shan198025's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it! This is the second Maberry book I've given 5 stars. He's becoming one of my favorite authors. I love Joe Ledger! He is a great character. I'm really looking forward to watching a relationship between him and Grace develop.
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
While I’d like to give it 4 stars, I can’t in good faith do that from the action alone.
The positives:
The story is good, the plot is well structured, and I like how all of the plot threads held together. Joe Ledger is a compelling protagonist and Echo Team were fun to read about. Rudy was a highlight, and I liked that the men cried.
The negatives:
This book is very 2009. Also very pro-government-pro-America/propaganda-y. It’s very macho, and very uhhhhhh maybe not racist but it borderlines it. Things like Doctor Hu (name aside) being this callous asshole while all the white guys are Stern and Serious. Idk it just doesn’t sit well with me.
As much as I like Joe, he was very good at his job. Too good. He’s got this split personality thing going on which is very cringy, but also he’s ridiculously strong and can kill people with no effort. Unrealistic and ruins his personality which I actually like.
Also the treatment of women. Grace Courtland is super cool, but she’s reduced to Church’s right hand woman and later Joe’s love interest. There was no chemistry between them. I did like that her character development didn’t come from sexual assault. But I felt she was wasted, especially since she’s made out to be this amazing fighter. It would have been cool to see more of her perspective and possibly even a novel where she’s the main character.
Also I didn’t like how she’s this stuck up bitch until Joe “wins her over” and suddenly they’re fucking lmfao.
Also Joe’s ex girlfriend being raped and killing herself for Joe’s character development. Ew.
Not a bad book, I’ll be picking up the sequel at somepoint but it has some very obvious flaws.
The positives:
The story is good, the plot is well structured, and I like how all of the plot threads held together. Joe Ledger is a compelling protagonist and Echo Team were fun to read about. Rudy was a highlight, and I liked that the men cried.
The negatives:
This book is very 2009. Also very pro-government-pro-America/propaganda-y. It’s very macho, and very uhhhhhh maybe not racist but it borderlines it. Things like Doctor Hu (name aside) being this callous asshole while all the white guys are Stern and Serious. Idk it just doesn’t sit well with me.
As much as I like Joe, he was very good at his job. Too good. He’s got this split personality thing going on which is very cringy, but also he’s ridiculously strong and can kill people with no effort. Unrealistic and ruins his personality which I actually like.
Also the treatment of women. Grace Courtland is super cool, but she’s reduced to Church’s right hand woman and later Joe’s love interest. There was no chemistry between them. I did like that her character development didn’t come from sexual assault. But I felt she was wasted, especially since she’s made out to be this amazing fighter. It would have been cool to see more of her perspective and possibly even a novel where she’s the main character.
Also I didn’t like how she’s this stuck up bitch until Joe “wins her over” and suddenly they’re fucking lmfao.
Also Joe’s ex girlfriend being raped and killing herself for Joe’s character development. Ew.
Not a bad book, I’ll be picking up the sequel at somepoint but it has some very obvious flaws.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Murder and Medical content
Minor: Rape, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail
mmk4725's review against another edition
3.0
GREAT opening chapter. Typical ex-military, ex-cop kind of story. Way too much description of fighting. Joe & crew were supposed to be so smart & pick up things. You wouldn’t pick up that hundreds of adults and people are missing in an area? Then they couldn’t draw a connection between Lester BellMaker = Liberty Bell Center - this wasn’t the exact connection, but close enough. SIGH. Maybe better as a audio?
daydreamingreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
5.0
Read for FUN!
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!
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!
janetsbooked's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this zombie book! Haven't enjoyed a zombie book this much since World War Z. A must read in the zombie genre.
abbybovenzii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
f3lik5's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lisakushner57's review against another edition
4.0
Great combination of action and horror. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
roksyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This was one intense thriller! Full of action, intertwining plots, twists, and turns, this is not your typical zombie plague story. Joe is just the right balance between smart arse, hard case, and softie. It's clear to me that Maberry put a lot of thought into his protagonist - into all the myriad of characters featured in the plot, actually, the good and bad. There's some typical ol' 'Merican patriotism, but it's not overdone, and is balanced by Joe's cynicism and wit. All in all a pleasure to read. Can't want to get a hold of the next book!