Patient Zero

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 1

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins

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)

great read

i loved it. Ray Porter did a fabulous job reading. i would recommend to others.

Best book I have ever listened to.

Must listen to. Loved everything about it. Use your credit you will not be sorry. Gonna listen to the whole series.

Patient Zero--a Fun Ride From Start to Finish

What made the experience of listening to Patient Zero the most enjoyable?

The constant story development and action.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed book #1 and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Amazing

I had read the book when it was first published, then decided to come back to it recently when Audiobooks were gaining popularity and utility since my job required travel and didn't have time to sit down and read.

Ray Porter is one of the best and one of my personal favorite readers. I cannot describe in words how or what he does, but every voice he produces matches similarly with my own mental images of the characters.

Nothing more needs to be said about Maberry and his writing style that hasn't already been shared.

Awesome

Both the story and the narrator were excellent. I was in suspense one moment, laughing the next... I use audible when I commute to work and this is the first fictional book I’ve listened to, I’m not sorry I picked this book. I’ll be following up with Joe Ledger on my next credit.

Phenomenal!

Seemed entirely plausible throughout. The author clearly did his research. The voice acting was also superb, really enthralling from start to end.

Joe Ledger is incredible!

This book an the next two are very well worth the "listen". A whole new take on the zombie angle. But this is no zombie book; it is a kick-ass black ops must listen!

enjoyed the book, I'll listen to the next one.

Enjoyed the book overall. the action sequences and realistic descriptions of events were great and vivid. The narrator does a phenomenal job with his performance. I have enjoyed everything I have listened to so far of his. The only issue I have is with the main character of the story. I did enjoy him but I felt like they did not need to make him the ultimate bad a** who could do just about anything perfectly. We only get provided a very brief synopsis of his background. I guess that can hold some of the mystery of, "Who is this guy?" But coming from a history of military and law enforcement from myself, I guess I just know to much about the real training that is involved in order to be as proficient as the main character was. Overall good story, I'll most likely listen to the next one.

im a huge maberry fan, and this is one of the best

What did you like best about this story?

maberry took the zombie craze and put it into a great series. the first one is about the zom virus. the others dive into other weird terrorist attacks that are based around some appocalyptic outbreak.
i have read the whole ledger series and they keep getting better and better. Ray Porter does all the narrating and he is by far my favorite narriator. he just draws you in. and at no point to you get the feeling that he's actually reading a book.

I thought it was a well planned zombie themed book

If you like zombie themed/science fiction books you will like this. It was at times far fetched, but it was entertaining. If you want to be entertained listen to this book!