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  • Patient Zero

  • The Joe Ledger Novels, Book 1
  • Written by: Jonathan Maberry
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (165 ratings)

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Patient Zero cover art

Patient Zero

Written by: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's Summary

From multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry comes a major new thriller that combines the best of the New York Times best-selling books World War Z by Max Brooks and James Rollins’ Sigma Force Series to kick off the start of a new series featuring Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences.

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there’s either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills - and there’s nothing wrong with Joe Ledger’s skills. And that’s both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because he’s a Baltimore detective who has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can’t handle. This rapid-response group is called the Department of Military Sciences, or the DMS for short. It’s bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bioweapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Jonathan Maberry is the New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Ghost Road Blues, the first of a trilogy of thrillers with a supernatural bite. A professional writer and writing teacher, he has sold more than 1.000 articles, 17 nonfiction books, six novels, and two plays.

©2009 Jonathan Maberry (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What the critics say

“Brilliant, shocking, horrifying, it puts the terror back in terrorist.” (James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author)
“Plenty of man-to-zombie combat, a team traitor and a doomsday scenario add up to a fast and furious read.” ( Publishers Weekly)
"Jonathan Maberry has found a delightful voice for this adventure of Joe Ledger and his crew: while the action is heated, violent, and furious, the writing remains cool, steady, and low-key, framing all the wildness and exuberance in a calm rationality (given an almost comic edge) that renders it as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream." (Peter Straub)

What listeners say about Patient Zero

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Ken's take on audiobooks 😎

I really enjoyed the story and the narrative.
looking forward to the next book in the series...Cheers

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3 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

Awesome

Great story booked the whole time it's funny, engaging and a good storyline with great characters! I love the reader too lol

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2 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

Fantastic blend of action, characters and sci-fi

Even though this is at its core, a zombie story, it’s much more interesting than most. The characters, setting, and the narration make this book several steps above the average. This is the second time I’ve listen to Patient zero as I am revisiting the series years later. I’m enjoying it just as much and if you like action and intriguing villains and visceral descriptions of fight scenes, I highly recommend this!

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1 person found this helpful

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

Filled With Action

Exciting, packed with action, and perfect for anyone who loves military thrillers mixed with sci fi, PATIENT ZERO is a great "popcorn" book to indulge in if you are looking for a good time.

Joe Ledger is a former military man turned cop who is recruited to a super secret government agency when a terrorist he eliminated is brought back to life. From there, Joe must form an elite team to confront very real, very dangerous enemies, and learn to work alongside them.

joe is a pretty good character. He is definitely a hero, one reminiscent of 80's and 90's cop movies where the detective plays by his own rules. He is definitely a man that gets things done, no matter the cost, and is focused on finding the best solution to help as many people as he can.

That said, I couldn't quite connect with Joe Ledger the way I wanted to. He seemed to be perfect at everything, literally the best of the best with no one in between. While I understand that's a common trope in this genre, I would have preferred a character with more relatable flaws and one who didn't verbally stomp his allies when things don't go his way. The other side characters are a little light in the development department, and try as I might, I couldn't seem to connect with them either.

The plot is straightforward, has plenty of action and science, and is great for readers who just want to be entertained. There are some dark and disturbing moments to be sure, but this is something a casual reader can pick up and enjoy. While I don't think I'm the right audience for it, I do see why it's so popular and would recommend it to anyone who is curious and wanting to give the series a try!

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1 person 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

WAY better than I thought it would be

One of my friends recommended this series to me, but explained as a "really good zombie series" which made it sound like a generic zombie thing. After listening to it it's immediately in the top 3 of my favorite series even if Ray Porter wasn't reading it. I would recommend this series to anyone that likes this genre or to anyone looking for a new genre to explore.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Amazing

Great story, couldn't stop listening. Ray Porter does an amazing job bringing the story to life.

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1 person 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

Wow, what a ride

This is not my usual type of book, I don't usually go for the lots of guns and testosterone but the main character, Joe Ledger is just awesome and funny, he makes the book work!

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1 person 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

Exciting and Frightening

An exciting ride through the prevention of a zombie apocalypse. A spy thriller crossed with Night of the Living Dead. a must read of you like action and horror.

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

B Movie Grade Entertainment

Its a B action movie. Sometimes a good one with humor at the perfect time, sometimes a bad one with poor writing. Almost gave it 4 stars because in the end, it was entertaining. As is so often the case the narrators female voice is terrible. The voice for the main character did a lot to convince me that he was a 17 year old playing COD. Other voices were excellent.

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

Very entertaining, an excellent listen

Narration was very good and kept me wanting more. The story I gave 4 stars for being predictable but well worth the credit.
The main characters are always some kind of special forces and have all the coolest gadgets and prettiest women. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this story and just purchased book 2.

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