• 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 (17,049 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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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    10,488
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Great story

Enjoyed thoroughly a different twist to zombie story. Narrator was great. Highly recommend. Looking for more stories

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great book

Was skeptical initially, but love ray porter as a narrator, and haven’t heard him read a bad book yet, so gave it a shot. Looking forward to hearing many more books by the author. Great read!

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Great read

This book kept you wondering what was going to happen next. Worth the read thanks!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty Solid

I have never been much for Zombies, but I got into this book. Well done!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • JS
  • 05-13-23

Excellent book

Very solid storyline and great narrating as always by Porter. If you like black ops and post apocalyptic zombies, you’ll enjoy it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I can't wait for the next one!

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are believable, and Ray Porters voice just makes this one of my favorite audio books I've listened to. his ever changing voice to different characters and reading style.... it's like listening to a play

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Barely a Zombie Story

More of a secret agent vs. terrorist political thriller than a zombie horror story. The former is not my cup of tea, so with that in mind I rated it a 4 instead of a 3, because objectively speaking the story’s fairly interesting - if you like that kind of thing,

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When is the movie coming out?!?!?

Please put this on the big screen it’s a great story and would be awesome in high def

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Great Story! Would Love To See A Movie For It!

As I was listening to the book, I could imagine each scene clearly and almost intuitively imagine who could play each part.

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  • MR
  • 04-01-23

Riveting!

A suspenseful and frightening tale. The narrator brought it to life. I will seek out more from this author.

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