• Patient Zero

  • The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 1
  • By: Jonathan Maberry
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (17,053 ratings)

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Patient Zero  By  cover art

Patient Zero

By: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's summary

From multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry comes a major new thriller that combines the best of the New York Times best-selling books World War Z by Max Brooks and James Rollins’ Sigma Force Series to kick off the start of a new series featuring Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences.

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. And that’s both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because he’s a Baltimore detective who has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can’t handle. This rapid-response group is called the Department of Military Sciences, or the DMS for short. It’s bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bioweapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Jonathan Maberry is the New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Ghost Road Blues, the first of a trilogy of thrillers with a supernatural bite. A professional writer and writing teacher, he has sold more than 1.000 articles, 17 nonfiction books, six novels, and two plays.

©2009 Jonathan Maberry (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Brilliant, shocking, horrifying, it puts the terror back in terrorist.” (James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author)
“Plenty of man-to-zombie combat, a team traitor and a doomsday scenario add up to a fast and furious read.” ( Publishers Weekly)
"Jonathan Maberry has found a delightful voice for this adventure of Joe Ledger and his crew: while the action is heated, violent, and furious, the writing remains cool, steady, and low-key, framing all the wildness and exuberance in a calm rationality (given an almost comic edge) that renders it as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream." (Peter Straub)

Featured Article: Mmmm, Brains...Satisfy Your Cravings with the 20 Best Zombie Audiobooks Ever


Zombies have been a potent cultural force for decades. Something about the concept of a ragtag crew of survivors facing off against endless masses of shuffling brain-munchers really seems to speak to people! There are hundreds, if not thousands, of zombie-themed stories out there. But which ones are the very best? And which zombie audiobooks will have you double-checking the locks and sleeping with a baseball bat next to your bed?

What listeners say about Patient Zero

Average customer ratings
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A Gripping Tale, Expertly Narrated

I enjoyed this slightly different take on the zombie trope, made unique by the inclusion of fundamentalist terrorists and evil pharmaceutical magnates, plus a funny, badass protagonist. Ray Porter's reading was nigh perfect.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

soooo many levels of wow!!!

This book may have just single handedly kept me from ever watching another zombie movie or show ever!!! Every scene so perfectly crafted I could envision it down to the cracks in the walls! And that narrator is truly one of the best I've come across since I started audio books. Tops all the way around!!!!

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INCREDDIBLE

I'm hooked! Wishlisted the whole series and starting book 2. Love Ray Porter, he brings Joe Ledger to life.

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I couldn’t stop listening

This book was amazing. I love a good zombie novel, but they always seem to have the same story line. This book was totally different. The performance was incredible. Great book.

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fantastic fantastic fantastic

it's been a long time since I was completely captivated by a story. I was just on the edge of my seat constantly. I couldn't get enough.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Horror taken to a new level

What an awesome book. The prion disease model was fascinating. I think a thriller, horror story is so much better when the science behind it is plausible. This book had a lot of action and a lot of strategizing. The fight sequences were amazing! I also loved the performance by Ray Porter. I would highly recommend this book.

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Zombies? Sheesh!!

This story almost makes the whole zombie thing believable, but not quite. Narration is excellent!!

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Awesome Action Book!

Loved every bit of it. Edge of your seat listening start to finish, great narrator!

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a very good book

this book mix horror and delta force it is a great read and I recommend it to any one

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Joe Freaking Ledger

When all you want to do is hang out with the characters, you have found a great series.

the bad guys are great characters, but by the time you meet "Echo" team, you figure out that you couldn't care less about the bad guy, you just want to hang out with Joe, Top and Bunny.

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