Patient Zero

Patient Zero
by Jonathan Maberry
narrated by Ray Porter
Blackstone Audio, Inc.
14.75 hours

Patient Zero is the action-packed, high-octane thriller about Joe Ledger and his team of elite fighters who battle zombies and attempt to save the world! Jonathan Maberry combines mil-fic, action-adventure and horror in a cliche-ridden (but nonetheless effective) story of cinematic excess . Every bullet, jujutsu move and gaping maw is detailed in this novel about impacts: the impact of decisions made for monetary gain; the impact of causes motivated by religious fanaticism; the impact of a hollow point when it penetrates the skull; the impact of a hand chop to various body parts; the impact of having to bear witness to something so horrifying that it impacts your psyche; the deeper impact of having to do something so horrifying it impacts your very soul...

The facet of Joe's ego that he self-identifies as "The Warrior" dominates the story and the tone of the writing. There is absolutely nothing subtle about Maberry's writing and, in and of itself it is rather formulaic; but the formula works and, it is entertaining and fun.

There is plenty of action, a little humor, a tender moment or two and, lots of suspense. The unrelenting pace drives home the imperative that constant threat must be met with constant vigilance, however tiresome it might be.

Ray Porter is quintessentially Joe Ledger, reflecting the character's toughness, humor, anger and doubt perfectly; but more than that, Ray Porter makes narration sound easy. There is a naturalness to the narration that lends credence to

the highest compliment paid: "Ray Porter IS Joe Ledger" - a perhaps overused and simplistic statement, but nonetheless true. Hooah.

Other Stuff: I borrowed a library-CD edition of this audiobook from Blackstone Audio, Inc. Patient Zero is the first full-length novel in the Joe Ledger sequence. "Countdown" is the short story listed as a prequel to Patient Zero, and can be found as part of the short story collection, Joe Ledger: The Missing Files or; it can be dnloaded individually.

n.b. "Countdown" is not really a prequel so much as it is a previous version of the first chapter of Patient Zero.

This post is part of the Murder, Monsters, Mayhem feature being hosted by Jennifer L. at www.jennsbookshelves.com

This book also qualifies for the What's in Name? Challenge #4 hosted at BethFishreads. Patient Zero is an audiobook with a [number] in the title, "Zero."

This book also qualifies for the Where Are You Reading? Challenge hosted by Sheila at her blog, Book Journey. Patient Zero is has scenes set in Baltimore, Maryland.

View dogearedcopy map 2011 in a larger map

"Can I have a cookie?"

Countdown

"Countdown"

by Jonathan Maberry

narrated by Ray Porter

Blackstone Audio, Inc.

digital dnload

20 minutes

Meet Joe Ledger. Army Ranger vet. Tough Baltimore cop. Now a member of a joint task force heading in on a warehouse raid. Lots of guns, bullets, and a body in a big blue box... "Countdown" is a short story that introduces the listener to an action adventure hero in the making and, whets the appetite for more. What happens next? Who is Mr. Church? What's with the tinted glasses inside? The Vanilla Wafers? Is Mr. Church a good thing? A bad thing? An X-Files thing? The answers to all this and more await in the first full-length novel in the Joe Ledger trilogy, Patient Zero.

Ray Porter renders the character of Joe Ledger with natural ease. Jonathan Maberry, while generous with the mil-fic elements, also fleshes out the protagonist with an interior life beyond the jarhead mentality you might expect. Joe Ledger is smart, funny and most importantly, human. Ray Porter, in his turn, is Joe Ledger, inhabiting the character so completely that there is no disjunct between the writing and the narration.

Other Stuff: I borrowed a MP3-CD copy of Joe Ledger: The Missing Files from Blackstone Audio, Inc. There are five short stories in the collection: "Countdown" (precursor to the full-length novel, Patient Zero), "Zero Tolerance" (follow-up to Patient Zero), "Deep Dark" (prequel to the full-length novel, The Dragon Factory), "Dog Days" (follow-up to The Dragon Factory) and "Material Witness" (a crossover to The Pine Deep Trilogy.) I split up the mp3 files on the CD into the five groupings that made up each story; but each story is available separately as a digital dnload as well as on this short story collection.

This post is part of the Murder, Monsters, Mayhem feature being hosted by Jennifer L. at www.jennsbookshelves.com

This book also qualifies for the Where Are You Reading? Challenge hosted by Sheila at her blog, Book Journey. "Countdown" is set Baltimore, Maryland.

View dogearedcopy map 2011 in a larger map

Murders, Monsters, Mayhem

Murders, Monsters, Mayhem is a feature being hosted by Jennifer L. at www.jennsbookshelves.com for the month of October and I'm thrilled to be participating in this blogging event! There will be zombies, werewolves, haunted houses, messed-up people and maybe even a good old-fashioned homicide thrown in there some where! Things to keep an eye out for:

• Audiobook Reviews
• Movie Reviews
• Graphic Novel Reviews
• Informal Essays

One of the things to keep in mind as you're reading my reviews and whatnot is the theme of True Horror. Last year I wrote about the epiphany I had regarding the nature of horror and, while I may not be addressing this theme directly in every review, it is the leitmotif that informs anything I write in the genre. You can check out the "Horror" reviews that I wrote last year:

• The Amityville Horror (by Jay Anson; narrated by Ray Porter)
• The Reapers are the Angels (by Alden Bell; narrated by Tai Sammons)
• I am Legend (by Richard Matheson; narrated by Robertson Dean)
• Hell House (by Richard Matheson; narrated by Ray Porter)
• The Haunting of Hill House (by Shirley Jackson; narrated by Bernadette Dunne)
• Four Epiphanies (see the sub-heading on "True Horror")

I'll be posting links to all of this year's Murders, Monsters & Mayhem material to Murders, Monsters, Mayhem at Jennsbookshelves.com and; twittering using the #Mx3 hashtag. I look forward to any comments and recommendations you may have!