a helluva lot of bullets

The fact this blog exists (and that I found it) made my entire day. (So much so, in fact, that I went to create a tumblr just to follow it, and then discovered I'd already made one? Years ago? Convenient.) ANYhow, I picked up Extinction Machine over my Easter vacation and read it twice in two days. I grabbed a copy of Patient Zero off a Borders bookshelf back in '09 on a completely random whim, and haven't been able to put it down since. Can't wait for more!

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:58:02 -0400

YES. To all of that. I haven’t finished Extinction Code yet (perks of school), but I’m glad people are finishing it and don’t hate the world because of whatever the outcome is.

Anyway. Thanks for the follow. I love all you guys.

Okay, guys, on top of Extinction Code (is there a verdict yet?), Jonathan Maberry just announced...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:56:16 -0400

Okay, guys, on top of Extinction Code (is there a verdict yet?), Jonathan Maberry just announced that we’ll be getting our fair share of Ledger throughout the rest of the year.

Next up is MAD SCIENCE, a short story that will be exclusive to the LIAR LAIR audiobook anthology; coming April 1 from Blackstone Audio.

BORROWED POWER is a two-part novella in eBook due out April 30. In the first section, a much younger Mr. Church and Lilith hunt monsters in the sewers of Paris; and in part two Joe Ledger and Violin are called in when that ancient evil rises again.

Then CHANGELING, a Joe Ledger novella that will be in issue #9 of MIDNIGHT ECHO, May 31.

In September, Joe, Top and Bunny go deep into the Afghan desert to confront an ancient horror in ALIVE DAY, a novella included in the new anthology, FOUR SUMMONER’S TALES, edited by Christopher Golden (September, Gallery Books)

Then Joe and Echo Team journey to the frozen Antarctic in A FOOTNOTE IN THE BLACK BUDGET, which will be included in THE MADNESS OF CTHULHU, edited by S. T. Joshi for Titan Books (date not yet set).

I don’t know about you guys, but I am really looking forward to that Joe Ledger/Cthulhu story. I’ll update as the anthologies are released, so keep your eyes peeled. You won’t be deprived for a whole ‘nother year.

TODAY’S THE DAY GUYS. My copy is being sent to my house so I can’t start it until...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:42:44 -0400

TODAY’S THE DAY GUYS.

My copy is being sent to my house so I can’t start it until Friday, but hopefully you all have got your hands on a copy and can dig into it!

The Extinction Machine excerpt is up!

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:43:52 -0400

The Extinction Machine excerpt is up!:

Eleven days, ladies and gents!

Booklist has released their review of Extinction Machine, saying: Get ready to have your mind...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:02:17 -0500

Booklist has released their review of Extinction Machine, saying:

Get ready to have your mind boggled. In the fifth Joe Ledger novel, Maberry provides explanations—plausible, logically consistent, tantalizing explanations—for alien abductions, UFO sightings, the 1947 “flying saucer” crash at Roswell, and those pesky rumors of secret technologies reverse-engineered from extraterrestrial devices. When Ledger and his Department of Military Sciences team—they defend the U.S. from science-based terrorism—are tasked to investigate a wave of cyberattacks, they wind up in a race against time to stop a brilliant and powerful megalomaniac. From the first Ledger novel, 2009’s Patient Zero, the author has tackled such subjects as zombies and bioengineered mythical creatures, but he never lets the fantastic elements get out of hand. 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.

Almost a month until Extinction Machine is released… are you excited or are you excited?

It can be preordered at Barnes & Noble or Amazon for pretty cheap so you can start it the day it comes out.

Happy New Year, Joe Ledger fans!

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:41:22 -0500

It’s been slow-going, but we have about four months until Extinction Machine hits the shelves!

Jonathan gave us a sneak peak of Code Zero via his Facebook by showing us the first chapter—as usual, it’s super short but extremely good.

The philosopher Nietzsche didn’t get it right. He said, “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster.”

That’s not exactly true. Or, at least, not all the time.

If you battle monsters you don’t always become a monster.

But, you aren’t entirely human anymore, either.

I hope you all had a fantastic 2012!

Click through for bonus scenes from Dead of Night!

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 07:50:14 -0400

Click through for bonus scenes from Dead of Night!

Thank you! And this is true. He addressed it in the comments...

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:29:00 -0400

Thank you!

And this is true. He addressed it in the comments section of one of the posts.

The book will be #6, and will take place after EXTINCTION MACHINE, but Joe goes hunting for a terrorist who has stolen some of the deadliest weapons from the DMS…including the Seif al Din pathogen.

Two big (zombie) announcements!

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 19:27:00 -0400

In the last 48 hours, Jonathan has posted two major book announcements.

First, the sixth Joe Ledger book has been given the green light. Code Z will be the direct sequel to Patient Zero, which I assume will bring us back to zombies.

Second, Fall of Night is the sequel to Dead of Night and will deal with the subsequent zombie quarantine.

And, lastly, if anyone is interested, Jonathan is going to be featured in the upcoming zombie anthology 21st Century Dead, due out on July 17th, as well as V-Wars, a vampire novel/anthology due out everywhere July 10th.

I will update as I get my hands on of them, even though I’m sure all of them are worth buying.

And, as for Joe Ledger, I’m not sure how I feel about rewinding the series to put in another book (or how it will fit in), but I am stoked about Joe Ledger and zombies. I hate to say it out loud, but it makes me wonder what’s going to happen at the end of Extinction Code that would prevent a sequel to that? Or is Jonathan just messing around?

Thoughts, ideas, concerns, questions?

(also things via Facebook)

lizznotliz: The Joe Ledger Series by Jonathan Maberry...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 18:12:27 -0400

lizznotliz:

The Joe Ledger Series by Jonathan Maberry fancast:

Captain Joe Ledger - Aaron Ashmore
Mr. Church - Victor Garber
Major Grace Courtland - Hayley Atwell
Dr. Rudy Sanchez - Guillermo Diaz
Harvey “Bunny” Rabbit - Chris Hemsworth
First Sgt. Bradley “Top” Sims - Harry Lennix

Jonathan gives us a sneak peak at what’s coming next for...

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:06:41 -0400

Jonathan gives us a sneak peak at what’s coming next for Joe with the cover of next year’s thriller, Extinction Machine, due out May 2013!

To the dearest followers of DMS.tumblr— Today is the day....

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:35:00 -0400

To the dearest followers of DMS.tumblr—

Today is the day. If you have not yet received your copy of Assassin’s Code, find one, because Joe Ledger is back.

(Also, take your time and enjoy it, we have to wait another year for the next one.)

I love all 17 of you and your life choices, so here is a picture me and the lovely thing that was waiting on my bed for me when I came home today. I hope those of you who have it are just as happy and excited as I am. I look forward to all the reactionary posts I hope to see in the Joe Ledger tag.

Your faithful admin,
Chelsea

lizznotliz: The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry (pg 398)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 10:32:01 -0400

lizznotliz:

The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry (pg 398)

The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:00:27 -0400

goatfairyreviews:

Welcome back Nick! Well golly gee, thanks! It sure is good to be back. Now enough chit-chat, time to destroy some dreams. So let me first introduce Jonathan Maberry’s series of Joe Ledger novels. Think Resident Evil without the horrible dialogue. Think the hit Fox drama 24 with Bond villains. Think Monster Hunter International but less supernatural and more scientific. I really love the Joe Ledger novels (for the most part) and unless you hate America you will too. The first novel in the series, Patient Zero, is one of my all time favorite zombie stories. The sequel, The Dragon Factory, didn’t quite live up to the quality of the first but it was still a solid thriller. Now here is my review for The King of Plagues. It’s a little late and I’m currently reading the fourth book in the series, Assassin’s Code, but you know what they say. Better late than never.

Read More

traumatrae: I loved those scars. I knew each and every one of them with an intimacy I know few...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:50:18 -0400

traumatrae:

I loved those scars. I knew each and every one of them with an intimacy I know few others shared. Her scars - amid the otherwise flawless perfection of her - somehow humanized her in a way that I’m not articulate enough to describe. They made her more fully human, more potently female, more of a fully realized woman than any misdirection of fashion or cosmetics could ever hope to achieve. This was a person who was equal in power and beauty and grace to anyone and in my experience second to none. I loved that about her. I loved her.

Review: Assassin's Code by Jonathan Maberry

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:21:52 -0400

Review: Assassin's Code by Jonathan Maberry:

mybookishways:

Joe Ledger is back in the 4th thriller from Jonathan Maberry! I’m a huge fan of this series, and have loved every one, so I was eager to dive back into Joe’s world. The day after Joe and Echo Team rescue a group of college students held hostage in Iran, Joe is sitting in a coffee shop with a laser sight trained on his groin. He gets a call and a mysterious female voice gives him very specific instructions to meet a man in the coffee shop. It’s not like he has much choice. I mean, there are laser sights trained on his, er, man parts! Just a day in the life of our man Joe, yes? Trouble tends to follow Joe around, and he’s about to discover just what kind of trouble has found him, and it’s the worst yet…

Sneak peek of Assassin's Code!

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:24:54 -0500

Sneak peek of Assassin's Code!:

If you guys haven’t seen this yet (which is reasonable, since it was just posted), JMabs posted a three chapter excerpt from Assassin’s Code on his Facebook.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I just did. Assassin’s Code is out April 10th!

lizznotliz: Top 3 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2012 Sacre...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:48:07 -0500

lizznotliz:

Top 3 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2012

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore [April 3]

Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger #4) [April 10]

Redshirts by John Scalzi [June 5]

xalter—ego: “I’m not sure I could trust a man who would bypass an Oreo in favor of vanilla...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:27:26 -0500

xalter—ego:

“I’m not sure I could trust a man who would bypass an Oreo in favor of vanilla wafers. It’s a fundamental character flaw, possibly a sign of true evil.” Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry (pg. 12-13)

can I just tell you all how very thoroughly and immensely I am enjoying this book. It is very well-done, the characters are very well-rendered, the story skips about enough to keep it interesting and give a good, gradual view of the plot and how it’s being knitted together so flawlessly, but also not too often to become disoriented or lose track of who was where doing what. The action sequences are detailed and intense, but then every once in a while, at just the right moment there is the perfect hit of comedy before continuing on with the plot. It’s just so very well-done, a shining example of what a good book should be, at least in my eyes.

what stands out most is his cast of characters and how I feel about them. The main character, who narrates in first-person his sections of the narrative, at first I hated him so after the first chapter I put the book down for some months. Now, as I read on and learn about the character’s past and his little nuances and his personality, I enjoy reading about him and the way he thinks. But I just… I hated him so much because in the first chapter he is so arrogant (also his name is Joe and I was like, who names their character just Joe? so that made me judge the book’s quality because I didn’t think anyone who called their character Joe could do anything to impress me.) and that bothers me in people whether on paper or in person, but how often do I read a book in which the character isn’t trying to be as likable, sympathizable, wearable as possible to the reader? So that has earned major brownie points for this book.
And then the rest of the cast (so far) are just a bag of amazing mixed nuts. Lots of detail and differences in personality (I am enjoying the inclusion of a psychiatrist character who helps Joe deal with traumas and is his confidant because so often psychological impacts of events feel largely ignored by writers— just shrugged off like ‘oh hey this happened but they’re fine now, or oh they just went through this but they’re not affected at all’).
I’m really enjoying Gault and Toys ~~and secretly shipping them~~ just because it’s an interesting dynamic and Gault is a crafty nasty bastard of a character up to this point and he has his fingers in all the pies and I have no idea who he’s even working for anymore or what his goals are other than to just fuck with everyone.

So good. I can’t stop reading.
and I didn’t mean to turn this into a review for the book or anything but then I got carried away.

Mostly I wanted to show you all that quote because it made me laugh aloud on a public bus and have no regrets (and honestly I agree with the statement.)

Jonathan Maberry talks Hollywood

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:42:43 -0500

Jonathan Maberry talks Hollywood