The Dragon Factory

The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 2

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Ex-Baltimore cop turned special-ops shooter Joe Ledger is back in action.

In The Dragon Factory, Ledger and his team from the Department of Military Sciences square off against two separate groups of corrupt scientists. The beautiful but twisted Jakoby Twins are creating transgenic monsters and genetically enhanced mercenaries for sale to the highest bidder. Their father, who takes evil to an entirely new level, is using cutting-edge science to complete the Nazi master-race program.

Joe must elude the NSA who are gunning for him, fight his way past rogue Spetsnaz teams, and stop these madmen before the Extinction Clock runs out. And when the bloodbath claims one of his own, Joe Ledger declares total war on those people who would burn down the world in order to reshape it in their own dark image.

Take another thrill ride with Joe Ledger.

©2010 Jonathan Maberry (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“In Stoker-winner Maberry’s wild second Joe Ledger novel, Joe and his comrades from the Department of Military Science take on enough villains and their world-threatening plots to fill half a dozen ordinary thrillers.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Tried and true villain

This is my second run in with Joe Ledger. The books are well done, the story never slows down. I enjoyed it. The final reveal was a little lame but I liked it. Joe Ledger is an American hero!

thanks!!!

Awesome reading!!! I enjoyed every bit of it. The emotion put in some of the parts of the book made me feel like part of the story.

If you like Jack Reacher, you'll love Joe Ledger!

If you could sum up The Dragon Factory in three words, what would they be?

Non stop action

What did you like best about this story?

Fast paced, action packed

Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Ray Porter is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators

Action at its finest.

Joe Ledger is a ruthless killer. Maberry writes violence and action better than most authors I’ve encountered in the present or past. Put Joe in a dark room with whatever nasties you can think of and he’ll fight, stab, shoot and most likely kill anything and everything in his path.

This book in the series is actually the third one I’ve listened to even though it’s the second in the series. I listened to Code Zero after Patient Zero thinking it was next in line for the series but it isn’t. Do your research unlike I did to find out what order these books were written for the best experience. They just keep getting better and better and this one in the series really makes you think about the possibilities of scientific research and how far scientists have or have not come.
His pacing and narratives are so well written that I find I never get bored listening or reading his novels. This one was no different. Very exciting, very enjoyable.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who isn’t opposed to hardcore violence, guns or military action. The book is very descriptive in its details to how Joe, amongst the many others will kill or maim their adversaries. It holds nothing back. You were warned.

Of course, I can’t write a review about a book that was narrated by Ray Porter without talking about how great of a narrator he is. Anyone who has heard his narration of other books knows exactly what I’m talking about. Ray has a way with making the book come alive. His voice acting is probably the best there is in the audio book world. He has different voices and accents to reflect every single character in the book. The man is a narrative genius. I don’t think these audio books would be as near as enjoyable as they are without him doing the narrative. If I could give a ten star rating for the narration I would. He’s that good.

This book was well worth the money and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Loved it!!!

Very good book made better by the narrator!!! I can't wait to listen to the next one!

Wonderfully and Wildly Entertaining

Really bad bad guys, mad scientists, mosters, evil plots to take over the world, hidden underground lairs, a secret government agency, none-stop action, and the baddest good guy ever - Joe Ledger. This is a great book.
To top it off Ray Porter's narration is world class, some of the best I've ever heard.
I'm becoming a big fan of Jonathan Maberry and Ray Porter.

So so so happy to discover this author

The second book in the phenomenal Joe Ledger series is possibly even better than the first. I've purchased some of Jonathan Maberry's earlier works now to read on my Kindle, but Ray Porter is THE MOST WONDERFUL NARRATOR IN AUDIBLE HISTORY and handles Maberry's deft prose with compassion and style. I was so thrilled to find out there are 3 more books in the series as well as two scheduled for publication. I have left all other fandom behind. If you're a fan of fantasy fiction, scifi, military novels, martial arts, police procedurals, dystopian thrillers or plain old superb writing, start with PATIENT ZERO and carry on from there.

Joe Ledger needs to be on TV!!

This Joe Ledger is such a personality he needs to be on a TV series or movies. They must make this for TV!! I enjoyed this book but for whatever reason after reading the first book, I thought it was going to be zombie related. Jonathan Maberry did a great job on making fantasy a reality with real possible scenarios. I just really enjoy this series and I actually bought book three right now. Its like X-files meets Sledge Hammer!!

A gripping novel with stellar narration

The Dragon Factory is the second of the Joe Ledger novels. Like the first book, it is a non-stop adrenalin rush from start to finish. The plot is more complex and better developed than in the first book (which is quite a feat since the first book was itself well conceived and tightly woven). There is a little less character development in this book, mostly because of the large number of returning characters. That isn't to say that the characters don't evolve -- they do -- but just that there is less focus on building them up since we are already familiar with them. Some of the uber-macho qualities of the first book have been dialed back just a bit, which, for me at least, makes the characters that much more compelling. The heroes are all still hardcore alpha dogs, but they feel a little more real. As with the first book, the action is frequent, gritty, and very well done. The climax is intense and satisfying. All in all it is an excellent sequel that manages to match or exceed the first book.

The audio version takes the source material and opens it up in a wonderful way. Ray Porter's narration is nothing short of brilliant. All the major characters are uniquely and believably voiced. When accents are used they are clear and seamless, never cartoonish or overdone. Mr. Church's accent in particular is very effective at bringing an additional layer of character without distorting the written material. Porter's sense of timing in his delivery is exceptional, pulling layers of meaning from the text that other narrators would likely have missed. His voice is exactly perfect for Joe Ledger; he brings the character to life so naturally and compellingly that it is easy to believe that Joe himself is really telling his own story. I cannot recommend the narration strongly enough. Listening to Porter's reading is a delight in and of itself.

outstanding!

absolutely loved it, couldn't stop listening to it! reader was great as well! very good.