Extinction Machine

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 5

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

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

Buy this book...trust me

Where does Extinction Machine rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd say at least in my top five suspense/thriller genre books. Overall, top ten easily.

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

I can't really say any of the other books I've read compare to this one. I've tried other thrillers and either got bored or the narrator was bad. This one blew me away, and I'm a tough critic. The action, suspense, and unexpected twists kept me coming back for more. Very well written story. This was my first Jonathan Maberry book, and I'll be getting some of his other books too, now that I know what to expect...pure entertainment.

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

Joe Ledger of course. Ray Porter would sound good reading stereo instructions, he literally makes the listener "experience" the book. He's that good.

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

It could easily be one of those books to listen to all in one sitting, narrator Ray Porter combined with excellent writing, you can't go wrong.

Any additional comments?

As I said, this was my first Maberry book, and I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end. I read the reviews, bought the book, and am now a big fan.

Combat is not a Sport

Would you listen to Extinction Machine again? Why?

Certainly the themes are over the top, which is what actually makes it so fun to read. If it was real I don't think I would much enjoy it. Joe Ledger is a bad dude and when the world is in trouble you need a bad dude to save it :)

What did you like best about this story?

The characters approach to violence is much more consistent with how a military man is trained and how a real fighter is trained. It is fun to watch him be violent with things that are not real. Real would be too much.

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

His range in characters is great. There is seldom bleed over. You know what character is speaking and when. There was once that it seemed like Ledger was speaking when it was another character, it actually seemed like it fit, as though, "this is what ledger would have said in the mind of that character". I don't know if it was on purpose but it worked for me ;)

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

Yep and I almost did. Ended up splitting it over two days working in the shop.

Any additional comments?

The stories are great fun, Joe Ledger is crazy and funny. His jokes are terrible, but a character doing the things he is doing shouldn't be too funny :)

Best of them to date!

I really enjoy these stories. Somehow I missed this book while listening to all the others. It's been my favorite so far. There's a great mix of humor, action, and seriousness. The narration is incredible and really brings the characters to life. Looking forward to the next one.

Awesome as usual

You cannot go wrong with this series, want to read an entire series on Deacon though...

Another Ledger Masterpiece

Any additional comments?

Joe Ledger can do no wrong. Every story he stars in keeps me glued to my headphones all day long. Extinction Machine is no different. Pick it up immediately and immerse yourself in yet another wild adventure through the eyes of someone you can't help but long to live vicariously through.