Friday, October 28, 2011

Weekend Reads: Joe Ledger Series

This series is the brainchild of Jonathan Maberry and is based around a mans-man by the name of Joe Ledger. This series starts off with bioterrism and my favorite enemy, the undead but is more about human struggles, greed and balance of power than the initial book in the series would lead you to believe.

BOOK ONE: Patient Zero
Tags: Thriller/ Mystery/ Disease/ Military
Pages: 421
Stars
: 4 of 5
Buy-Me Blurb:
When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.... 

Comments: I'm a sucker for a good thriller, and throwing flesh eating enemies into the mix just makes it that much more exciting. If you are searching for indepth character development and meaningful dialog, this is not the right series for you. Most of the main characters are extremist, in that if someone is a badass that's really the only thing they have going for them. There is lots of action, and shaky science, but overall a great book. This series is being made into a TV series in the near future (think 24 + Jason Bourne + resident evil).  

BOOK TWO: The Dragon Factory
Tags: Thriller/ Mystery/ Disease/ Military
Pages: 486
Stars
: 3 of 5
Buy-Me Blurb: Joe Ledger and the DMS (Department of Military Sciences) go up against two competing groups of geneticists. One side is creating exotic transgenic monsters and genetically enhanced mercenary armies; the other is using 21st century technology to continue the Nazi Master Race program begun by Josef Mengele. Both sides want to see the DMS destroyed, and they've drawn first blood. Neither side is prepared for Joe Ledger as he leads Echo Team to war under a black flag. 


Comments: This was my least favorite book in the series thus far. In this book you pick back up with Joe and his team once again saving the world from evil scientists... this trend of smart people being evil or complete nerds started to get old pretty quickly. Overall it was an okay read, but having read the third volume in this series I think it was more building up for the next book, which gave it the typical second book syndrome of not being that great until after you continue the series. People who actually work in science will have to overlook some of the "science" they discuss in the book, but there is enough other action to do so without it being too distracting.  

BOOK THREE: The King of Plagues
Tags: Thriller/ Mystery/ Disease/ Military
Pages: 448
Stars
: 4 of 5 
Buy-Me Blurb
 Saturday 09:11 Hours: A blast rocks a London hospital and thousands are dead or injured… 10:09 Hours: Joe Ledger arrives on scene to investigate.  The horror is unlike anything he has ever seen.  Compelled by grief and rage, Joe rejoins the DMS and within hours is attacked by a hit-team of assassins and sent on a suicide mission into a viral hot zone during an Ebola outbreak.  Soon Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences  begin tearing down the veils of deception to uncover a vast and powerful secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to destabilize world economies and profit from the resulting chaos.  Millions will die unless Joe Ledger meets the this powerful new enemy on their own terms as he fights terror with terror.

Comments: Follows Patient Zero and The Dragon Factory as the third novel in the "Joe Ledger" series. The Department of Military Sciences (DMS) is once again under attack from a secret organization said to be older than the Skulls and Bones. Their intent is straight forward, destabilize the world economy through the Ten Plagues of Egypt and remake it as they wish. This book ties the first and second books together nicely and expands on the background of the mysterious Mr Church. Ledger falls particularly flat in this one for me, but it redeems the series in some ways, by returning to the slash and gore style of the first book. 


3 comments:

  1. hm, I've missed those... Seems like an interesting series. Will buy first one and see what I think :) Odds are, I'd like them if you do since I've agreed on the other books you've written about.

    Oh, have you read "The Strain" trilogy by Del Toro?

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  2. I actually just found that one! The first book is currently checked out so I'm waiting for it to be available :)

    What did you think of them? I've heard mixed reviews so far.

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  3. I had thought about starting with patirent zero but i might start with the strain. they're both on my night stand. Not sure zombie books and me and November is the best combo but I might have grown out of my "was that a zombie at the door" fear??? ;)

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