Rage

October 15, 2019
Cop-turned-government-agent Joe Ledger has tackled all manner of maniacal foes on American soil. Now, in a new series?Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International?Joe and his fellow agents expand their territory to cover the world. In this first installment, someone has unleashed a biological weapon that turns ordinary people into rage-filled, virtually unstoppable killers. Like the previous Ledger novels, this one is full of action and close calls, and the fantasy element?the rage-inducing bioweapon?elevates the story from action-adventure to a SF/horror-tinted, compulsively readable thriller. Maberry is a great storyteller; everything he writes, from full-on horror (Dead of Night, 2011, for example) to movie tie-ins (The Wolfman, based on the 2010 film) to horror stories for younger readers (the Rot & Ruin novels), is crafted with a master's hand and guaranteed to deliver the goods. Required reading for Maberry's fans across genres.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

September 16, 2019
Joe Ledger, the hero of bestseller Maberry’s Deep Silence and nine other thrillers, gets a reboot in this uneven series debut introducing Rogue Team International. Ledger, a member of this autonomous group of troubleshooters headed by his former boss at the U.S. Department of Military Sciences, faces a terrifying challenge after inhabitants of a North Korean island are infected with something that transforms them into rage-filled killers with a taste for human flesh. Ledger, whose considerable experience includes containing biohazards, goes to the island under the guise of a consultant for the World Health Organization. When evidence emerges of American involvement in the island’s devastation, international tensions escalate. Maberry undermines his efforts to suspend disbelief by having bad guys joke about being clichéd James Bond villains and making a Ledger ally, who’s Doc Holliday’s great-granddaughter, a “supergenius who looks like Dolly Parton.” Uneven prose (“all the fun drained from the day like blood from a dying body”) is another minus. The implausibilities outweigh everything else. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties.