Extinction Machine

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 5

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In Extinction Machine, the fifth Joe Ledger book by Jonathan Maberry, the DMS must go up against someone—or something—in search of new technology that could bring about world war

The President of the United States vanishes from the White House.

A top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during a test flight. Witnesses on the ground say that it was shot down by a craft that immediately vanished at impossible speeds.

All over the world reports of UFOs are increasing at an alarming rate.
And in a remote fossil dig in China dinosaur hunters have found something that is definitely not of this earth. There are rumors of alien-human hybrids living among us.
Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences rush headlong into the heat of the world's strangest and deadliest arms race, because the global race to recover and retro-engineer alien technologies has just hit a snag. Someone—or something--wants that technology back.

©2013 Jonathan Maberry (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The Ledger novels are exciting sf thrillers that just happen to involve stuff that's a little out there (and Joe himself is a realistically portrayed soldier who, from time to time, has a hard time dealing with the weirdnesses that surround him). Readers familiar with the series will need no prodding to check this new one out, and newcomers, immediately upon finishing the book, will want to hunt down the earlier installments.” —Booklist, starred review

Another Joe Ledger Makes the Grade (A+)

If you could sum up Extinction Machine in three words, what would they be?

Humor, Shock and Awe. "Joe Ledger Embodies the term S.N.A.F.U. and Laughs"

What other book might you compare Extinction Machine to and why?

Patient Zero...... There are so many moments that will shock you to your core Jonathan Maberry Hits the mark with the Novel making it my second favorite next to Patient Zero.

Another good one in the series...

Another good one in the series! ... and I especially like the performance.

Allways a good damn story .

I cant say it enough these are written very well an told even better . the way he can use different voices an keep it all together is fantastic . ive listen to many many many books this past year an the JL series is top notch if its your thing anyway . 10/10

Great story! What’s next?

Another great story I. The series ! I can’t wait to see what’s next for the DMS. What’s next?

Entertaining.

Like the other books in the Joe Ledger series, this book is easily consumed, entertaining, and moves along well.

Go for Maberry…Need More Please!

What did you love best about Extinction Machine?

Frankly it's a tie between a fantastically good story and superb narration. Mr. Maberry is very good at taking the unbelievable and making it not only completely plausible but he makes you look at it from a wholly new prospective. Yes, the story is about alien visitation but it has nothing to do with little green men or space lizards that come to conquer. It will make you think, worry and wonder while enjoying a rousing thriller. (Heavy sigh) now the wait until the next installment.

Which character – as performed by Ray Porter – was your favorite?

Ray Porter is why audiobooks rock. He takes the character of Joe Ledger and the series to another level.

This one is out of this world

Counter-terrorism has been a consistent theme over the first four books of this series but that doesn't mean the stories have been repetitive. Joe Ledger and the DMS have actually faced quite a variety of adversaries so far, including zombies, super soldiers, and vampires. In each case there has been a scientific rationale to explain the existence of these seemingly supernatural creatures thus Joe Ledger has learned the hard way that he must keep an open mind if he wants to stay alive. However, all of those lessons don't seem to help much as he begins to uncover the facts in his latest case. It all starts with an impossibility - the President of the United States is abducted from the White House and not a single secret service agent saw anything. The only piece of evidence left behind is a crop circle on the White House lawn but that has to be a hoax. Right?

It turns out that the "real" arms race is not nuclear in nature at all. Instead, the various governments of our planet have been engaged in a secret arms race to collect pristine parts from alien craft that have crashed on earth over the years. The first country to successfully re-create an alien engine will have a power source/weapon that no other country will be able to stand against. This is a deadly game with extreme consequences when things go wrong. The Kunlun earthquake in 2001, the Ruichang earthquake of 2005, and Sicuhan earthquake of 2008 were all caused by research failures as the Chinese government attempted to re-construct the alien engine. The Haiti quake of 2010 and the Mount St Helens eruption were rumored to be caused by American failures to do same. Which country is closest? Is it even possible? Does 'impossible' even mean anything any more?

The one person who seems to have some actual insight into what is going on is Junie Flynn. She hosts a conspiracy podcast but also claims to have a copy of the Majestic Black Book which is rumored to have a list of every crashed alien craft ever discovered on earth. This becomes very important when the book is demanded in return for the President. With the President sidelined, Vice President William Collins is back in power and that never bodes well for Joe Ledger and team. Collins has been trying to shut down the DMS for a while now so Joe must find the book and sort out what is going on before Collins can disrupt the investigation to stay in power.

Even though the action is over-the-top and the story is a bit out there this was my favorite book of the series so far. Once again Jonathan Maberry takes well known events from our recent history and gives them unexpected causes to put the DMS to the test. Fans of the series should definitely pick this one up and you can trust that Ray Porter does another excellent job on the narration. 

You can always count on Ledger

This story was a little slow to start but turned out to be one of my favorites so far!

UFOs, high technology and a different perspective

As always Jonathan stuns and amazes the readers.
Shock and Awe in true Jonathan style.

The only author I listen to as part of a series is Larry Correia.

And we have liftoff

There comes a point in the series I have enjoyed where the author and narrator really hit their stride. I think this book is it for this series. Its a transition, in that it doesn't really continue many plot elements from before, but the writing is sharp and I laughed out loud several times rather than the snorts and smirks previous books generated. The action was well constructed from setup to conclusion, with tension created in the moment and as a common thread through most of the story. Well spent credit that I listened to almost nonstop and finished in a little more than a day (have to sleep), enjoying the ride the whole time. Looking forward to listening to the next book!