Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel

Read for FUN! Challenges: Audiobook, Men In Uniform, Suspense/Thriller, For Fun, TBR, Zombie Overall Rating: 5.00+ Story Rating: 5.00+ Character Rating: 5.00+ Audio Rating (not part of the overall): 3.00 (Wasn't my favorite in audio--switched to paper half way through) First thought when finished: This book did for me the same thing The President's Vampire did--gave me my action/thriller love coupled with my paranormal love! *sigh* I am in love with Joe Ledger! What I Loved: There wasn't much I didn't love about this book! Patient Zero had heart-stopping action that any thriller junkie would love. It had a fantastic lead character, Joe Ledger, that any fan of conflicted heroes would love. He reminded me of a cross between Jason Bourne and Jack Baeur---lethal, cunning, and yet still had a heart. It also had fantastic side characters that you can't help but adore, suspect of being of moles, and care for in every aspect. I wont' go into any individual detail because a huge part of the fun of this book is the back-seat detective game you have going in your head. Seriously, I was sure I figured it out a couple of times. Of course, that means that I was also wrong a couple of times :) I can't say enough about this book. It is just FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! Audio Review: I love audiobooks but this one just did not work for me. I listened to about half of the story in audio then switched over to paper. I just don't think there was enough urgency in the narrators voice. I have listened other books Ray Porter has done and they were excellent. So I think it might have been my urgency keyed up feeling and not necessarily the narrators. So bottom line, Ray Porter is an excellent narrator but this book didn't work for ME in audio form! Hope that makes sense because if you skip a book that has Ray as a narrator you are missing out on some true narration genius. Final Thought: Not everyone will like this book but if you are a fan of Paranormal Thrillers---you will LOVE IT!

Maberry has crafted a top notch horror thrill full of unexpected twists and turns. It is set within the war on terror in an inventive action packed narrative. The core cast of heroes and villains are well written with engaging and some shocking arcs. The warrior’s heart and ethos as well as the good person fighting incredible odds is very well portrayed. The ineffectiveness of large bureaucracy is also well presented. The DMS is great antiterrorist with a fascinating backstory only hinted at. However, there is excessive unnecessary taking of the Lord’s name throughout the novel. It was offensive and made the novel far less enjoyable. The terror of violent religious radicalism was well portrayed but there was no positive examples of faith or religion which greatly lessened the narrative in my opinion.

Was hard to put this book down. Very entertaining. The energy of the story began quickly and did not lose speed until the conclusion.

The story opens with an assault on suspected terrorist in a dockside warehouse, and a massive gun battle that reveals itself to be much more than that. It was a staging area for a bioweapon to be introduced to the American population by El Mujahid, one of the world's most fearsome threats. Joe Ledger, former Ranger, will be swept up into the world of black ops and the DMS (Dept of Military Sciences) - meeting some great characters along the way - as he struggles to prevent the release of a virus that would spread worldwide in short order turning the world's population into zombies. Plausible science is a hallmark in these Maberry books and this is no different. There's no scenery-chewing or world-ruling here, just driven villains with an interesting take on a new bioweapon, and the agency trying to prevent that. Ledger is an engaging character that's capable of snappy dialogue, killer action, and a head full of conflict. Sounds like a lot of action heroes, you say? No one holds a candle to Maberry's Ledger. Trust me. This is the beginning to a series where the action and writing is second-to-none and you'll put down each book at the end desperate to pick up the next. This series straddles a fine line that I've referred a lot of people too: it incorporates action, intrigue, technothriller, sci-fi, science, and much more without alienating fans of any one genre. A hallmark to the engagement that the book offers. Start it now! Five books from now, you'll be a member of a growing army - those of us eagerly awaiting the next Ledger installment.

One of the better novels I've listened to. Excellent plot, superb writing, great narration. Perfect mix of mil/sci fiction. Well worth the price of admission. Highly recommended.

Not a single dull moment in the book. It's like reading a script for a fast paced action movie. First book which I just couldn't put down. Highly recommended.

Have you ever wondered what you would get if you took all the Micheal Chricton novels, the X-Files, The Marvel comics and the works of Dan Brown, put them in a blender, and seasoned the resulting pulp fiction with a whole bunch of cocaine? Well, you would most likely get a large pile of shredded paper, and possibly arrested for the cocaine if you weren't careful. If you were lucky though, you might just get the Joe Ledger series. Im not going to pretend that these are novels with much literary merit to them. They will not challenge you, you will not find life changing story arcs, or even many characters with any real dynamism. What you will find is pure story telling at it's finest and most outlandish, action that rips past you at the speed of light, sucks you in, and refuses to let go. I really reccomend these, I dived into patient zero while looking for a good zombie book and I am glad I found this series. Daft, silly, and great fun.

It’s a great read, the lead character’s POV alternates with other characters’ to great effect, giving it a fast pace yet stopping for some very effective descriptions that leave you with a very clear picture of what’s going on. Oh, and the plot is lovely. For a horror book, if this happened for real it would be a nightmare. Can’t recommend it enough for the lovers of the horror genre looking to spend a sleepless night with this gem! Oh, and then you find out there’s an entire series! We are so spoiled.

Eigentlich hätte das, von der Story her, ein sehr gutes Buch werden können: Bioterrorismus, Großkonzerne, Geheimdienste,... Aber leider wird das alles von einem "Supercop" und seinem "Superteam" und einer dazugehörigen "supergeheimen" "Superorganisation", die gegen "Superbösewichte" kämpft, überdeckt, was viel von der Spannung abbauen lässt. Auch sind die Protagonisten teilweise viel zu platt dargestellt, sei es nun bei den Helden oder bei den Bösewichten. Es wird kaum ein Klischee ausgelassen und die Handlung kann insgesamt nicht so recht überzeugen. Trotzdem war das Buch witzigerweise relativ unterhaltsam zu lesen und es ist schade, dass aus der Grundidee nicht mehr geworden ist.

Confieso una cosa: mi sueño como escritor es conseguir escribir una novela como Patient Zero de Jonathan Maberry. Publicada en 2009, en mi opinión es lo más parecido a un blockbuster de Hollywood que puedes encontrarte en un libro. Frenética, fácil (¿para qué negarlo?), con personajes arquetípicos pero que no parecen de cartón piedra y las gotas necesarias de zombies, gore y suspense para hacer una historia prácticamente redonda. Es un best-seller y no tiene reparos en decirlo, pero hace falta saber escribir, y muy bien, para conseguir hacer un best-seller que resulte creíble. Maberry lo ha conseguido no solo con esta, sino con el resto de novelas de la serie, protagonizadas por Joe Ledger, uno de esos personajes tipo soy-el-más-duro-pero-tengo-corazoncito que en unas manos más incapaces habría resultado tan imposible de creer que habrías dejado el libro a un lado. Quizá no guste a todo el mundo, pero a mí me ha encantado. Si quieres una lectura sencilla y sin complejos para este verano, te recomiendo que cojas tus palomitas y comiences a leer desde ya la historia del paciente cero. Estoy seguro de que no te defraudará