"Is Kill Switch recommended? Yes, without question...Series fans will certainly have much to celebrate in this new Joe Ledger entry. Those who somehow missed or avoided the series are urged to seek out the previous titles and join the ranks of those who so admire this wonderfully unique, suspenseful and endlessly ingenious series." — Bookgasm
"A blend of sf, horror, technothriller, and crime novel, this is one of the best adrenaline reads out there." —Library Journal, starred review
"Maberry evokes Lovecraftian elements and modern-day thriller tropes to craft a fast-paced tale that incorporates a wide array of conspiracy theories, fringe culture motifs, and Cold War weird science into a sort of kitchen-sink affair that shouldn't work nearly as well as it does." — Publishers Weekly
Praise for Predator One:
"An action-packed read that sets hearts pumping and fingers quickly turning those pages... enjoy this thrilling roller-coaster ride of a book." —The San Francisco Chronicle (4 1/2 stars)
"A harrowing addition to the Joe Ledger series...fast-paced and gripping." —SFSignal.com (4 1/2 stars)
Praise for Jonathan Maberry:
“Top grade horror fiction.” —Booklist, (Starred Review) on Code Zero
"A fast-paced, brilliantly written novel. The hottest thriller of the New Year! In The King of Plagues, Jonathan Maberry reigns supreme." —Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Athena Project
“Wow! From the first page of Patient Zero you know you're in the hands of a master...This is high-concept with brains, action with soul and fast paced tension with psychological insight.” —M.J. Rose - bestselling author of The Reincarnationist
“The Ledger novels are exciting sf thrillers that just happen to involve stuff that's a little out there...Readers familiar with the series will need no prodding to check this new one out.” —Booklist, starred review on Extinction Machine
"Capt. Joe Ledger of the Department of Military Sciences returns for his exuberant eighth adventure (after 2015’s Predator One), in which he once again has to prevent a disaster of apocalyptic proportions.... With his enemies able to hijack brains and turn allies into traitors, Joe can’t trust anyone, turning this into one of his most personal missions yet. Maberry evokes Lovecraftian elements and modern-day thriller tropes to craft a fast-paced tale that incorporates an a wide array of conspiracy theories, fringe culture motifs, and Cold War weird science into a sort of kitchen-sink affair that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does. The sheer intensity of the story takes a heavy toll on Ledger and his team, leaving it anyone’s guess where Maberry will take readers next" - Publisher's Weekly
2016-02-04
A sci-fi thriller in which nefarious forces plan to sink the world into darkness. Capt. Joe Ledger (Assassin's Code, 2012), who runs the Special Projects Office for Uncle Sam, is sent on no notice to Antarctica to investigate mysterious electromagnetic pulses and a device code-named Kill Switch. In another thread, Prospero Bell is an 11-year-old father-hating genius who has a perfect eidetic memory and says "I'm getting smarter all the time." Dad returns the sentiment: "That little freak is nobody's son." Indeed, the adopted lad was born in a laboratory and dreams that he must build a God Machine. A code to running such a device may be hidden in ancient prayers and books containing the Unlearnable Truths that have been partly destroyed by "warrior priests." Throughout his teenage years he creates the gizmo, a particle accelerator that opens a doorway to another dimension. Meanwhile, Ledger must deal with numerous disasters: a 737 crashes into a Marriott and kills at least 5,000 people, lights go out at a presidential debate, someone's U2 mix stops on his iPod, and Ledger's team faces "giant violent albino penguins." Ledger and others hallucinate (no, really), and a dead man speaks. Much of this mayhem is the fault of the Islamic State group, especially the Mullah of the Black Tent, who plans to throw the infidels "into a world of darkness." His dastardly plan is plausible because someone has stolen Kill Switch from a secret lab and shipped it to the Islamic State group. The thing is a "portable electrical null field generator," i.e. a nasty EMP weapon. F-bombs fly, blood flows, and everyone screams at least once. In the midst of it all, Prospero says that "Evil is just a word," and morals are whatever one can enforce. One character says that some books "confine the power" and will explode if opened. This book isn't one of them. At almost 500 pages, it's bloated and juvenile.
