Kill Switch

February 29, 2016
Capt. Joe Ledger of the Department of Military Sciences returns for his exuberant eighth adventure (after 2015’s Predator One), in which he once again has to prevent a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. First, his team is sent to investigate a mysterious incident in an Antarctic research facility, where they narrowly survive an encounter with ancient, otherworldly creatures. Then they’re drawn into a terrorist plot to destroy America through the use of an unspeakable mixture of science and forbidden arcane knowledge. With his enemies able to hijack brains and turn allies into traitors, Joe can’t trust anyone, turning this into one of his most personal missions yet. Maberry evokes Lovecraftian elements and modern-day thriller tropes to craft a fast-paced tale that incorporates an a wide array of conspiracy theories, fringe culture motifs, and Cold War weird science into a sort of kitchen-sink affair that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does. The sheer intensity of the story takes a heavy toll on Ledger and his team, leaving it anyone’s guess where Maberry will take readers next. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

February 15, 2016
A sci-fi thriller in which nefarious forces plan to sink the world into darkness. Capt. Joe Ledger (Assassin's Code, 2012), who runs the Special Projects Office for Uncle Sam, is sent on no notice to Antarctica to investigate mysterious electromagnetic pulses and a device code-named Kill Switch. In another thread, Prospero Bell is an 11-year-old father-hating genius who has a perfect eidetic memory and says "I'm getting smarter all the time." Dad returns the sentiment: "That little freak is nobody's son." Indeed, the adopted lad was born in a laboratory and dreams that he must build a God Machine. A code to running such a device may be hidden in ancient prayers and books containing the Unlearnable Truths that have been partly destroyed by "warrior priests." Throughout his teenage years he creates the gizmo, a particle accelerator that opens a doorway to another dimension. Meanwhile, Ledger must deal with numerous disasters: a 737 crashes into a Marriott and kills at least 5,000 people, lights go out at a presidential debate, someone's U2 mix stops on his iPod, and Ledger's team faces "giant violent albino penguins." Ledger and others hallucinate (no, really), and a dead man speaks. Much of this mayhem is the fault of the Islamic State group, especially the Mullah of the Black Tent, who plans to throw the infidels "into a world of darkness." His dastardly plan is plausible because someone has stolen Kill Switch from a secret lab and shipped it to the Islamic State group. The thing is a "portable electrical null field generator," i.e. a nasty EMP weapon. F-bombs fly, blood flows, and everyone screams at least once. In the midst of it all, Prospero says that "Evil is just a word," and morals are whatever one can enforce. One character says that some books "confine the power" and will explode if opened. This book isn't one of them. At almost 500 pages, it's bloated and juvenile.

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

Capt. Joe Ledger and his team from the Department of Military Science (DMS) are back in their eighth adventure (after Predator One). This time they are sent to Antarctica to investigate an underground city and the silence emanating from three separate scientific stations. What they find drives Joe to call in Hellfire missiles to destroy the site, but he, Top, and Bunny soon become incapacitated by their exposure to the site. Meanwhile, mysterious electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) briefly knock out the power grid in several major cities. What is the connection among these events? VERDICT A blend of sf, horror, technothriller, and crime novel, this is one of the best adrenaline reads out there. A hot pick for anyone who likes The X-Files (Maberry wrote for this franchise as well) or other apocalyptic fiction by authors such as Ben H. Winters and Colson Whitehead.

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