The King of Plagues

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 3

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Saturday, 0911 hours — A blast rocks a London hospital and thousands are dead or injured.

1009 hours — Joe Ledger arrives on scene to investigate. The horror is unlike anything he has ever seen.

Compelled by grief and rage, Ledger rejoins the Department of Military Sciences, and within hours he's attacked by a hit team of assassins and sent on a suicide mission into a viral hot zone during an Ebola outbreak.

Soon Ledger and the DMS begin tearing down the veils of deception to uncover a vast and powerful secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to destabilize world economies and profit from the resulting chaos. Millions will die unless Ledger meets this powerful new enemy on its own terms as he fights terror with terror.

Take another thrill ride with Joe Ledger.

©2011 Jonathan Maberry (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A fast-paced, brilliantly written novel.” (Brad Thor)

Joe Ledger ROCKS!

I cannot choose which is my favorite Joe Ledger book, I have tried by listening to them each several times. Jonathan Maberry is one of the most talented writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. His books are smart, creepy, and will pull you into the world in which his characters dwell. The King of Plagues is the third part of the Joe Ledger trilogy, My advice is start the book when you have plenty of time to listen, because once you start you will not be able to stop.

JOE IS MOURNING

Joe was hit hard by everything, he was ready to leave his old life and DMS behind, but does it ready to let him go.

We will have old and new enemies, we will see human and animal sides of some characters, we will see love, loss and betrayal.

And we will see the breaking point of the modern world.

The Bad guys just don't die

And that is okay - it gives you someone to continue to root against. I think the entire series a real quick and engaging listen. I have only heard of Maberry about a month ago - but in that time - I have devoured 4 of his books. Keep on writing and I will definitely keep on reading.

Great Series

Always a good listen. Action packed, fast paced, and entertaining! The main character, Joe, is one of my top favorites.

I love this Series

Read it or listen to it. Just sayin. Go ahead and use your credit. Next month I will get the next one.

Love this series!!!

The switch between first and third person is kinda weird. As is hearing a dude tell you how badass he is. But they're addicting stories and no one narrates like Ray Porter.

A little too contrived

This book has some good villains, Mr. Church and of course Joe Ledger, so it was entertaining, but the plot felt thin and contrived. The narration by Ray Porter was first rate, as always.

honestly one of the best books ive read

i cant even count how many times i listened to the joe ledger series but this one is one of my all time favorites!!! absolutely perfectly preformed by ray porter.

An excellent few hours of entertainment

What made the experience of listening to The King of Plagues the most enjoyable?

The fast-paced action, the weaving of the storylines, and the narrator's ability to imbue the characters with different voices.

What other book might you compare The King of Plagues to and why?

I would say a combination of Stephen King, James Rollins and Preston & Child, because of the action, intricacy of plot, and interjection of some possibly supernatural elements.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr. Porter gives each main character a distinctive voice, and cycles through accents with ease. He also emphasizes the pacing of the action with more or less intensity in his voice and speed of reading. I find his narration to be an excellent complement to the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I couldn't listen to it in one sitting. For one thing, it's too long to sit right through. It's also very intense at times. I typically have 2 or more audiobooks going at one time, and interrupted this audiobook by listening to and reading in about three other books.

Any additional comments?

Maberry has a very inventive mind, and I'm glad I found him. I only discovered his books about six weeks ago, and I've already finished his Ghost Road trilogy and the first three Joe Ledger books. I agree with some reviewers that Ledger is beginning to feel angrier, which in one sense I understand, given the difficulties physically and emotionally of the situations he faces. At the same time, I think he needs to find some way to chill a bit occasionally or he's going to become a ball of fury that is no longer entertaining to read about. That's not happened yet, though. I'm looking forward to reading his next book (in audio, of course). I think Maberry's books are enhanced by audio, because they're very cinematic. That's not surprising, given Maberry's writing history and attachment to comic books.

Other reviewers have mentioned that this book is very political. I both agree and disagree. It's clear from Maberry's books generally that his politics are mostly in the arena identified as liberal in our society. Mine are very different. However, aside from occasional jabs that made me roll my eyes, I didn't find it distracting. I'm used to it, given our modern entertainment industry. He did make efforts to de-politicize it (including the Bush twins in one scenario, for example). And it adds a little thread of irony, given that the actions of the main protagonists are more in line with policies advocated by the more conservative among the US citizenry. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to my friends, regardless of their political leanings. I think they're grown up enough to handle it.

7 out of 10

It was a nice installment but the story was a bit too much of a stretch.