Customer Reviews

Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Congratulations, Jonathan Maberry. You have managed to combine two of my biggest fears - the fear of unchecked biological warfare and the fear that my brains will be sucked out by zombies.

Hardened, world weary Detective Joe Ledger has seen it all in the course of his job. He knows the very worst that human beings can do to each other. Then he's not-so-willingly introduced to the Department of Military Sciences (DMS) and its mysterious, powerful leader, Mr. Church, and he finally learns that he hasn't scratched the surface of the worst that people can do. Turns out that religious fanaticism and hatred of the United States have met up with big-money corporate interests, and *voila* the Sword of the Faithful is born - zombie weapons unleashed by terrorists upon the U.S. to purge the world of infidels.

Ledger is all man. He's tough. He has an eye for the ladies and a deep abiding love for his country. He knows weapons and military strategy, and he's a natural born leader. He's chilled to the bone by this new, hellish weapon, but he and his team push forward to try to save the country before this plague spreads to the world.

If you like explosions, fighting, tough-guy talk and scary, brain-munching zombies, you'll love this book. I was riveted from page 1, and I raced to get to the last word. The zombies are strong and hungry. The good guys are the best, and the bad guys are the worst. There is nail-biting action at every turn, and a surprising amount of humor thrown in. This is one of the best zombie novels I've read in a very long time.

Bring on the sequel! I can't wait to see what Ledger gets himself into the next time.

I have not read a book that genuinely spooked me in quite some time! Am I jaded? No. I am just very advanced in my threshhold for terror. (Okay, I'm jaded) This book was like watching a B-horror flick with a million cheap shots to make you jump in your seat. It was great! I am female, and lest I betray my gender in a stereotype, I do not read military action novels. But this book has an action/military/horror/mystery theme that works beautifully. Joe Ledger is my new hero; he can do it all.

So, why not 5 stars? The action got a bit repetitive and ho-hum in parts. I feel like the book could have been condensed by about 50 pages. But definitely read this book! It is pure enjoyment from start to finish.

I'm a big fan of zombies and action. The reviews I read made me thing this book was written for me. The start was good; gun-nut/tactical porn that would make anyone whose played a Rainbow 6 game excited. As it wore on, however, I liked it less and less. Paper-thin characters who are so extreme I was left shaking my head. The bad guys are evil geniuses who put together a cutting-edge medical lab in an Afghanistan cave. The woman is so beautiful she can stop traffic with just her eyes AND she's a super genius who can manufacture zombies. Her counterpart on the other side is gorgeous AND a weapons expert. And these are just the henchwomen.
Skip it. You can find something better to do with your time.

This is not your usual zombie book belonging to the horror genre. Rather, it is part espionage, part action-adventure and part sci fi. The zombies in this book are created from a virus and meant to be used as weapons in a post 911 world. El Mujahid begins by unleashing a virus created by his wife on the populations of small villages in the Middle East. This is done in preparation of an attack on the United States.

Joe Ledger is a Baltimore detective who is recruited into a counterterrorism organization that is ultra secret and goes by the name of DMS. The method of recruitment used was ruthless in that he join or his friend gets shot in the head.

The book is told in several points of view but Joe's is the only one told in first person. I prefer this because it helps the reader to get to know Joe better.

Patient Zero is full of action and fast paced. The horror reader who prefers traditional zombies may be disappointed. If you would like a new way to see them treated, try Patient Zero. You may find them horrifying enough to keep your interest.

Joe Ledger is good, really good, usually when he puts someone down, they stay down, but like the story starts "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."

In that first paragraph I was "all in". Patient Zero grabbed hold and never let go. Maberry is relentless, he latches on to your greatest fears, shows you people you might know, people you may even love, then shows you the worst things you can imagine, and some you couldn't.

From a literary perspective this book was fascinating, as the story is told both in first person (From the perspective of Joe Ledger) and also in third person when it is necessary to see things from another perspective. I'll be honest, I haven't seen this done much and never this well. There was a moment in the very beginning of the when my mind wanted to shout POV violation, but once i saw what had happened I realized just how well it worked.

This is, bar none, one of the best books I've read in a couple of years, and THE best zombie book I've read. Don't let the whole Zombie thing keep you from reading this. It's not really about the zombies, it's about the people. Jonathan Maberry doesn't create characters, the PEOPLE in this book feel as real as you and me.

I recently discovered Maberry by accident and now cannot wait for his next Joe Ledger novel. Please don't hold it against me that I try to keep my review vague. I do not want to spoil anything for you.
I liked Joe Ledger. He is a slightly above average (hey he is a hero, gotta be slightly above average) swept up into a maelstrom of intrigue, creepy federal agents, terrorism, and corporate greed/world domination attempts. Ledger is likable and not beyond getting banged up. I truly hate that some authors allow their heros to get knocked around but never suffer an injury. Only my superheros in tights should ever be injury-free. Ledger also has some personality quirks that ring true. He is also a cat lover, which is a big plus in my book.
What is so nice is Maberry turns the zombie plague/virus/apocolypse on it's head by basically using the fact that we, the United States, have educate half if not most of the world's terrorists and cannot expect them not to use that against us aka a terrorist with a biology background. Maberry also adds a nice karmic twist to the terrorists outcome and the corporate attempt at mass marketing zombie stuff. And, in the wake of 9/11, who has not woken up at least once in a cold sweat that your next vacation to whereever (other than the woods) is going to end with your death during a terrorist attack.

Patient Zero is the coming out party for Joe Ledger, and what a bash it is. If you're a fan of Jack Reacher, his horror doppleganger has just found his way into the canon and is wreaking havoc on the genetically modified. In one of the nicest moves, Maberry builds a pseudo-zombie novel into a military procedural. I wasn't too caught up in whether or not protocols were true-to-life like some of my fellow reviewers. They sounded pretty good to me, and given that no one really knows what would happen under this kind of duress, I bought it. The story is a page-turner, and I'm about reading for entertainment. This one definitely delivered. Ledger is a hard-nosed hero that this genre could use. The viral modifications and intentional infections were a nice touch. Sure, we've seen some of this before, but not quite like Maberry spins it. It felt fresh and, above all, just plain fun. I enjoyed myself as I have with all of Mayberry's novels. If you're not into him yet, do yourself a favor and get started.

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and finally picked up a copy last week. Wow. I mean, wow! What a great book. This is not just a zombie story - it's also a story of espionage, betrayal, and terror. A very well-conceived plot, it takes us through eight days of protagonist Joe Ledger's new life, which is a bone-crunching, desperate ride into apocalyptic hell. Ledger is a police detective with counter-terrorism experience who is recruited (was he given a choice?) into a new super-secret, three-letter government agency tasked with stopping an impending terror attack on the United States.

Ledger is a hero we all love - tough, brave, smart, and a bit of a smart-ass when his buttons are pressed. A faction of religious zealots plan to bring down the country's economy by introducing a virus that creates a violent, barely alive body bent on eating flesh and ripping apart anything in its way. Trouble brews amongst the faction, creating multiple scenarios and confusing the investigation and attack vector. Ledger's psychiatrist, Rudy, gets dragged into the fray, and becomes an ally of the country and does what he can to help - once he has seen what he has seen, he really has no other choice.

The characters are well-developed and deep, and in fact, my only complaint with the book is that in the beginning pages, I really didn't care about the terrorists, government spooks, and other character's lives and just wanted to stay with Ledger's life because it seemed like that's where the action was. Having said that, in later pages I was glad that I learned what I did as Maberry was clever enough to feed me just enough to make me feel as if I was an integral part of the mystery and I couldn't stop turning the pages to see if my theories were correct.

The Joe Ledger character is a new one for Maberry, and there is already another book in the Ledger series called The Dragon Factory, which I can't wait to get my hands on. In Ledger, Maberry has created a character we will want to read about for a long time. Even if you aren't worried about the zombie apocalypse, I think you'll enjoy this book and be glad you read it. If you are interested in zombies, then this book must be read - it will introduce some scenarios that have not been discussed before and will keep your mind sharp and ready for the coming apocalypse. Interestingly, WeZombie has been tracking the zombie apocalypse prediction date for several months, and the month that is most likely for the apocalypse is July. Maberry's book begins near the end of June and finishes in July, the most probable month for the zombie apocalypse. Fantastic!

This book is a must have for all zombie lovers! The main character Joe Ledger is my new superhero. The story dealt with different types of zombies and had a bit of terrorism and government issues in the story line. I really enjoyed reading this book.

"Patient Zero" was an outstanding novel. It is a greatstory, with a unique twist. Your attention is peaked, throughout. I am from a law enforcement and military background. I am not one that reads many fiction novels. Jonathan sent my entire "Recon Platoon" a copy of this novel, while we were deployed to Iraq. What I liked, was how well researched his fictional novel was, in reference to the law enforcement, forensics, and military activity. It was that effort, which allowed me to really enjoy and appreciate this novel. I can't wait receive my copy of the next effort of Ledger, in "The Dragon Factory".