The King of Plagues (Jonathan Maberry)

Due to risk of wanting to shout out plot details, I am going to step away from the keyboard pretty quickly.
Buy all three of these books and let me know what you think of them.
They are worth the time, and are an excellent mixture of thriller/horror/military fiction.
Often times, the sequel in a series of novels is difficult to get through. You are left thinking, “This was not as good as the first” or “this is not how I thought the characters would grow”. You get to the third in a series and hit the same road block, often times worse, and are left with an “Okay, but not great” feeling. King of Plagues is the third in Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, and it (as well as Dragon Factory) does not fall into this trap. They are friggin’ awesome.
In a nutshell, The Department of Military Sciences (DMS) tracks is a black book organization in the United States that acts as the last line of defense on key/critical counter-terrorism issues. There are things that the public just doesn’t need to know. There are situations and people in the world that the mere existence of could cause a lifetime of insomnia. The DMS exists to ensure that the people who dream up and carry out these plots are put in the ground and pissed on, twice.
Captain Joe Ledger joined the DMS approximately half a year back (book time). He has been key in stopping multiple high level terrorist acts which would impact not only the US, but the welfare of humanity in general. These are Nasty, Nasty things like biological warfare with 100% airborne communicability, genetic modification/manipulation on a global scale..
Taking a break from what has to be one of the highest stress jobs on the planet, Joe is wandering Europe with his dog Ghost. He receives a call from Church, the mysterious figurehead of the DMS, and is brought into a situation in London where 4000+ people have died in a hospital explosion. Working with Barrier (the UK equiv of the DMS), Joe is immediately consumed with the task of fighting nightmares.
Interestingly enough, fighting intangible nightmares might be easier. You can just wake up and put a nightmare behind you. The shit that is hitting the fan in waking life is amorphous and impossible to track down.
Fans of the series may find this book a bit hard to follow compared to the previous novels. The chapters are laid out in a way that carries the current plot line in conjunction with perspective from the baddies over four months prior to current.After getting used to it, this format works really well. So if it deters you at first, power through it and I am sure you will be loving it.
Not to give any kind of spoiler, but the Ledger series was supposed to be a trilogy. The end of this novel leaves a lot of room for Maberry to expand if he decides to. Honestly, I hope he does. it is not common for me to sit raptly waiting for a book installment, but I would be willing to do so.

Comments

  1. Jonathan MaberryApril 20, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    Great review. Glad you're digging the Joe Ledger novels.

    Funny thing is, the series was never intended to be a trilogy, but someone mentioned that in one of the major reviews for The Dragon Factory (possibly Publishers Weekly) and now lots of folks think it's the case. Actually, I'm just about finished ASSASSIN'S CODE, the fourth Joe Ledger novel and will soon launch into writing the fifth, with no real plans to stop there.

    KING OF PLAGUES is my personal favorite (so far) of the series, and the audience seems to agree. Nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MongoApril 20, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    I am about to crack King of Plagues, and I am very happy to hear that it is not a trilogy. I feel the Joe Ledger character is way to cool for just 3 books!

    Thanks Jonathan-

    ReplyDelete
  3. erisianApril 21, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    oh joyous days!
    thanks for the clarification and info MrMaberry!. the person who started the rumor should be dipped in chocolate and dropped off at a weight watchers meeting.

    ReplyDelete

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