• Kill Switch

  • Joe Ledger, Book 8
  • By: Jonathan Maberry
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (5,940 ratings)

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Kill Switch  By  cover art

Kill Switch

By: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's summary

What do you do when the power goes off?

Terrorists have acquired a terrible new weapon that can crash the power grid and plunge America into a new dark age. A coordinated attack is planned to shut out all lights and emergency services to 10 major cities. Planes will fall, hospitals will go dark, no help will come.

And in that terrible darkness, a dreadful plague will be released. If the lights go off, nothing can stop the bioweapon from killing millions.

At the same time, the intelligence services are being torn apart from within by a plague of betrayal, murder, and suicide. Even the Department of Military Sciences is stumbling in its response to the growing threat.

Time is running out, and Joe is being hunted by a terrifying new kind of assassin. A team of remote viewers have the ability to take over any person and turn ordinary citizens into killers. Where can you turn when there's nobody left to trust?

Joe Ledger faces his deadliest challenge as friends and allies become enemies and all of the lights begin to go out...

©2016 Jonathan Maberry (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

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What listeners say about Kill Switch

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

When the lights go out

SO what can you really say about this series that has not already been said. It just keeps getting better and better. Maberry will make you believe that your neighborhood is filled with zombies, or that drones will get you at a sports stadium or even that the guy sitting next to you at Starbucks drinking his latte is a quarter alien. So, to be honest I did not listen to the book yet but I just want my review to be posted first to let everyone know what is guaranteed in this book

1. Ledger, Church, Ghost and the rest of the team are bad asses
2. Ray Porter is going to bring it with his performance
3. Yes, Maberry will make you believe this could actually happen
4. Every other single book in this series will be inter woven in to this one
5. And… Church will have a friend in the industry
One last guarantee, this will receive 5 stars in all categories from me. Happy listening!!

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19 people found this helpful

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

I'm in the minority I suppose...

Let me preface this by saying I love the Joe Ledger books. Love them. I eat them up. I also see the rave reviews by everyone and think there must be something wrong with me, because I did not enjoy this one nearly as much as previous installments. I enjoy how Maberry runs these plotlines right along the edge of fantastical...making the plotlines just feasible enough to let you suspend disbelief. It's a major reason I like them so much. This one? Not so much. To be frank, one of the key factors in the whole story was so...well..utterly stupid, I couldn't stay engaged. That said, it was well written (as you'd expect) and I do still love the series. This one just didn't really do it for me. That said, it's still better than 80% of the swill out there right now, so ignore my complaints and buy it anyway.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Starts off Intense and Doesn't Let Up!

Wow, this was another awesome addition to the Joe Ledger series!

Where does Jonathan Maberry come up with these ideas? Kill Switch was a fast paced "edge of your seat" story full of action, suspense, and weaved enough fantasy, the story had believable elements. He's a genius at combining fantasy and reality and making you believe, if it could happen, this is how it would occur.

I love Joe Ledger and the rest of the characters, especially their banter. They will have you laughing out loud, even when they are serious.

Ray Porter is one of the all time best narrators I've listen too. I really enjoyed his performance on Joe Ledger series. He has a voice for each of the characters and I really love how projects the different emotions throughout the story. (Every time I hear his voice, I think of Joe Ledger.)

This is a must have series for all Thriller/Sci-fi fans and it will be a great addition to anyone's collections.

I really enjoyed this story and it was well worth my time and credit.


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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Masterpiece!

Oh, how I've waited for Mr. Ledger's return. Maberry and Ray Porter just keep the hits coming! If you bought it, great! If you haven't yet, not great...Get it...Now!!👍

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Joe Ledger should be on the big screens

loved it. it did not disappoint. Certainly a detailed listen, it was a slight bit predictable, and the previous books I thought were stronger, but this was still a great listen.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

{{{{ VERY☆GOOD }}}}

This book is a cool listen. It is highly recommended. Pony up that credit and get ready for another edge of your seat Joe Ledger book.

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8 people found this helpful

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

Amazing

As always a captivating amazing twisted story and a perfect performance from Ray. A must listen for all.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

READY FOR THE NEXT ADVENTURE!!!

All the Joe Ledger books are exceptional and Ray Porter is truly JL. I thoroughly enjoyed the various threads leading to the climax. I do have to admit I determined who the big bad was early on, but I loved getting to the point where it came together for everyone.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Where were you when the lights went out?

This book grabs you right from the prologue as Joe Ledger asks a series of questions, including: Where were you when the lights went out? That's the question isn't it? Where you suddenly reminded that civilization and the comfort of infrastructure is just a garment that we wear? Did the sudden dark remind you that all of the things that we expect to be there for us are fleeting? You were absolutely sure someone was going to come and fix it right? Then there was a moment when you realized that the lights weren't coming back on, that maybe they wouldn't, that maybe they couldn't...

Despite the book title and the prologue, in typical Jonathan Maberry fashion the plot turns out to be far more complicated than just the threat of a permanent power outage. The teased power outage from the prologue is merely a side effect of one of the bigger plot lines which cover multiple major threat vectors. For me, this made the book more complicated than it needed to be; however, each of the threats is very unique so there is something for everyone to get hooked on no matter what your tastes.

All of this trouble starts at a time when things are not going well for the DMS. Due to the events of the prior book there is a new President in power who has pushed the DMS to the sidelines after a series of failures has tarnished their reputation. The juicy cases are now handed over to the CIA and Joe Ledger finds himself a mere spectator as the world starts to crumble around him. All the regular characters in the series are back and Mr. Church even gets to show off a side of himself that hasn't been seen in a long time. There are some very impactful plot points for a number of the characters and one does wonder what the long term side effects there will be from such events.

Even though I would have preferred a more focused story, this one was entertaining from cover to cover and was definitely one of the better books in the series. Joe Ledger's world is a scary place and once again we are shown that although Joe is one of the good guys he is not a nice guy. Ray Porter stays on top of his game with another excellent narration and I am definitely looking forward to the next installment in the series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Who Wrote This? It's awful…

If this is going to be your first Joe Ledger book, STOP, don't listen to this book first. This would not be a good book to start the series, as it's not like any of the others that preceded it.

If you're a fan of the Joe Ledger series, STOP, read the below before listening to this book. This is a terrible Joe Ledger book and I didn't like it at all, actually wishing I never listened to it.

The Joe Ledger series is one of my favorites. This book, though, not so much. It's a very weird story and I don't think it was written as well as the other books.

This book is very much unlike previous books.

The first third of the book seemed more like it was written by Peter Clines, than Maberry. This part of the book had too little of the main character, too little action, and too much repetition of the same information. It felt like the chapters or sections were written weeks or months apart and the author forgot he already covered some facet of the character.

The middle third of the book is more inline with the other books in this series. Unfortunately, the last third of the book is a mashup of the two writing styles and, honestly, it doesn't work.

If you like confusing plots and seeing good guys lose, die, fail, become traitors, fail miserably, lose some more, and then a quick "Star Trek" ending, this book might be for you. If, on the other hand, you're looking for another great story in the Joe Ledger series, this isn't it.

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4 people found this helpful