Extinction Machine

December 10, 2012
Fifth in the Joe Ledger series (after Assassin’s Code), this fast-paced and somewhat tongue-in-cheek thriller sees the cop–turned–government agent facing off against conspiracy theorists, men in black, and futuristic weapons, with the fate of the world at stake. Joe is recalled from a well-deserved day off after a series of nigh-impossible cyber attacks culminate with the disappearance of the president. To save him, Joe and the Department of Military Sciences must track down the semimythical Majestic Black Book and put a stop to the secret economy of retro-engineering salvaged alien technology. Maberry digs deep into the body of lore concerning UFO conspiracy theories, fusing it with the anything-goes sensibilities of a series that’s previously pitted Joe against vampires and zombies. While there’s a kitchen-sink feel to the story’s various components, it somehow holds together in the end. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

January 15, 2013
Maberry's fifth entry in the Joe Ledger series combines conspiracy theories, aliens, corrupt government agencies and tons of action/adventure. Capt. Joe Ledger, a former police detective who is now an operative for the highly secretive Department of Military Sciences, and his team once again face foes coming from every corner. Ledger's problems start when he is targeted by a group of dangerous men who aim to put him, his team and his agency out of the picture for good. This convoluted tale, which switches back and forth from Ledger's present to the past, from country to country and from Ledger's first-person point of view to third-person omniscient, puts readers into the heads of everyone, from Chinese generals to hardened killers. The plot revolves around the kidnapping of the president, who is abducted from the White House in the middle of the night by what appears to be an alien craft that leaves behind distinctive crop circles. Meanwhile, dial back a few decades and the Chinese are busy manipulating some odd aircraft in order to get the jump on the West. Ledger, who is having an affair with a beautiful assassin named Violin, is called in to find out what is going on with the president. While he is out with his combat dog, Ghost, his apartment is invaded and torn to pieces by men sent to take him, and the DMS, down. The confusing plot meanders around, jumping from villain to protagonist in rapid succession and even throwing in a group referred to as the "men in black," along with an enigmatic woman with an eidetic memory and over-the-top bad guys by the score. Although Ledger is presented as a killing machine with a patriotic side, as a character, he is so soaked in blood and testosterone that he comes off as cartoonish. What could have been a fun romp turns into a cliche-ridden tale so confusing that most readers will need a whiteboard to keep track of the characters and plot points.

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Starred review from March 1, 2013
Get ready to have your mind boggled. In the fifth Joe Ledger novel, Maberry provides explanationsplausible, logically consistent, tantalizing explanationsfor 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 teamthey defend the U.S. from science-based terrorismare 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)