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.