What I've Been Reading...

I recently read and finished my first zombie book!

Code Zero

by Jonathan Maberry

(the cover bothered me)

As you can see it is a sequel to the first book Patient Zero, which I have not read.  Jason then informed me that there are several "Joe Ledger" novels between Patient Zero and Code Zero...but I thought I would still give it a whirl.

The story that is told in the first book, and I am guessing the in-between books, is pretty well touched on and updated in this Coed Zero, but I definitely got the feeling that I should have read the first book to be more aware of some details, but it was stressed that the details came from the fist book, which were spoken about in this book to catch up readers.  I am not going to go back and read the first book - I am going to trust Jason that it was a good read,  just don't think I am up for anther Joe Ledger novel.  

While this book was exciting in parts, most of it was just a build up to the end event...a slow burn with lots of interruptions. I didn't feel as if you really got to know any of the characters. The big zombie fights were had to follow, because I didn't realize they were super-zombies and could survive everything.  I liked the villain in this book, she was interesting, and would have liked to know more about her (which may or may not have happened in the previous books.)  

But, once again, it amazes me how a main character, this one being Joe Ledger, can get out of any type of gun battle, zombie battle and super zombie battle...alive and without a scratch for the most part...or he can shake it off and take off to the next zombie battle...no problem. He also has a dog with him all the time-that's all you know. I thought we would find out more about the dog, which may or may not have been covered in the previous books.  I know it's science fiction/fantasy and that is what happens in many of theses books. It just isn't a genre I enjoy as much.

From Amazon:

Faithful readers of the Joe Ledger series, of which this is the sixth volume, might be confused by the cover blurb calling this “the sequel to Patient Zero,” since that was the first book in the series. But the blurb is correct: although the novel takes place in its proper sequence—there are references to events that took place in earlier books—the story involves elements introduced in the series debut, which means Joe and his team from the ultra-elite Department of Military Sciences (DMS) are going to be battling more zombies, but tougher and more dangerous than anything they’ve seen before. The person responsible for these new-breed walking dead, and for various other technological and biological attacks on the U.S., appears to be a woman who calls herself Mother Night. And when the DMS figures out who Mother Night really is, they realize they’re in for their deadliest fight yet. Sure, the series follows a pretty strict formula—Joe and his DMS team encounter a seemingly supernatural threat that has a twisted scientific explanation; they go up against a fiendishly clever supervillain; they save the world; and they do it all in about 450 pages—but when a formula is this entertaining, is anyone going to complain about it?  

Oops...I guess I am complaining about the book, but I do get the feeling, after reading reviews, that I wasn't the only one. It's not a bad read, but it's not a great read...no twists and I love a good twist! If you like zombie books, you may want to read the first one in the series, Patient Zero and then try Code Zero.