Patient Zero Book Review

For my literature circle book, I read the action packed Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry. So when I first set my eyes upon this book, I wasn't immediately attracted to it, nor did I find it something that I would pick up and start reading on my own. No, I would have to thank my partner Damien for making such a good selection of a book because I actually enjoyed this book very thoroughly. My first impression of this book was, great another zombie thriller/horror apocalypse type theme, but that's far from the case. This book is far from your average zombie book, in fact this action packed sci-fi novel has many plot twists and turns throughout the book that will keep you from setting the book down. The main thing I would say that I like about this book is the detailing that goes into it. Knowing that the author took a great deal of time researching and thinking the ideas that are presented in this book is a very comforting thought to know. I recommend this novel to anybody who is even slightly interested in science fiction, or they like zombie type things. I think they will enjoy the refreshing new vibe that Jonathan Maberry brings to his book.

This novel starts off introducing the character of Joe Ledger, the main protagonist in the story. He is basically a guy with a whole bunch of backgrounds from various military/ law enforcement/ secret service groups. So, as you can tell he's a pretty experienced man. The novel starts off with some action and Joe soon finds himself in the middle of a secret military corporation. He is let in on a secret biochemical weapon that terrorists are developing that is nothing like what the world has witnessed before. Now this is not your typical zombie book, and readers will notice this right away. A big difference is that the author makes you believe this type of action and terror can actually become a reality. He bases as much of the book as he can on pure fact, and only some parts are fictional just to fit the story line. This in itself, makes the book stand out as a great read. Another interesting thing that the author does is give you two points of views. You get to see the plot unfolding from Joe Ledger's point of view as well as the antagonists'. I think that this helps the reader understand the plot better because you get access to both sides of the story and their thoughts. It's actually a very interesting concept that I believe has worked well to increase this novel's stand-out factor.

The one flaw that I would say this book has is it's over detailing. This is a fast paced book so if you don't get the story at some point, you may have to reread some parts. Also, this may be a personal thing, but the author goes too much into the detailing of the biochemical weapon. I like the fact that he is using actual science to back up his novel's details, but at points it just feels like a rambling textbook and can get rather dull.

Besides the very few pages of scientific detailing, the rest of the book is action packed. You can find some sort of fight in basically every reading you take. This is also a great book for people interested in the military or guns because this novel is packed with them. It's basically your typical guy book and I doubt any typical girl would enjoy it, so I would definitely recommend this to teenage boys. Not only did I find the author's style of writing interesting, but I couldn't put the book down when I knew  a fight scene was about to happen. It's just something about the writing that gets me hooked on them and I simply can not wait to flip to the next page to find out what happens. Also, if you think this book is all about guns and explosions, you're wrong. A good part of it goes into the development of characters and even a romance spawns. Whenever I read the book, I feel like I'm in the shoes of the person, from whosoever's perspective I may be in and I go along with their thoughts.  I don't know how to quite describe it, but I can kind of relate to the characters, not in a sense of something we have in common, but I understand them well and can tell what they would do in certain situations. That in itself is very hard for an author to do, but I believe Maberry has done a phenomenal job at it.

The saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." really applies to me for this book. Although it does not seem appealing from the outside, the depth and detailing that it goes through is worth it. I'm glad that my partner chose this book for the group because otherwise I wouldn't have picked this book up on my own. It really is an exceptional book and a wonderful read. The author apparently is making a series out of these books, which I did not find out about until my first literature circle blog post. The ending doesn't leave any opening that I could think of for this book to continue on with its plot, but knowing the author, he'd probably think of something.  I think I could most relate this book to the Alex Rider series, if anyone is familiar with that. It's kinda of like your James Bond in modern times type book. I would for sure read the next book in the series if I had the chance and I think if you're looking for a good action book, this is the book to go for. I only hope that the next book that I chose for literature circles would be as satisfying to read as this one.

Patient Zero Part 3

This section of the book is by far the best part. Everything that was built up in the beginning and middle all come down to this last section at the end. While I was reading this part of the book, I literally could not put my hands down. I had to finish the book, no matter how tired I was from reading I just could not stop. The descriptions of the fight scenes and the environment are very detailed and it made the book just that much more addicting. The climax of the book occurs when the main protagonist meets the antagonist and also finds out the identity of a traitor amongst them. He ends up fighting them in a bloody battle that is nothing short of exciting.
Also in this section of the book, the author goes more in depth with the different characters and their behavior, a romance blossoms and a new twist is added at the end. The author never ceases to have a boring part in the book, which makes it highly addicting.
During the fighting or action scenes with the book I felt excitement rushing through me, waiting to see what would happen next, or what the outcome would be. At some points of the book I was worried that a lot of the main characters would die off, so the author did a good job on creating suspense too. Another aspect that is interesting about this book is that it tells the story from the antagonists' point of view also. So I read about Joe Ledger, I also got a feeling of what the enemy was up to. Towards the end, the antagonists end up fighting each other, and one of them makes a brave choice to save the world. The ending was typical, but what surprised me was that it leaves no opening for a sequel to follow up on. Overall this was a very good read.

Rest in Beats Nujabes.

Jun Seba, a Japanese producer and DJ has passed away in late February. Confirmed by his own record label on March 18, he has died in a car accident upon exiting the Shuto Expressway late at night. He was only 36 years old.

More commonly know by the name of Nujabes, he produced beats with a strong jazz influence, adding in his own mix of saxophone, guitar, piano, and flute in order to produce a warmer, more mellow track. The death of Nujabes struck a blow to the underground hip-hop scene. The first time I listened to one of his tracks it was completely different compared to anything that I have ever heard before. I would just feel so much emotion from his beats. No matter what mood I was in, there seemed to be a track that would match it. Whatever the mood was I could always turn to Nujabes. I would rely on his music to focus when I did homework, or when I had a headache and needed to relax. His music was just always there for me, always soothing. The mellow beats would always paint pictures, memories, scenarios in my head. There's only a few artists that I can never seem to get sick of no matter how many times I listen to their work and this man would definitely have to be one of them.

Listening to his music not only helped me emotionally, but it has also influenced my taste in music. Before listening to him, I was stuck in the same overall genre of music. No variety. No change. Everything was the same, snares here, bass here, and a mix of fast paced lyrics. Nujabes' music was different. You can't really predict the type of tracks that he will produce since each one of them has it's own uniqueness. From listening to him, I've expanded my playlist of music past the common mainstream music of the radio, or general hip-hop and rap and started to progress into instrumentals from such producers like J. Dilla.

Man, now that I think about it, J.Dilla died really early in his life too. So many young and talented people seem to die at an early age. It only leaves the rest of the world to wonder what they would have become, and what else they could have contributed. Nujabes touched the hearts of countless people across the world. His work has changed the lives of many and his presence will truly be missed. He brought a new style of sophistication into his work, accompanied with nostalgic undertones, he's put out some of the most beautiful tracks to emerge from the underground scene. He brought with him a real taste of hip-hop in a world of rappers talking about money and drugs. This just makes me believe more strongly that we really have to appreciate the type of people who are contributing to the world while we still can. Whether it's in music, sports, politics, etc. Before we know it they won't be with us any longer and only then will their work be honored. He was truly one of the geniuses of the music industry. You will forever be missed and always loved. Your music is just that much more meaningful to me now that I know you won't be putting out any more new tracks. Rest in peace Nujabes.

Patient Zero Part 2 (Chapter 41-71)

During this section of the novel things really started to pick up. Jonathan Maberry goes into further detailing about how the whole zombie thing works and at some parts it gets really scientific. I try to get the overall understanding of the situation, but sometimes it gets too complex for me. However, I do enjoy how seriously the author is taking his novel to go this far into detailing. An example of this would be when Dr. Hu explains his theory on how the zombie disease works:

"Prions are neurodegenerative diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies...sometimes you see it occurring as a result of cornea or dura mater transplants, or in the administration of human-derived pituitary growth hormones...they are not compatible according to what we know of modern transgenics---or they've found a way to alter the chemistry of the body to cause artificial hibernation...Once the victim is in hibernation this disease cluster reorganizes the functioning matrix of the body. It somehow uses fatal familial insomnia protein to wake the victim up again and keep them awake."

Not only is the fine attention to detailing a factor that keeps me hooked onto the book, but the fast-paced action scenes as well are described incredibly. It takes a person with a great deal of creativity and imagination to create such a fictional story, like a zombie invasion and turn it into something that can be relatively believable. From the author's comments on my last post (which is still shocking) I'm excited to find out that he's made this book into a series. This book is a really exciting read with a blend of action/thriller and science based horror. I am well ahead of the schedule of the pace that the class should be reading at and I don't think it'll slow down until I finish the book. I can't wait to see how the plot unfolds and thickens even more, and most of all see how it all accumulates into a climax.

Rants

I procrastinated this week and I don't have enough time to write a 500 worded post with some meaning so here's a mix of posts from my Tumblr.

I’m tired of all this. I come home everyday tired and as soon as I walk through the door I get yelled at. Lectured on how I don’t do enough to help out, or on my bad habits. I’m sorry mom and dad, I guess I’ll never be the son that you’ve always wanted and it hurts me just knowing that. In my dreams I sometimes wish I was different. How my life would change if I had actually listened to my parents more often, so then I could bring them more joy rather than disappointment. I’ll never be the kid with always straight A’s, or the one popular for their athletic abilities. I guess I’m just an average kid just trying to get by the best I can, but sometimes that’s just not seen as good enough. More often than not, people recognize you for your accomplishments, but not your effort.

It’s not only a family thing either. When it comes to friends, I hate to be the one to disappoint them. Often times I would come home after a long day of school, log onto AIM and some friends would IM me. They would go on to tell me about their daily problems asking for advice and whatnot. To be honest, after a long day of school and a butt load of homework to work on I’m not in the best mood to give advice, but I will still try my best. Then there are those bad days. Those days where I just don’t feel like answering, where I’m just really in a bad mood. Those are the days that get me the most. It sucks not being there for your friends all the time. It sucks to no longer be the one that someone can rely on no matter what. Everyone has their bad days, but it seems like no one recognizes mine. I feel invisible sometimes

When you’re surrounded by people who are just disappointed by you, or sad because of you, it doesn’t really put you in a good mood. It really hurts when you did something wrong, but the other person won’t mention anything. Pretending everything is okay, but in your head you know something is up. The lingering of a guilty conscious is sometimes unbearable. It hurts that I can’t live up to anyone’s expectations, or even my own. I really put in my effort and try my best, but I guess people just expect more of me and to be honest, I should expect more from myself. I’m sorry that I’m not the person you always expected.

I’ve come to realize something. All those positive comments you get from someone, they don’t mean anything unless the moment is right. Once something goes wrong it’s like all those compliments never existed. Yeah I get it, you’re not always going to think a certain somebody is always the best person in the world, but I mean, why even say it then? Because when it really comes down to what matters, out of the things that do matter, one of them is not going to be because they’re the best person in the world.

No matter how many compliments a person receives, it’s not going to come true unless the person believes it for themselves.  No matter how many times you call a girl beautiful, it’s not going to make her think that she is. Once you start to believe in what others call you, only then can you be labeled as that. This is pretty sad because it seems to work the opposite when you’re called negative names. If you’re being called stupid over and over again, eventually you will start to believe that you are stupid. Funny how that works. Call a girl beautiful who doesn’t think of herself as beautiful, as many times as you want and she’ll never believe you. Call a smart girl stupid enough times and she will start believing you.

Patient Zero Part 1 (Chapter 1-40)

Dear Damien,
I must say, you have a good taste in books. When I first picked up this novel I was doubtful. My first impression was, 'Great, another typical zombie apocalypse book.' This book however proved me wrong. The story starts off at a good pace and after the first few pages you can tel that the author has done his fair share of research. After the first few minutes of reading, I've read about different types of guns, government organizations as well as tactics used by federal agents. This was the thing that really caught my attention, the authors detailed description of everything is laid out perfectly almost making it feel like I have what it takes to become a secret agent. There's no doubt about it that this is a guy's book. Zombies, guns, fighting, and blood. What more could you ask for?

The main protagonist in the story is Joe Ledger, a Baltimore detective with a super ego. He used to be from the military and was no doubt, the top of the class. However, Ledger soon finds himself full of mixed emotions when he is recruited by a super top secret organization called DMS (Department of Military Sciences) to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a deadly bioweapon that can turn ordinary humans in zombies.

The thing that gets me hooked onto the book is the action factor. It reminds me of a mix between James Bond and Bad Boys. What kid growing up didn't want to become a secret agent at one point? Through Jonathan Maberry's writing I feel like I'm with the character. The close attention to detail on everything is amazing and a little bonus factor is the science in all this. Much of the technical information in the novel is based upon actual science, with the few exceptions. So far I have gotten hooked onto the book already and it's growing more interesting with each chapter I complete. I can't wait to see how this plot unfolds and turns out.

Basketball

Basketball is something that I've done ever since I was little. It's made up a big part of my life growing up, and it's still a good chunk of my life right now. I started playing basketball around the age of 6. I remember going out on my driveway after dinner, just practicing on my dribbling and trying out new things. No matter what I was doing, my goal was just to get better. I don't know why I loved the sport so much at the time, but back then I didn't really care.

I guess my reasoning for it now is partially because of my father. My dad loves basketball with a passion. He used to play in his free time back in China and he even managed to play for his high school team. While growing up my dad would become super excited whenever there was a basketball game on the TV. I remember watching the games with him, while he would comment on the game every now and then about a play. I guess I felt attached to the sport at first sight since this could be the one thing that my dad and I really have in common. So from that point on, I set a goal to keep getting better and better. My new found love for the sport also let me spend some quality time with my dad when I was a child. My parents back then were probably working 10+ hour jobs daily. I wouldn't see them when I woke up to go to school and I barely saw them when they came home late at night. So on the rare days that my dad gets to leave work early I would always ask him to play basketball with me. I remember that I would constantly try to show off to him whenever we would play a game, showing him the new tricks that I taught myself, or how much better my shooting improved. There was one thing that really bugged me about playing against my dad, it was the fact that he would win every single game. No matter how hard I tried, how lucky I got, he would always win. So probably from the age of 8 and beyond I would make new goal to beat my dad at basketball. This was especially tempting because my mom would always taunt me saying things like, "How can a young child like you possibly beat your dad in basketball?". It took me quite some time, but I finally did it a couple years later. I can't really give myself all the credit though because during those times, my dad's health got worse and he was more tired after work. I really miss those moments now. By now my dad is too fragile or tired to play basketball with me. It's not like I would have time either due to schoolwork or other activities. Nevertheless, I miss the father-son time that we used to share. It was the only way I really felt connected to him.

I still play basketball to this day, although maybe not as much as I would like and I'm probably not as motivated by it. For now I just do it as a hobby. I never joined any basketball league or team because I felt like that restricted the game in too many ways. The petty fouls and the occasional travels aren't a big deal when you just play with friends or in a pick-up game. I hope that basketball will remain in my life for the years to come. It's an outlet and a hobby that I appreciate with all my heart.