clever and ruthless and bear a powerful grudge against Ledger and Mr Church. Can Rogue Team International save the day, or will the cost be too high to pay?

Rage is an absolutely incredible and outstanding new novel from Maberry, who has done an incredible job introducing the first book in his Rogue Team International series. Rage contains an amazing story that had me firmly addicted right from the very start. The reader is once again presented with a massive and elaborate villainous plot, as two familiar antagonists and their cohorts unleash a devastating and scientifically unique attack for their own nefarious reasons. We then get to follow our protagonists as they investigate and attempt to counter the attacks and plots that they uncover. The entirety of the book is written in Maberry’s signature style, with the story told from a huge range of different points of view and time periods, resulting in a much richer and complex story that allows the reader to see the thoughts of the protagonists, antagonists and innocent bystanders as the various events of the book take place. There are a huge number of twists and turns as the story progresses, and even though we get some insight into the antagonist’s actions and motivations, the entirety of their elaborate plan is left a mystery for most of the book, allowing for some enthralling suspense to build up. All of this ends in an explosive conclusion which not only features a major fake-out but also a massively significant tragedy that is going to be a huge part of the series going forward. This was a truly epic story, and I cannot wait to see where the author takes his new series next.

Despite Rage being part of the new Rogue Team International series, Maberry continues to utilise a number of his distinctive writing elements that made his Joe Ledger novels such a delight to read. This includes the cool multiple viewpoints I mentioned above, as well as the fantastic use of great action sequences, enjoyable characters and the fascinating antagonists. However, there are some exciting changes in this book that I think existing Joe Ledger readers are going to enjoy. For example, the protagonist is part of a whole new organisation, they have a new base (a very over-the-top secret lair in Greece), a new team name and new call signs for all the protagonists (for example, Ledger has gone from Cowboy to Outlaw), all of which is an interesting change of pace for those familiar with the original series. There is also a lot more of a focus on international politics, with only a small amount of the story taking place in the United States. While I quite liked some of the new directions that Maberry was taking with this new series, many of the story elements in Rage have made it clear that the Rogue Team International books are going to be very strongly associated with the original Joe Ledger series. There are a huge number of call-backs to the previous books, including a lot of discussion about preceding cases and the utilisation of many characters, including some of the major antagonists, who have previously appeared. While you would assume that the employment of all these elements might make Rage hard to get into for readers unfamiliar with the other Joe Ledger novels, this is really not the case. Maberry continues his practice of filling his story with some detailed summaries of the various characters and books, so that readers can understand the significance of all the reference to the previous cases. This means that new readers can easily jump into Rage without any prior knowledge of the other Joe Ledger books, although I can guarantee that most people will be keen to go back and get the full account of what has happened before.

One of the most interesting aspects of the new international focused formula of this book was that it allowed Maberry to examine the current political situation around the Korean Peninsula. There is quite an interesting analysis of both countries throughout the course of the story, and the various issues surrounding them and their differences are actually covered in a series of short chapters, made to resemble a political chat show, with experts voicing their thoughts on both Koreas, and the influence of countries such as China and the United States. Rage’s story features a fascinating look at what the author thinks would happen if a flashpoint event occurred in the region, and who could potentially benefit. I was very intrigued by Maberry’s analysis of the situation, and I liked how he featured several characters from both North and South Korea in his story. The author’s portrayal of the North Korean characters was particularly captivating, as he showed them as mostly good people who were trapped by political circumstances, and who aren’t seeking a war against the rest of the world. All of this examination of the current political situation in Korea made for a fascinating part of the book’s plot, and I am curious to see what area of the world he will explore in the next Rogue Team International book.

One of Maberry’s main strengths as a writer is his ability to create some truly enjoyable and memorable characters to populate his stories with. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the main protagonist of Rage and its prequel series, Joe Ledger. Ledger is an extremely complex and multilayered action protagonist, who serves as the book’s main character. Thanks to the fact that Ledger narrates all of the chapters told from his point of view (about two thirds of the book; the rest of the chapters are told in the third person), we get a real sense of his character. While he likes to project a cocky, confident and humorous persona to most people he meets, cracking all sorts of jokes to both other characters and the reader, deeper down his is a psychological mess. Due to some past trauma, Ledger has some major issues, and his career as a shooter for the DMS and Rogue Team International has not helped the situation. Ledger’s anger, despair and hopelessness are constantly bubbling towards the surface, adding a fascinating dimension to the character. I have always really liked how Maberry has gone out of his way to show an action protagonist who is actually impacted by the work they do and the lives they have taken, and it makes for a refreshing change of pace. Rage in particular contains some very dark moments for Ledger, and if the conclusion of the book is anything to go by, his character is going to undergo some massive emotional changes in the next few books.

I was also really glad that Maberry continued to utilise so many of the great side characters that have been previously introduced in the Joe Ledger series. Pretty much all of the key DMS characters have moved across into the new book, and I was really glad we could continue to enjoy the fun dynamic that they have established over the course of the previous series. The enigmatic Mr Church continues to remain one of the best spy-master characters I have ever read and is probably one of my favourite people in the Joe Ledger books. While there are no major revelations about his past in this novel (my theory is that he is either an alien or some form of angel), there are some hints to his seemingly superhuman toughness and some of the previous missions he has engaged in. Mr Church also shows off some amazing diplomatic chops in this novel, utilising a network of level-headed members of various countries’ governments to work around blustering and incompetent world leaders. Most of the rest of the supporting characters remain the same, although several of them get some fun moments in this book, such as Bug unexpectedly receiving some fan-girl attention and Doc Holiday’s eccentric personality overwhelming people unfamiliar with her. There are also some great new characters in this book, many of whom appear set to become long-term recurring characters. If I had to make one complaint, it would be that there wasn’t enough of Ghost, Ledger’s attack dog, but I am sure we will see more of him in the future.

In addition to the fantastic protagonists, Maberry has also come up with a couple of conniving and evil antagonists to act as a foil to Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International. The main villains of the book are actually prior antagonists from two of the books in the Joe Ledger series, who have been reutilised to great effect in this new novel. While an exciting original major villain might have worked out well for the first novel in a new series, I think that using some existing antagonists was an excellent choice that really helped create a captivating story. Not only does this help reinforce the connection between the new Rogue Team International series and the Joe Ledger books, but it also allowed for some interesting character and story development. Both of these main two antagonists have been defeated in the past by Joe Ledger and Mr Church, so they each have very deep, personal grudges against them. Their new plan for domination, which is actually very interesting and quite complex, is also filled with elements of revenge, which helps ratchet up the intrigue and adds a whole new element. I loved the various interludes which show how these two bad guys escaped from prison and started their new team-up, and it was really cool to see what happened to them after their respective defeats in the previous books. It was also very interesting to see two antagonists, who previously had nothing to do with each other, had appeared in different novels and had very different motivations for their actions, come together as a cohesive unit with the new goals in mind. This was definitely a great use of two antagonists, and the damage that they caused was very impressive and memorable.

It is impossible to talk about one of the Joe Ledger novels without discussing all the intense action you can expect within. Maberry is a master of writing an electrifying action sequence, and the first book in the Rogue Team International series is absolutely chock full of action, fights and brutal violence. There are so many varied and thrilling battle scenes throughout the book, as the protagonist finds himself fighting in all manner of different situations. Whether the protagonist is engaging in a mass shootout against heavily armed opponents with his team backing him up, fighting by himself against a group of assassins or engaging in knock-out, throwdown fist fight against one of the antagonists, Maberry crafts some excellent and detailed sequences, allowing the reader to appreciate everything that is going on. The standout elements of this book are the victims of the new rage-inducing bioweapon that is this book’s unique science fiction element. Victims under the control of Rage attack anything they see in a frenzy, resulting in some crazy and vicious scenes. This also allows for some unique sequences where the protagonists must find a way to neutralise the victims without killing them, in the hope that they can be cured, all the while trying to avoid getting killed by either the Rage victims or some of the soldiers behind the attacks. All of the action scenes in this book are really impressive to experience, and it is impossible not to get excited as you read through them. However, readers should be warned in advance that the action can get quite brutal in places, and there are numerous examples of gruesome mutilation or torture, which might not be appealing to some people.

One of the main things that I love about the Joe Ledger series are the incredible audiobook versions of the previous novels, all of which feature the outstanding narration of Ray Porter. As I have stated in several of my previous reviews, Porter has some unbelievable vocal talents, and the life he breathes into all the characters in the Joe Ledger audiobooks is just fantastic. In particular, he portrays the voice and personality of the series titular character and protagonist, Joe Ledger, extremely well and he does a remarkable job of conveying all of the characters emotions, charm and humour to the reader. I was so happy when I saw that Porter was going to narrate Rage, and I knew I would have to grab the audiobook format of this book when it came out. I was in no way disappointed with this audiobook, as Porter has once again done a fantastic job of bringing all the characters to life and telling Rage’s amazing story. Porter still has such a fantastic handle on the book’s main character, and his portrayal of the Joe Ledger’s emotions is just superb, especially during some major scenes in the book. With a running time of 17½ hours, Rage is a somewhat substantial read, and dedicated listeners should be able to get through it in a few days. I would strongly recommend the audiobook format of Rage to anyone who wants to read this book, and it still remains my favourite and preferred way to get my Joe Ledger fix.

In Rage, Jonathan Maberry has once again outdone himself producing a wildly entertaining and deeply compelling novel that I absolutely loved. In this first instalment of his new Rogue Team International series, Maberry has brought his fantastic characters from the Joe Ledger books into a whole new era, as the story goes in some great new directions, while maintaining the best parts of the original series. Featuring one hell of a story and a pretty memorable conclusion, Rage is Maberry at his best, and I have no choice but to award it a full five stars. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a high-octane read, Rage is an outstanding book guaranteed to pull you in and leave you an emotional wreck.

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Throwback Thursday – Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

On October 31, 2019March 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Throwback Thursday29 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 25 March 2014)

Series: Joe Ledger series – Book Six

Length: 16 hours and 6 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Book Depository

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

The ghosts of the past come back to haunt Joe Ledger and the DMS big time in this sixth book in Jonathan Maberry’s high-octane science fiction/military thriller Joe Ledger series.

For years, the Department of Military Sciences (DMS) has saved the world from some of the most deadly and insane weapons that science can create: race-specific bioweapons, genetically enhanced super soldiers, powerful plagues capable of killing people in the most horrendous way and even a pathogen that is capable of bringing its victims back to life as zombies. Each of these has been stopped by DMS agents and the legendary Joe Ledger, but these horrors are about to resurface in the most devastating of ways.

The mysterious hacker and terrorist Mother Night has been causing the DMS trouble for months, but when she broadcasts a call for anarchy, no-one is prepared for what happens next. Across America, Mother Night’s followers unleash hundreds of random acts of violence, causing horrendous amounts of terror and destruction. As Joe Ledger and the DMS attempt to counter them, a subway car full of people in New York is infected with something disturbingly familiar, the Seif-al-Din zombie pathogen that bought Ledger to the DMS in the first place.

As Ledger and Echo Team are once again forced to contend with the zombie victims of the pathogen, they find themselves targeted from several devastating angles. As the threats become more and more personal, it soon becomes apparent that they are facing someone who knows the DMS intimately and who is willing to use the most lethal tools at their disposal to win. Can Ledger and the DMS survive, or will the world burn at the hands of Mother Night?

Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger books are one of my favourite series at the moment, and I love each book’s excellent blend of compelling storytelling, complex characters, over-the-top villains, electrifying action and insane plot points, which come together into fantastic, first-rate narratives. Ever since I read and got hooked on the tenth book in this series, Deep Silence, about this time last year, I have been periodically reading and reviewing the earlier novels in sequence. So far, I have read the first six novels, Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory, The King of Plagues, Assassin’s Code, The Extinction Machine and this novel, Code Zero. I am actually reviewing this book a little out of order, as I recently powered through both The Extinction Machine and Code Zero while I was away on holidays. As Code Zero is fresher in my mind, I decided to review it first, and I will hopefully get a review for The Extinction Machine up soon as well (the plan is to get it done before the next Joe Ledger book, Rage, comes out in November, but we’ll see how we go).

Considering how much I absolutely loved the rest of the books in the series, it is going to come as no surprise to anyone that I also really enjoyed Code Zero. This sixth book was pretty spectacular, and it is easily one of my favourite books in the entire series, only just being beaten out by The Dragon Factory. In Code Zero, Maberry has made sure to utilise several of the excellent features from the previous Joe Ledger books that l really love and have commented on previously, such as a first-rate story filled with intense action, a smartassed and damaged protagonist, a great group of side characters (including one of the best dogs in all of fiction) and a clever utilisation of flashbacks and multiple perspectives. This book also features some other great story and character elements that really make it stand out from the rest of the series, and which help make it such an outstanding and epic read.

I have mentioned before that one of the best things about the Joe Ledger books is the awesome antagonists that Maberry creates for each of the novels. These have so far included genetically modified Nazis, world-event manipulating masterminds and even a group of vampires. However, the villain of Code Zero, Mother Night, is perhaps one of the most interesting and complex antagonists that Maberry has come up with. Mother Night is an outstanding character who not only has a close connection with the DMS, but whose elaborate master plan does a great deal of damage. I really liked how Maberry used a series of flashback filled interludes to explore the background of this character. These flashbacks show how Mother Night is connected to all the DMS characters and examine how her exposure to various characters and threats from the previous books slowly corrupted her, and why she was compelled to become a terrorist. Despite this being the first book that Mother Night has appeared in, Maberry did a sensational job tying the character into many of the key events from the first three novels, and showing how she was actually involved with some of the previous threats. All of these cool connections really help up the personal stakes for all of the protagonists, and it allows Mother Night to actually hit Joe Ledger and his team harder than anyone else has before, resulting in an extra dramatic and compelling story.

Maberry also uses Mother Night’s plot to examine some rather interesting elements of the modern world. For example, the anarchist movement is explored in some detail, as Mother Night uses anarchist elements in her call to arms, gathering up members of America’s disenfranchised youth to form an army. There is also a rather intriguing look at the role video games can play in violence or espionage. This is not done in an attempt to demonise video games; instead Maberry, through several of the videogame savvy characters, explores how important problem-solving is for gamers, and how the skills obtained there can have real-world applications in both the espionage and defence worlds. The subsequent study of game theory and the desire to win that some gamers feel is particularly fascinating, and it adds very some interesting layers to the story and Mother Night’s overall character.

In addition to this incredible antagonist, the other thing that I absolutely loved about Code Zero is the fact that Maberry decided to bring back some of the iconic threats and story elements from the previous books in the series. Not only did the author do an outstanding job of working these pre-existing story elements into Code Zero’s plot, but their reappearance was also an excellent homage to the earlier books and a real treat for fans of the series. I really enjoyed seeing Ledger have to go up against threats like the walkers and the berserkers again, especially as each of these threats have pretty strong emotional triggers for him due to devastating previous missions. It was also really interesting to see the new and various ways that the antagonist utilised these existing elements in her own plans, and there were some really fun combinations of the insane scientific elements, such as a couple of berserkers who have been infected with Generation 12 of the Seif-al-Din Pathogen, and it’s as awesome as you’d expect.

As this is a Joe Ledger book, Code Zero is of course filled to the brim with all the action and fire fights that you could ever need. Due to the presence of so many varied threats, including some of the monsters from the previous books, Code Zero probably has some of the most intriguing fight scenes in the entire series. This book is filled with a number of elaborate battle sequences in which the protagonists face off against a variety of different opponents at the same time. These opponents can include walkers, berserkers and gunmen disguised as zombies hiding amidst the walking dead, which is just so many layers of awesome. Maberry has an exceptional talent for writing fight sequences, and all this amazing action really helps to get the adrenaline pumping. I also have to commend all of the first-rate zombie scenes in the book, as the author crafts some truly horrifying scenes that showcase how terrifying and emotional damaging it would be to face off against these undead monsters.

As with all the previous books in the Joe Ledger series, I chose to listen to the audiobook format of Code Zero which was narrated by Ray Porter. Clocking in at just over 16 hours, I managed to get through this audiobook fairly quickly, mainly because I started listening to it while on an international flight. I think it is pretty clear at this point that I really enjoy listening to the audiobook versions of the Joe Ledger books, mainly due to the narration of the outstanding Ray Porter. I have sung Porter’s praises in all of my previous reviews, and I really cannot express what a good job he does bring the series titular protagonist to live with his voice work. Code Zero was no exception, and I would strongly recommend the audiobook format to anyone even vaguely interested in this book.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry is another spectacular book in the Joe Ledger series, and one that I absolutely loved. Maberry continues to utilise some of the amazing story elements that made his previous six books so darn enjoyable, and he ups the ante with another exceptional antagonist and the clever reuse of memorable story elements from previous books in the series. All of this results in another science fiction/thriller masterpiece that gets an easy five out five stars from me, and it is possibly one of the most enjoyable books I have read so far this year.

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