First, apologies are due to author Jonathan Maberry. This review was meant to be the beginning of a video podcast, but real life hit. The employment and paycheck sort of real life – so I cannot complain too much I suppose. But while I’m being trained as a law enforcement dispatcher in the Kansas City area, I had a debt to pay. I had to spread the word on Joe Ledger.
If you don’t know him and his various cast of characters by now — you are missing OUT!!!
Available this month is book two of the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series by Maberry– it’s only book 2, this means most reasonable readers haven’t fallen far enough behind that they can’t catch up. All you need to do is read the first book, “Rage” which was released back in Nov. 2019. It’s there for sale in paperback and in audio formats from places like Audible.
I wasn’t even a fourth of the way through the newest book, “Relentless” when I contemplated ways to beg for more from author Maberry and narrator Ray Porter (the male Carol Monda in my mind, the favorite male voice to her female). I have never wished more that I could have the next book ‘on demand.’ It’s an investment.
Joe Ledger is an investment in time.
I say that because there are tons of novels that feature the man – 18 Ledger novels and several appearances in short stories based in other Maberry series, like the Pine Deep Chronicles and the zombie rich “Rot and Ruin.”
If you are the kind who must read the whole series from the beginning it is a good investment, It will show you the finer points of his history from soldier to Baltimore cop to uber-white-hat assassin. However, it’s not required that you do such a big read in order to enjoy the novels. It merely enhances the experience.
A smaller read, one novel or so, will still introduce you to Joe, Bunny, Top and their team members in an organization run by the mysterious Mr. Church — perhaps the only man the bad guys hate more than they do Ledger. (Maberry only gives us bits and pieces of Church’s story – we may never see all of it. But it’s intriguing enough not to matter.)
Joe Ledger is an investment in emotions.
Maberry’s use of everyman vocabulary with Ledger, compared to the techno speak of some of the other characters, goes a long way in making you want this man as a best friend and/or a lover while making it very clear you don’t want him as an enemy.
Before I sat down to write a piece on the new book I wanted to be very sure of my subject — so I’ve read/listened to several of the books that came before this series just to refresh myself on his world, and I got so caught up in it that when the new book was released into the world I fell on it like a ravening dog.
If you’re like me, Joe Ledger will be an investment in both– even though I said it wasn’t required to read back, in this particular case I recommend it. It’s only one book to catch up. The reason is that ‘Rage’ has some very big things happen that, reading them, rather than reading about them, will go a long way in letting you really appreciate ‘Relentless’ for what is it.
It is One Hell of a ride.
Ledger has been at this private white hat team stuff enough that he is confident that not much can beat him. ‘Relentless’ is what happens when someone with that much self confidence feels the world drop out from under him – and how he deals with it — his is a story worth experiencing.
Joe Ledger is an investment, one I will gladly pay, again and again.
Your move Maberry.
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