Elitist Book Reviews

Eeek! It's Joe Ledger time! Please allow me a moment to geek out...Thanks, I needed that. Here we have EXTINCTION MACHINE, the fifth Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry. I'll admit, I was a little panicked going into EXTINCTION MACHINE because I saw some rumor online declaring it the last Joe Ledger Novel. The good news is: this rumor was pure speculation, there is a sixth book in the works. The great news is: it will be called CODE Z, and it is a direct sequel to the debut Joe Ledger Novel - PATIENT ZERO. So with that dreary cloud of depression safely behind us, let's get on with the show!

Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences have faced everything from zombies to transgenic monsters, from the Ten Plagues of Egypt to vampires. Now they find themselves contending with UFO's, crop circles, reverse engineered alien technology, Men in Black, government cover-ups, and secret cabals. The President of the United States of America has been abducted by persons unknown and the fate of the world once again rests in the calloused hands of Echo Team.

"We could easily see a new age of empire that would reshape every map on Earth."
"With alien technology?"
"With alien technology."

With Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger Novels you can always expect the unexpected. But aliens? Aliens?! I'll tell you what, that really came out of left field. To be fair, I never expected Ledger and Echo Team to face off against vampires either but I consider ASSASSIN'S CODE to be Maberry's best novel to date. In a lot of ways Maberry is the inverse to Larry Correia. Both are phenomenal authors that write high-octane thrillers but Maberry pens speculative science techno-thrillers where Correia is the master of urban fantasy. Before going into EXTINCTION MACHINE I figured that if Maberry could convincingly write plausible zombies, monsters, and vampires then he could manage to do the same with UFO's. And you know what? Sometimes it pays to bet on the House.

EXTINCTION MACHINE kicks off with a bang, raising the stakes right out of the gate. Joe and Echo Team get their butts handed to them, quite an uncommon occurrence. The President gets taken from the White House right under the noses of the Secret Service, the abductors leaving only a crop circle in their wake. As we go further down the rabbit hole we learn that maybe those conspiracy theory whackos aren't so crazy after all. Maberry treats the concept with respect and so it never seems silly or over-the-top. EXTINCTION MACHINE is never dull, and frequently had me going to my laptop for research. I consider it an accomplishment when I get so invested in a book that I need to know if some of the material is based in fact. I don't think that Dan Brown's THE DA VINCI CODE is a masterpiece of literature but it had a similar effect on me. I believe that aliens exist somewhere out there in the universe, though I've never put much faith in alien visitation of Earth or UFO's. It could be that EXTINCTION MACHINE has shifted my mindset slightly - but that's beside the point.

The point is that this is a door-breaching, flashbang-banging, helluva good time. Those of you who have been following this series know the score by now. Joe Ledger is the Jack Bauer of mad science threats to the United States (and the world). He has rage issues developed by childhood trauma and a fractured psyche. He juggles three personalities - the ever diminishing, idealistic Modern Man, the patient and inquisitive Detective, and the bloodthirsty Warrior. When the Warrior persona is triggered, Joe Ledger becomes a human WMD. Having faced all manner of weird and terrifying foes in the past, Joe displays what I would consider to be the proper amount of skepticism for UFO's and reverse-engineered alien technology in EXTINCTION MACHINE. Obviously being tossed head first into a world of aluminum foil hats and little green men would be a shock for one as cynical and battle hardened as Joe, but his reluctance does not transform into full blown, obtuse ignorance.

The rest of the Department of Military Sciences is back in form. As always, Mr. Church is mysterious and intimidating in equal measure (seriously, when is this guy going to get a spinoff novel about his time in the field? Make it happen Mr. Maberry). Top Sims and Bunny are training the new batch of cannon fodder -- I mean, the new members of Echo Team. Rudy Sanchez, the Jar Jar Binks of the Joe Ledger Novels, is getting married to Circe O'Tree. Fortunately for all, Rudy's involvement in EXTINCTION MACHINE is minimal. Dios Mio! Best of all, Joe's combat dog Ghost is back. It's funny but Ghost has more character than most of the human cast. He's a lovable companion and a fierce asset in the war on strange evil.

As far as new characters go I took an immediate liking to Junie Flynn. Though, I do have a complaint to make. Is it possible to introduce a female character without her ending up as someone's romantic interest (specifically Joe's)? I'm not a feminist or anything. I don't jump every time I see women misrepresented in fiction because frankly, I see people of all types misrepresented. But when it comes to Joe Ledger romances I'm automatically put-off. The relationship with Grace Courtland felt forced and instead of giving it time to develop it was cut off quickly, leaving Joe to mope around like a teenager. It was traumatic, I'll admit, but readers were given no time to warm to the relationship to even care. I feared early on in THE KING OF PLAGUES that Circe O'Tree would wind up as Joe's next conquest.  That didn't turn out to be the case but she did wind up with Jar Jar. With ASSASSIN'S CODE it was clear that the obligatory mourning period was over and a new romantic interest would be introduced to the plot. And now with EXTINCTION MACHINE we get Junie Flynn. I apologize if this smacks of ranting but poorly written romances don't sit well with me.

The villains of EXTINCTION MACHINE tread the line between campy Bond ne'er-do-wells and frightening sociopaths. They aren't as memorable as past villains. At one point Howard Shelton commits that ultimate unforgivable sin of super-villainy - he fails to kill Ledger when he has the opportunity and instead chooses to monologue his evil scheme. I will say this, at least Shelton has somewhat good intentions, but he does fall lean more heavily on the "Bond ne'er-do-well" side of the line.

During the first half, EXTINCTION MACHINE feels slightly scattered. Joe's First Person POV falls by the wayside and much of the story is told from the Third Person perspective of secondary characters and villains. This method has pros and cons. On the plus side, readers get a broad view of the picture. There a many moving pieces and this helps readers find their bearing. On the minus side, the pacing flags. Don't get me wrong, it's still relentless, but Joe's arc suffers from the disrupted flow of the narrative. Maberry deftly wields short chapters and pseudo-cliffhangers to keep readers going, "I'll put the book down and feed the kids honey I swear! Just one more chapter..." It's a wise format that may result in your untimely divorce - also very Dan Brown'esque in its execution.

EXTINCTION MACHINE is a Joe Ledger Novel through and through. It stays true to form, offering readers bone-crunching action, snarky dialogue, and twisted revelations. This entry in the series shares much in common with Men in Black, X-Files, Fringe, and even the video game Crysis. On a scale of my favorite Joe Ledger novels this falls right after ASSASSIN'S CODE. If you haven't yet picked up the series, now would be the time to do so. Oh, and Go Orioles!

Age Recommendation: 16+
Language: Tons.
Sex: Some nudity, some sex, but it's not Fifty Shades of Joe Ledger.
Violence: Joe Ledger is even more deadly at hand-to-hand combat than he is with a gun. It can get messy.

Want them? Buy them all!
PATIENT ZERO, the first features zombies!
THE DRAGON FACTORY, the second features Nazi clones and genetically spliced creatures!
THE KING OF PLAGUES, the third features a weaponized version of the Ten Plagues of Egypt!
ASSASSIN'S CODE, the fourth and best features vampires!
EXTINCTION MACHINE, the fifth features UFO's!

Most anthologies contain a collection of unrelated stories from various authors. That's just the way it goes. Unless the anthology is done by Baen Books and is set in one of their authors' worlds, the stories are rarely even set in the same universe. Heck, even the anthologies I've written for (THE CRIMSON PACT: Vol 2, 3 & 4) have had very few links to connect anyone's work.

And then I read V WARS. V WARS is a vampire (mostly) anthology edited by Jonathan Maberry. That name alone should be enough to grab your interest. Maberry puts out quality work 1000% of the time. This anthology is about a global outbreak of a virus that converts the "junk DNA" in some people. Depending on their heritage, those affected by the virus turn into vampires and werewolves (which in folklore are traditionally related).

And the best part is every story is set in the same world under the same calamity.

You have no idea how refreshing this was to me. Maberry tells a series of short tales following the so-called "patient zero" and his transformation. Maberry's stories serve as a continual frame and big-picture narrative to the entire anthology. The execution across the board is fantastic, and the story feels equally cohesive from the shared story element, to fittingly diverse since it is written by a variety of authors. Obviously, Maberry's portions were stellar, but in many cases they were just vignettes to move the overall narrative forward.

I had some personal favorites in this collection, but I feel a bit crappy about pointing out specific stories. Due to the nature of this anthology, and the connected nature of every story, it would almost be as if I were picking certain chapters in a novel that I didn't like. So instead--and thus avoiding a ton of spoilers--I'm just going to talk about some of the ideas here and what made the entire collection strong.

The ideas in this anthology are what carry it. We get a werewolf themed political thriller, a vampire pyramid scheme, biker gangs, tales from the Mexican-US border, and even a tale from the Antarctic. Even the variety in vampires is pure awesome. How many anthologies play it safe these days? V WARS takes a risk here by having such a crazy variety of stories. I don't know whether or not Maberry planned this whole thing out, or if he just edited it all together, but it all flows so well considering the multitude of authors involved in this project.

I do have a few issues. Firstly, the title of the collection is V WARS...and yet this anthology is really about the spread of the virus and how the world reacts to it. The anthology ends right when we are about to get into some actual wars. So this begs the question: is there going to be a follow-up anthology? If so, great! If not, the title of this collection makes promises it can't (and doesn't) keep. There were a few cases where the segments just didn't work, and were inconsistent with the overall narrative. Also, one story delves into the cliche on a bad level.

Here is what I hope: that this becomes a trend. I want more projects like V WARS. Lots more. A bajillion more. Why? Because readers get to have some great short-fiction while at the same time experiencing a big narrative. This seems like such a win-win for authors and readers alike.

V WARS isn't perfect, but it is dang good. I've been begging Maberry through email to do a sequel anthology, and I'm just praying he gets his group together and does it. You should read V WARS, and so should your friends.

Recommended Age: 18+
Profanity: All sorts.
Violence: Holy crap, yes!
Sex: Actually, there is a really explicit scene in one of the stories. To me, it wasn't needed.

Buy it here:

V WARS

Jonathan Maberry makes it all look so easy, doesn't he? Book after book is released with his name gracing the cover, and we all snatch them up greedily. Why? Because a Jonathan Maberry novel never disappoints.

FLESH & BONE is no different.

The third novel in the Benny Imura series continues a short time after the events of the second novel, DUST & DECAY. Before I go on, I should mention (in case you have yet to begin this fantastic series) that the Benny Imura series is YA following a small group of teenagers living in a world after the zombie apocalypse has happened. As the first novel, ROT & RUIN, closes, the group of teens sees a jumbo jet flying in the sky. This incident pushes them to go out into the wild to find it.

Like the previous novels, FLESH & BONE follows Benny Imura, Nix, Lilah and Chong. In my review of DUST & DECAY, I said that it felt like that novel was more like an alternate ending to the first book more than a true sequel. I enjoyed the novel, but I still wanted more. I wanted more details. I wanted to see more of the world. I wanted new and different dangers. FLESH & BONE does all of these things, and Maberry literally starts throwing them at you from the first page.

It turns out that in the Rot & Ruin (the name for the wilderness in this series), there is a strange death cult growing in numbers. They go from place to place, settlement to settlement, and...free...people from their existences.

Oh, and there are zombies out there. Lots and lots of zombies. And they are acting far different than usual.

The great thing about this novel, apart from the refreshing plot, is the emphasis on character growth and relationships. Each of these characters have been through a lot, and it isn't until this novel that they really begin to deal with the emotional fallout of the terrible experiences they've participated in. It really becomes a question of loss, and how these characters deal with it.

The villains of FLESH & BONE are very entertaining. To me, Maberry is fantastic at portraying each villain as a unique character with unique motivations. It would be easy, especially in a YA novel (as we've all seen so many times), to make the villains flat and boring. Many authors seem to think that villains in YA novels don't need to be fully developed, and don't develop them. Maberry's villains come to life on the page. Sure, sometimes they are a bit over-the-top, but they are always developed.

As for new characters...well, I can't say much without ruining the surprise. Let's just say one of the new characters introduced brings a whole different light to the series.

FLESH & BONE may actually be the darkest of the Benny Imura series. The toil on the characters is high, and Maberry doesn't pull punches when putting his characters in danger.

I've read a lot of YA lately, and still I find Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura series sits towards the top of it all. His knack for writing action and character drama makes all his works highly entertaining.

Recommended Age: 13+.
Language: Hardly any.
Violence: Yup. Nothing insane, but some of the situations are pretty terrible.
Sex: Nope.


Here are your links. You should be reading this series:

ROT & RUIN
DUST & DECAY
FLESH & BONE

"What are you still doing at that house?" she bellowed.
"Trading Pokémon cards with the vampire hunters."

Oh, Joe Ledger, how I love you.

Ever since reading PATIENT ZERO, one of the things I've looked forward to the most every year is a new Joe Ledger novel by Jonathan Maberry.  The series has tons of action, humor and monsters.  Even more that that, the series is full of terrific characters that compliment Joe Ledger.

ASSASSIN'S CODE is the fourth Joe Ledger novel, and I'll admit to feeling a bit nervous when starting it.  You see, when an author continually puts out fantastic novels like Maberry does...well, let's just say you start wondering if he can maintain that level of excellence.  The ending to THE KING OF PLAGUES was huge, and I wondered how Ledger--and indeed the entire DMS--would be dealing with it.

After the first few chapters all my worries were gone.

ASSASSIN'S CODE is about Ledger and the DMS frantically searching for several nukes that are poised to send the world into a virtual Hell.  We get the familiar PoVs from Ledger and the other DMS operatives, but we also get new PoVs from a female going by the name Violin--easily the best character introduced since the first novel.  Additionally, Ledger is faced with an ancient order of killers that claim to be vampires...but vampires couldn't possibly exist in nature, right? 

This novel, to put it simply, was amazing. Revelation after revelation involving Vox, vampires, The Seven Kings, Church and Joe hit you chapter after chapter.  The story is absolutely relentless in its action and the mad scramble for the nukes.  The fantastic part is how Maberry takes this pacing and uses it to wear down Ledger.  Ledger as had a rough go of things since THE DRAGON FACTORY, and he is still reeling from it. What many people don't seem to realize is that the entire series of Joe Ledger books has only taken place over the span of about a year. It really drives home the emotional and psychological toll on the characters. You'd think that Joe couldn't get any more beat down, but ASSASSIN'S CODE shows that things can always get worse.  They can always get harder.

When I read a series, one of the main things I look for is character progression.  Do the characters--major and minor alike--move forward? Are they affected by the past, and do they actively try to move forward?  A strength of Maberry's is his ability to show the past damage and how a character is trying to overcome it.  ASSASSIN'S CODE illustrates perfectly how Ledger is still screwed up from THE DRAGON FACTORY, but how he is struggling to move on.

One of the differences between Horror and Urban Fantasy is that in Urban Fantasy, even when the characters fail, they succeed.  In Horror it is the opposite. Even when you succeed, you fail. ASSASSIN'S CODE, more than any book I've read recently, really follows that observation.  This is a Horror novel, and it has the darkest ending of any Ledger book to date.


And it's absolutely perfect.

ASSASSIN'S CODE isn't just the best Joe Ledger novel, it's the best novel Maberry has written so far.  The ending is one of the best I've read in series fiction, and it is one that I've thought about daily since finishing the novel.  I am completely blown away by the quality of this story, and how effortless Maberry makes it seem.

Thus far, ASSASSIN'S CODE is my favorite 2012 release.  Easily.

Recommended Age: 18+
Language:  Tons.
Violence:  This one is the most violent since the first novel.  Scenes are often brutal and messy.
Sex:  One detailed scene, plus references to women being raped.

Do you like Horror?  Urban Fantasy?  Military Fiction?  Thrillers?  Anything?  If you answered yes to any of those, then you should be reading the Joe Ledger series.  Here are your links, and you should absolutely read them in order.

PATIENT ZERO
THE DRAGON FACTORY
THE KING OF PLAGUES
ASSASSIN'S CODE

As much as I liked zombies, I think there was a point where I reached my limit. I used to get all sorts of excited when I read the back of a novel and the golden word "zombie" jumped out at me. But then things got a little out of control. Zombies were everywhere; TV, movies, books...wherever you looked a zombie was staring back at you. So I cut back. I stuck to AMC's The Walking Dead and the excellent comic it is based one. I limited my zombie novels to those by two authors: Mira Grant and Jonathan Maberry. A month or two ago I started feeling an itch. A desire to read about zombies. Right when I was about to give in, I got Maberry's new, straight-up zombie novel in the mail, DEAD OF NIGHT. Not only did I get to indulge my slight itch for zombies, but I did it by reading one of my favorite authors.

DEAD OF NIGHT is about the onset of the zombie apocalypse in Stebbin County, Pennsylvania. A famous serial killer is executed, then sent to Stebbins County for burial. Except this is a zombie novel, so you know this guy isn't going to stay buried...if he even makes it into the ground in the first place. The main characters are two cops, Dez Fox and JT, and a reporter, Billy Trout (who is Dez's ex). These three characters make great reads, and for the most part act like i would expect them to (more on this in a bit).

Here's the thing. This is a zombie novel in the most traditional manner. Zombie outbreak --> zombies bite people --> everyone freaks out --> guns, guns, and more guns --> zombies bite people...you get the idea. While not the most original take on the subject, it is Maberry's execution of it that really gives the novel some bite (Pun totally intended! Stop shaking your head, you know it was awesome!). His pacing is fantastic. His humor well placed. His horror even more perfectly placed than the humor. For me, the novel got completely awesome when PoVs from the zombies started showing up. So well done. So. Well. Done.

I have two things that kept pulling me out of the novel. First, I felt like there were too many PoVs. We had the main characters, zombies, side characters, nobodies, government people, a radio station...basically everyone in Stebbins County and in Washington DC. It was a few too many in a book that wasn't long enough to incorporate that as many as were included. But I could deal, because the pacing kept the pages turning.

the thing that really pulled me out of the novel was how unaware of zombies the people were. They act like they never had heard of zombies, or that Romero was never born. Even when the dead start walking around chomping on people, the scared individuals start throwing around (and dismissing) everything from viruses to terrorism to freaking vampires...yet they never think, "Hmm, zombies." Maybe it is because I am spoiled by how well the self-aware world worked in Mira Grant's FEED. Regardless, this really pulled me out of the story. On the flip side, after I finished the book I heard that this was Maberry's way of trying to capture a Night of the Living Dead type of atmosphere in a modern setting. Assume people didn't have much knowledge of zombies. How would the government, law enforcement agencies, news people and general citizens act? It softened the blow quite a bit, and gives the book a lot more leeway. If you go into the novel with that latter mind-set, you may not have any problems at all (and I recommend you do read the book thinking that way regardless--you'll like the novel more).

I was leaning towards only "liking" the novel rather than "loving" it when I read the last two chapters. Those two chapters changed my mind. I ended up loving this book. Would I want a sequel? Nah. I want this story left like it is. It has more impact with it ending this way. I would like to see Maberry hit the more supernatural stuff again like in GHOST ROAD BLUES. Until then, and until I get a new Joe Ledger novel, DEAD OF NIGHT will tie me over perfectly.

This just reaffirms why Jonathan Maberry is one of my favorite authors.

Recommended Age: 18+
Language: Tons.
Violence: There is some really effed up stuff here. It's brutal, violent, and heart-wrenching.
Sex: Talked about, but nothing too explicit.

PS - I should also point out that Maberry's use of the TS Elliot poem "The Hollow Men" is freaking awesome. Well done!

One of my favorite books last year was ROT & RUIN by Jonathan Maberry. It was a great take on the after-effects of the zombie apocalypse from the eyes of a teenager. It was also a great example of YA well-done--a fast paced story with fun dialogue and a setting that mixed horror and humor well.

DUST & DECAY was released last month, and I was extremely excited to get a chance to give it a read. Benny, Tom, Nix and Lilah are getting ready to leave town in search of the jumbo jet they saw flying at the end of the first book. Their training is going well, and everything seems to be on schedule for them to head out into the Rot and Ruin.

But this is a zombie book. More specifically this is a zombie book by Jonathan Maberry. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. In the case of this novel, things go wrong right from the very beginning.

I think this is Maberry's strength in DUST & DECAY. Through the conflict introduced literally at every little turn in the road, we get to see how the characters have grown and how they cope with the horror surrounding them. It seems like in every novel I read, the characters always react perfectly controlled in terrible situations. It was refreshing to see some characters completely fall apart under the pressure.

What are some of these crazy situations? Oddly enough (or maybe not odd at all) it was the acts of humans that were the most horrible for the characters to witness. The rumors of a new Gameland (where kids are thrown into pits with zombies gladiator style) are floating around. Someone is killing hunters by luring packs of zombies to them. Certain people want revenge on Benny and the gang for the events at the end of the previous novel. The group barely makes it out of town when everything goes wrong.

This is where I'm of two minds about this novel. Part of me is a bit bugged by the lack of actual movement in this novel. Without giving much away, I got the feeling that this was almost an alternate ending to the first book. It's a great ending by itself, and it would have worked really well as the ending of book one. But for book 2? I don't know, the whole thing felt like running in circles.

On the other hand I think this story needed to have this portion to it. The characters--especially Benny--needed to come into their own. Could they have really made the journey to find that jumbo-jet without the events of book 2? Probably not. Are the characters much stronger individuals following the end of DUST & DECAY? 100% without a question.

So now you see where my internal back-and-forth on this novel comes from.

All of that being said, then ending is pretty great from a character and action standpoint. Again, seeing how terrible people gives the zombies in the novel an added bit of their humanity back...which is one of the major themes of this series, in my opinion.

When the last page of this novel was turned, I really liked it. Did I absolutely love it like I did ROT & RUIN? Not quite. DUST & DECAY is still a great read, and I encourage you to buy and read both of the books in this series.

Recommended Age: 13 and up.
Language: Not much, if any.
Violence: There are some pretty crazy things going on here, but Maberry does a good job pulling back just a tad considering the target audience of the novel.
Sex: Nope.

In case there was any ambiguity before, we want to set the record straight regarding Jonathan Maberry. He is freaking awesome. On every freaking level. Maberry's THE KING OF PLAGUES was just released, giving us our much needed Joe Ledger fix.

In this latest novel, Joe Ledger is drawn back into the world of horror and terrorism when the Royal London Hospital is leveled by bombs without any warning. As the death toll rises, Ledger realizes he can't watch from the sidelines--regardless of his life being left in shambles following the climatic events of THE DRAGON FACTORY. Ledger faces off against old enemies and new as a secret group weaponizes the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

It's easy to point at Maberry's ability to write action as the best part of his work. It IS fantastic. While unashamedly being over-the-top at times (not a bad thing--we love it in this series), the action scenes in THE KING OF PLAGUES are always crisp, brutal and easily pictured. No, as well as Maberry does action, he does character better.

We absolutely love the characters in the Joe Ledger series, and their progression in THE KING OF PLAGUES is top-notch. One thing that Maberry always manages to do is have his characters behave in realistic ways. Joe Ledger for example has faced terrorists, zombies, Nazi-clones, genetic monsters and now plagues. Many other authors would say, "Oh, well, my character is freaking awesome. Nothing phases him." Not Maberry. His characters are continually hammered emotionally and psychologically. The horrors they face actually affect the characters. Remember, one of the characters is the shrink for the DMS (more on him later). What this does is create a very real sense of danger for the characters Maberry is writing. He has no qualms about killing main characters (we're still feeling one in particular), but Maberry also seems keenly aware that killing a character isn't the worst thing you can do. No, scaring them psychologically can be FAR worse. If only more authors could find this delicate balance...

The great thing is that Maberry does a perfect job of showing just how damaged Joe Ledger really is. With every new person he meets, Joe can't quite hide all of his emotional scarring. Joe tries to cover his issues with jokes and sarcasm--always perfectly timed and written--but it becomes more and more apparent that Joe barely keeping his head above water.

There are a few things we should point out that took away slightly from the overall experience. None of them are huge issues, but in a book this good the little things have a way of standing out. First is the passage of time. For the readers, it has been a few years reading these novels. For Joe, it has been several months. It becomes difficult for the reader to remember that all of this is happening all in a really short amount of time. It magnifies the stress Joe has been under, but because of the time between novels the reader won't necessarily get that full impact. The solution? Heck if we know. Just keep the time-line in mind, we guess.

One of the other issues has to do with the PoVs. The Joe Ledger PoV is in first person while the others are in 3rd Limited. Nothing wrong with this. Our small problem is that it seems like Joe is featured less than what he deserves. It was Joe Ledger that made us instantly love PATIENT ZERO. Like THE DRAGON FACTORY before it, THE KING OF PLAGUES focuses a bit too much on the secondary characters. This is more of a subjective thing, but we like Joe Ledger a lot, and want to see more of his exploits. We want him right at the center of the action.

Almost in direct opposition to the previous issue, we felt Rudy was under used. He is a great character, and in desperate need of some more PoV time. Again, a very minor problem we had.

Yeah, that's it. We didn't have any other problems, and those small issues we had are so ridiculously minor. The novel was THAT good. We get big, stupid grins on our faces every time we even think of this series.

THE KING OF PLAGUES is a freaking thrill-ride of a novel. The pace is fast and furious. the action gripping. The terror and horror described and executed perfectly. The humor spot-on. Is it any wonder that Jonathan Maberry is on of our absolute favorite authors?

If you haven't started this series, you are missing out on one of the most fun series in print.

Recommended Age: 17 and up.
Language: All sorts, and really strong.
Violence: Weaponized Ten Biblical Plagues. Assassins. Cults. Joe Ledger. Yeah, there is a TON of awesome violence. There aren't many who do it better than Maberry.
Sex: It's talked about, and there are a few scenes that Maberry cuts away from before getting at all graphic.

A not-so-funny thing happened. We confused the release of this novel with that of another. We feel pretty awful, because Jonathan Maberry is one of our favorite authors. So, we offer our sincere apologies to one of the greats in the Horror genre. With that said, we feel we should mention how completely awesome ROT & RUIN is. It is...uh...completely awesome!

ROT & RUIN is an expansion of the short story "The Family Business" that was found in the anthology THE NEW DEAD. It ranks as one of our absolute favorite anthologies of the year, and we said so in the review we wrote. In that anthology, Maberry's YA zombie story was one of our favorites. Maberry then dropped the bomb on us that he was expanding that short story into a full novel. We were hesitantly excited. After all, how much could we enjoy a novel where we already knew most of the story?

YA zombies. YA with no TWILIGHT-esque romances involved. YA with all sorts of awesome violence and a solid coming-of-age story. Hmm. Yeah. Sounds like a recipe for a winner. In case you don't know, this story is about young Benny Imura. His parents were killed on First Night, the day that started the unstoppable zombie apocalypse. Benny's older brother Tom Imura escaped with Benny, and they all now live in a small settlement with other people. Tom Imura is famous as a zombie hunter, but Benny doesn't want to be a part of that legacy. As it turns out, Tom is far more than just a zombie hunter, and he wants Benny to be a part of "the Family Business." The first part of the novel follows pretty closely with the short story, after which it deviates into a huge, detailed and horrific adventure. Then the story goes back to its short story roots to end the way that short story did. Mostly.

As good as the short story was, the novel ROT & RUIN is the definitive edition of the story. Enjoying the short story did absolutely nothing to diminish our enjoyment of the novel. This novel had all the details we felt were missing from the short story. The characters were better, and easier to root for/hate. The emotional impact of what the Family Business really is has been bumped up tremendously in importance.

As most zombie stories go, the idea is the exploration of what it means to be human. ROT & RUIN is one of the strongest examples of this them that we have read. The understanding that Benny comes to is directly linked to his coming-of-age. It seems like people are beginning to tire of zombies, and we don't blame them. But this story succeeds at becoming more than "just" a zombie story due to the focus on characters and and the themes of what it means to lose your history, and perhaps your humanity in the process.

ROT & RUIN is terrific. Maberry has proven again that he is one of the best Horror authors out there. His YA Horror is just as solid as his adult Horror, and each are perfectly pitched to their respective age groups. By now everyone who knows us, or who reads our reviews should know we have a very low level of tolerance for YA. For us to say a YA novel is not only good, but exceptional, is pretty much as good of a compliment as possible from us. ROT & RUIN might very well be our favorite YA novel so far.

Recommended Age: 14 and up.
Language: A little.
Violence: Zombies. Duh. But it isn't anywhere near as gratuitously awesome as Maberry's Joe Ledger novels.
Sex: Some disturbing situations are alluded to, but noting is ever shown.

Joe Ledger is back! After battling zombies in PATIENT ZERO (read our review of PATIENT ZERO here), our hero gets no rest. In Jonathan Maberry's THE DRAGON FACTORY the stakes are even higher, and Joe is thrown in the midst of political, genocidal, and transgenic turmoil.

The story starts by introducing a couple of guys as the greatest mass murderers in the history of the world, an "Extinction Clock," and then a couple jerk-face NSA dudes attempting to bring Joe Ledger in. Sucks to be them.

The plot of this newest Joe Ledger novel mainly follows the exploits of Echo Team. Also focal points of the book are two groups of genetic researchers and scientists, all at odds with each other, and both doing unspeakable, craptastic things to the world, including unleashing big crazy dudes named Berserkers and releasing weaponized versions of icky diseases.

THE DRAGON FACTORY is just as fun as it's predecessor. It is 496 pages and we ripped through it at breakneck speed. It keeps up the pacing and the interest almost the whole way. There weren't any dull moments, which says something for the novel since it jumps PoVs SO MANY TIMES (sometimes for just a page or two before the character bites it). There was a bit of PoV breaking during chapters, which, if you have been reading our blog, you know is a pet peeve of ours. It wasn't terrible though.

The ending was superb. Endings are the bane of books like this. A lot of suspense and pressure being built up, but in the climax they usually are a let down. Not so with THE DRAGON FACTORY. The climax is intense and the final pages leave us wishing next year would come quicker so that we could see where a damaged and jaded Joe Ledger takes the story.

Speaking of the condition in which Maberry leaves Joe, we love the fact that this is not only action-packed, filled with science-geek stuff and great characters, with an interesting story, but it has a ton of heart. By the end of PATIENT ZERO, we thought the characters were pretty rad. By the end of THE DRAGON FACTORY, we LOVED the characters.

The whole time while reading this book we both kept thinking, "Tom Clancy, we wish you had a time machine so you could learn how to do these stories right from Jonathan and go back and fix your mockery of a career." Same goes for OSC's Empire and Hidden Empire.

Do yourselves a favor and pick up THE DRAGON FACTORY, and if you haven't already, PATIENT ZERO.

We seriously can't wait for THE KING OF PLAGUES, the follow up and concluding novel in the Joe Ledger Trilogy.

Recommended Age: 18 and up.
Language: Yeah. We have military people, ex-military people, and crazy people. Expect foul language.
Violence: See above. There is quite a bit of violence going on here, and it is brutal!
Sex: A few acts. Mentions of acts. Two of the main characters have and record multiple threesomes with a bunch of random "victims," though it isn't shown.

There is a topic in novels that has become sacred to us here at Elitist Book Reviews. If you screw it up, we will hate you forever. If you do it well, we may send you cookies...or at the very least worship you. The topic?

Zombies, baby. Zombies.

The easiest way for us to describe PATIENT ZERO by Jonathan Maberry is to say that it is Rainbow Six: Zombies. Cut out the technical mumbo-jumbo that Tom Clancy felt he needed to put in RAINBOW SIX, add more zombie action, and you get PATIENT ZERO. Zombie novels don't get much better than this. Take a half-hour break right now, and go to your bookstore and pick up this novel. And get a bag or two of popcorn while you are at it.

Joe Ledger, the main character of PATIENT ZERO, is completely full of awesome. How so, you inquire? He is the equal parts Ash, MacGyver, and Bruce Lee...though we picture him looking like a young Ash (Bruce Campbell), regardless of the book description. Why not? We are elite, so we can do what we want! Anyways, back to Joe. He is recruited to be part of an anti-terrorism (heavy on the terror...remember, zombies) group sanctioned by the President of the USA. It is an All-Star Team of scientists and military specialists whose only purpose is to take care of the scary by any means necessary.

This novel is 28 DAYS LATER with military squads blowing up, shooting, stabbing, and snapping the necks of mobs of zombies. Uh huh. Awesome. Maberry adds convincing science (to us, though lets face it, we aren't science gurus here. Book review Gods, yes. Scientists, no.) that shows how terrorists have built a virus that turns people into zombies, or "walkers" as they call them. The thing with zombie novels/stories, is that you can't take them too seriously. The characters and relationships here are built to fulfill roles that may feel cliche to the average reader. Guess what? It's a zombie novel! Zombie novels have a free pass to use cliches (we say so, so therefore it is fact)! There is a sarcastic brand of humor throughout the novel (which fits perfectly) to go along with the insane, over-the-top, awesome violence. Yes, this book drips testosterone...and some zombie brains. You know what makes this book even better? The villains aren't idiots. In fact, some of them are considered the most brilliant people on the planet. And they are zealots, which makes them even more dangerous while simultaneously giving them a weakness that the heroes can realistically overcome.

We are very happy with PATIENT ZERO. Thrilled, more like it. Giddy, if we are being revealing about ourselves. It has been a while since we have had so much fun reading a novel (Steve couldn't stop giggling his enjoyment). There is SO MUCH action here--refreshingly with characters who are actually affected by the horrors they are facing (an astounding concept, no?)--that you really have no choice but to love it. Oh, and did we mention that the writing style lends perfectly to this novel?

Jonathan Maberry, we salute you, and we hope for more Joe Ledger soon.

Recommended Age: 17 and up.
Language: Uh, yeah. Did you read our three-word summary up top? Rainbow Six: Zombies. Of course there is language. And lots of "hooah."
Violence: Oh yes, and it seems to be non-stop. The pace of this novel is 1,000 mph. All. The. Time.
Sex: Yes, but very little. Focus people, this novel is about blowing up zombies. Weeeeeee!

Jonathan Maberry has made it onto our very short-list of favorite horror authors. This means you should be reading him. This means you should be visiting his website. Go thank him for writing one of the funnest novels of the year.

http://jonathanmaberry.com/


Steve's Note: I love zombies. They can be cheesy or scary; it doesn't matter to me. I just love them. My good friend, Dan Wells--who's terrific book we reviewed a while back here--often has discussions with me about zombies, and how we could make them more fun to read. He once mentioned to me that his agent, Sara Crowe, also represented Jonathan Maberry and his new zombie novel PATIENT ZERO. I respect Dan's work a lot, so therefore I respect Sara Crowe's taste in clients a lot. I decided to check it out. After reading so many terrible novels lately, PATIENT ZERO was a welcome relief, the most fun I have had reading in ages, and one of my favorite novels of the year. In my opinion, all people should be required to love zombies. With this being said, all people should be required to read Maberry's PATIENT ZERO.