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Joe Ledger #0.5; 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 2.1
Joe Ledger: The Missing Files
In this collection of five short stories, Jonathan Maberry fills in the blanks in his action-thriller 'Joe Ledger' novels. In "Countdown," the prequel to "Patient Zero," meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland Security task force who's about to get a serious promotion. "Zero Tolerance" picks up a few weeks after the close of "Patient Zero." Fans of the series will finally get closure on a few loose ends. In "Deep, Dark," the prequel to "The Dragon Factory," Joe Ledger must battle another foe experimenting with human test subjects. "Material Witness" takes Joe Ledger into the mysterious, troubled town of Pine Deep, Pennsylvania, the setting for Maberry's chilling Pine Deep Trilogy. In "Dog Days"--the sequel to "The Dragon Factory"--Joe Ledger and his new canine partner hunt the world's deadliest assassin.
160 pages, MP3 CD
First published July 12, 2011
5 people are currently reading
1081 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Maberry
515 books7,716 followersJONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-seller and Audible #1 bestseller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, anthology editor, comic book writer, executive producer, magazine feature writer, playwright, and writing teacher/lecturer. He is the editor of WEIRD TALES Magazine and president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. He is the recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. His books have been sold to more than thirty countries. He writes in several genres including thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and mystery; and he writes for adults, middle grade, and young adult.
Jonathan is the creator, editor and co-author of V-WARS, a shared-world vampire anthology from IDW Publishing that was adapted into a NETFLIX series starring Ian Somerhalder (LOST, VAMPIRE DIARIES).
His young adult fiction includes ROT & RUIN (2011; was named in Booklist’s Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults, an American Library Association Top Pick, a Bram Stoker and Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading winner; winner of several state Teen Book Awards including the Cricket, Nutmeg and MASL; winner of the Cybils Award, the Eva Perry Mock Printz medal, Dead Letter Best Novel Award, and four Melinda Awards); DUST & DECAY (winner of the 2011 Bram Stoker Award; FLESH & BONE (winner of the Bram Stoker Award; 2012; and FIRE & ASH (August 2013). BROKEN LANDS, the first of a new spin-off series, debuted in 2018 and was followed by LOST ROADS in fall 2020. ROT & RUIN is in development for film by ALCON ENTERTAINMENT and was adapted as a WEBTOON (a serialized comic formatted for cell phones), becoming their #1 horror comic.
His novels include the enormously popular Joe Ledger series from St. Martin’s Griffin (PATIENT ZERO, 2009, winner of the Black Quill and a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best Novel) and eleven other volumes, most recently RELENTLESS. His middle grade novel, THE NIGHTSIDERS BOOK 1: THE ORPHAN ARMY (Simon & Schuster) was named one the 100 Best Books for Children 2015. His standalone novels include MARS ONE, GLIMPSE, INK, GHOSTWALKERS (based on the DEADLANDS role-playing game), X-FILES ORIGINS: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, and THE WOLFMAN --winner of the Scribe Award for Best Movie Adaptation
His horror novels include The Pine Deep Trilogy from Pinnacle Books (GHOST ROAD BLUES, 2006, winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and named one of the 25 Best Horror Novels of the New Millennium; DEAD MAN’S SONG, 2007; and BAD MOON RISING, 2008; as well as DEAD OF NIGHT, and its sequels, FALL OF NIGHT, DARK OF NIGHT, and STILL OF NIGHT.
His epic fantasy series, KAGEN THE DAMNED debuts in May 2022. And he just signed to co-author (with Weston Ochse) a new series of military science fiction novels that launches the SLEEPERS series. Jonathan will also be launching a new series of science fiction horror novels for the newly established Weird Tales Presents imprint of Blackstone Publishing.
He is also the editor of three THE X-FILES anthologies; the dark fantasy anthology series, OUT OF TUNE; SCARY OUT THERE, an anthology of horror for teens; and the anthologies ALIENS: BUG HUNT, NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD (with George Romero), JOE LEDGER UNSTOPPABLE (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt); two volumes of mysteries: ALTERNATE SHERLOCKS and THE GAME’S AFOOT (with Michael Ventrella); and ALIENS V PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt). He is also the editor of DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, the official tribute to SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK. His next anthology will be ALIENS VS PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt), debuting in spring 2022.
Jonathan was an expert on the History Channel documentary series, ZOMBIES: A Living History and TRUE MONSTERS. And he was participated in the commentary track for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: REANIMATED.
His many nonfiction works include VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006); THE CRYPTOPED
Jonathan is the creator, editor and co-author of V-WARS, a shared-world vampire anthology from IDW Publishing that was adapted into a NETFLIX series starring Ian Somerhalder (LOST, VAMPIRE DIARIES).
His young adult fiction includes ROT & RUIN (2011; was named in Booklist’s Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults, an American Library Association Top Pick, a Bram Stoker and Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading winner; winner of several state Teen Book Awards including the Cricket, Nutmeg and MASL; winner of the Cybils Award, the Eva Perry Mock Printz medal, Dead Letter Best Novel Award, and four Melinda Awards); DUST & DECAY (winner of the 2011 Bram Stoker Award; FLESH & BONE (winner of the Bram Stoker Award; 2012; and FIRE & ASH (August 2013). BROKEN LANDS, the first of a new spin-off series, debuted in 2018 and was followed by LOST ROADS in fall 2020. ROT & RUIN is in development for film by ALCON ENTERTAINMENT and was adapted as a WEBTOON (a serialized comic formatted for cell phones), becoming their #1 horror comic.
His novels include the enormously popular Joe Ledger series from St. Martin’s Griffin (PATIENT ZERO, 2009, winner of the Black Quill and a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best Novel) and eleven other volumes, most recently RELENTLESS. His middle grade novel, THE NIGHTSIDERS BOOK 1: THE ORPHAN ARMY (Simon & Schuster) was named one the 100 Best Books for Children 2015. His standalone novels include MARS ONE, GLIMPSE, INK, GHOSTWALKERS (based on the DEADLANDS role-playing game), X-FILES ORIGINS: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, and THE WOLFMAN --winner of the Scribe Award for Best Movie Adaptation
His horror novels include The Pine Deep Trilogy from Pinnacle Books (GHOST ROAD BLUES, 2006, winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and named one of the 25 Best Horror Novels of the New Millennium; DEAD MAN’S SONG, 2007; and BAD MOON RISING, 2008; as well as DEAD OF NIGHT, and its sequels, FALL OF NIGHT, DARK OF NIGHT, and STILL OF NIGHT.
His epic fantasy series, KAGEN THE DAMNED debuts in May 2022. And he just signed to co-author (with Weston Ochse) a new series of military science fiction novels that launches the SLEEPERS series. Jonathan will also be launching a new series of science fiction horror novels for the newly established Weird Tales Presents imprint of Blackstone Publishing.
He is also the editor of three THE X-FILES anthologies; the dark fantasy anthology series, OUT OF TUNE; SCARY OUT THERE, an anthology of horror for teens; and the anthologies ALIENS: BUG HUNT, NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD (with George Romero), JOE LEDGER UNSTOPPABLE (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt); two volumes of mysteries: ALTERNATE SHERLOCKS and THE GAME’S AFOOT (with Michael Ventrella); and ALIENS V PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt). He is also the editor of DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, the official tribute to SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK. His next anthology will be ALIENS VS PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt), debuting in spring 2022.
Jonathan was an expert on the History Channel documentary series, ZOMBIES: A Living History and TRUE MONSTERS. And he was participated in the commentary track for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: REANIMATED.
His many nonfiction works include VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006); THE CRYPTOPED
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
July 2, 2025
5 stories about Joe Ledger, the first taking place while he was still with the Baltimore PD and the last, his introduction to his dog, Ghost.
The first 3 were ok, but the last two were flat out balls to the wall Joe Ledger stories and I loved them.
Ray Porter narrates because he IS the voice of Joe Ledger.
3.5 rounded up to 4
The first 3 were ok, but the last two were flat out balls to the wall Joe Ledger stories and I loved them.
Ray Porter narrates because he IS the voice of Joe Ledger.
3.5 rounded up to 4
May 27, 2019
While I am not usually a fan of short stories these were a great collection of the inbetween moments of the main series. As always with the Joe Ledger stories you get almost constant action. Very enjoyable read. Very recommended
June 22, 2016
Countdown #0.5 ✮✮✮☆☆
In this prequel to Patient Zero, meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland Security task force . . . who's about to get a serious promotion.
Provides a quick look, from Joe's POV, of the mission that led to Church recruiting him for the DMS.
Zero Tolerance #1.1 ✮✮✮ ½
Zero Tolerance picks up a few weeks after the close of Patient Zero. Dropping back into the world of former Baltimore cop Joe Ledger, the Department of Military Sciences, and flesh-eating zombies, fans of the series will finally get closure on a few loose ends.
For those who are current with the series, this short provides a deeper look at Joe & the DMS's discovery of a character believed to have died in a previous battle. The way in which the character was found was briefly mentioned in Predator One - this short fills in the blanks.
Deep, Dark #1.2 ✮✮✮ ½
Before former Baltimore cop Joe Ledger goes up against competing geneticists looking to continue the master-race program in The Dragon Factory, he must battle another foe using human test subjects for his sinister plans.
A quick look at just how twisted scientists can be when they believe what they're doing is what's best for humanity.
Material Witness #1.3 ✮✮✮☆☆
This short thriller takes Joe Ledger into the mysterious, troubled town of Pine Deep, Pennsylvania, the setting for Maberry's chilling 'Pine Deep Trilogy'. In Pine Deep, nothing is what it seems.
A visit to a small town results in a supernatural battle to rescue an author and friend of the DMS.
Dog Days #2.1 ✮✮✮✮☆
Joe Ledger returns in this tale that follows the tragic conclusion of The Dragon Factory. In the wake of a devastating personal loss, Joe Ledger and his new canine partner, Ghost, go hunting for the world's deadliest assassin.
Ever wonder how Joe ended up with Ghost, his battle canine partner or how he tracked the man responsible for the biggest loss in his life? This short provides those answers. (I ❤ Ghost!)
Anthology Rating: ✮✮✮ ½
In this prequel to Patient Zero, meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland Security task force . . . who's about to get a serious promotion.
Provides a quick look, from Joe's POV, of the mission that led to Church recruiting him for the DMS.
Zero Tolerance #1.1 ✮✮✮ ½
Zero Tolerance picks up a few weeks after the close of Patient Zero. Dropping back into the world of former Baltimore cop Joe Ledger, the Department of Military Sciences, and flesh-eating zombies, fans of the series will finally get closure on a few loose ends.
For those who are current with the series, this short provides a deeper look at Joe & the DMS's discovery of a character believed to have died in a previous battle. The way in which the character was found was briefly mentioned in Predator One - this short fills in the blanks.
Deep, Dark #1.2 ✮✮✮ ½
Before former Baltimore cop Joe Ledger goes up against competing geneticists looking to continue the master-race program in The Dragon Factory, he must battle another foe using human test subjects for his sinister plans.
A quick look at just how twisted scientists can be when they believe what they're doing is what's best for humanity.
Material Witness #1.3 ✮✮✮☆☆
This short thriller takes Joe Ledger into the mysterious, troubled town of Pine Deep, Pennsylvania, the setting for Maberry's chilling 'Pine Deep Trilogy'. In Pine Deep, nothing is what it seems.
A visit to a small town results in a supernatural battle to rescue an author and friend of the DMS.
Dog Days #2.1 ✮✮✮✮☆
Joe Ledger returns in this tale that follows the tragic conclusion of The Dragon Factory. In the wake of a devastating personal loss, Joe Ledger and his new canine partner, Ghost, go hunting for the world's deadliest assassin.
Ever wonder how Joe ended up with Ghost, his battle canine partner or how he tracked the man responsible for the biggest loss in his life? This short provides those answers. (I ❤ Ghost!)
Anthology Rating: ✮✮✮ ½
February 13, 2024
3.75/5
After reading this and some of the novels in the series, I am starting to think that Joe Ledger is better in short form.
After reading this and some of the novels in the series, I am starting to think that Joe Ledger is better in short form.
June 4, 2012
If you've read the first 3 Joe Ledger novels, you'll notice there are some missing gaps here and there between stories, as they all start off in the middle of something. This book helps fill in some of the gaps.
July 12, 2024
I needed a palette cleanse, so I had to go back to old faithful Mr. Maberry.
..... or maybe I just missed Joe and Ghost.
..... or maybe I just missed Joe and Ghost.
November 30, 2018
Joe Ledger: The Missing Files presents five short stories that exist in and around the events of Jonathan Maberry's first three Joe Ledger novels. As I've come to expect of Maberry, each story is competently written, filled with plenty of action and smart-ass wit, and the audiobook's narration by Ray Porter is, also as expected, a top-notch delivery.
The main sticking point here, though, is that the first few stories feel pretty disposable. Kicking off this collection is "Countdown," a wholly unnecessary prequel to the first book, Patient Zero. I'm not sure who this story is ultimately aimed at, frankly... If you read the first Joe Ledger book than you already know this story, which involves the raid on a Baltimore warehouse that ultimately earns Joe the attention of Mr. Church. If you haven't read Patient Zero, I'm not sure there's enough meat on this short story's bones to compel you to latch onto and stick around for the main course. Mostly, this story feels like stuff that was edited out of an earlier draft of Patient Zero and was re-purposed as a very short short story.
Zero Tolerance follows on the heels of Patient Zero, with Joe and his DMS squadron tracking down one of that book's surviving terrorists. It's a sharp little story, but, like "Countdown," it's not exactly indispensable. Ditto "Deep Dark," which has Ledger and his crew squaring off against terrorists in an underground vault. It's a neat story involving transgenic modification of human test subjects, written as a precursor to help tease The Dragon Factory. While I can't say it's redundant, and Maberry does enough things differently in this short story, "Deep Dark" also feels almost exactly like a particular encounter that occurs in The Dragon Factory.
It's not until the last two stories that we get to the really good stuff, and they present some original concepts as Maberry finds his feet with Ledger and company existing in short-form narratives. "Material Witness" sees our band of DMS operators taking a trip to Pine Deep, the setting of another Maberry series. I haven't read the Pine Deep trilogy yet, but there's enough teases of information in "Material Witness" and Church's presentation of the official cover story to pique my interest and move those books further up my To Be Read pile. This story is just flat-out cool, involving an author whose cutting edge thrillers have made him a wanted man by various terrorist factions. Maberry shades "Material Witness" with plenty of The X-Files inspired intrigue, enough so that I could practically hear Mark Snow's theme playing as the story's final denouement plays out. That's no bad thing at all, mind you.
"Dog Days" was my main reason for checking out The Missing Files, and it delivered exactly what I had hoped for. Ledger's second novel-length outing, The Dragon Factory, ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. I was immediately disappointed to discover all those loose ends wrapped up before book three, The Plague Factory, even started, and with Ledger suddenly having a canine partner to wage war alongside of. Well, all that connective material is told in this short story, which introduces Joe's new partner, Ghost, and puts him on the hunt for The Dragon Factory's escaped assassin. Maberry does a fantastic job condensing all of the fun interpersonal dramatics between Ledger and his comrades into this short, before launching into all the action. Given the way the second book ended, Joe is in a bit of a dark place; it has some necessarily sad overtones, but thankfully revenge is sweet and Maberry writes one hell of an action-packed finale.
Joe Ledger: The Missing Files is not an indispensable read, at times coming across more like deleted scenes from the core body of work, but it does tie up a few loose ends here and there, even if it sometimes feels repetitive of particular plot points covered in the full-length novels. "Material Witness" and "Dog Days" are the clear stand-outs here, providing enough story to satisfy. The rest are largely ancillary, recommended only for Ledger completionists.
The main sticking point here, though, is that the first few stories feel pretty disposable. Kicking off this collection is "Countdown," a wholly unnecessary prequel to the first book, Patient Zero. I'm not sure who this story is ultimately aimed at, frankly... If you read the first Joe Ledger book than you already know this story, which involves the raid on a Baltimore warehouse that ultimately earns Joe the attention of Mr. Church. If you haven't read Patient Zero, I'm not sure there's enough meat on this short story's bones to compel you to latch onto and stick around for the main course. Mostly, this story feels like stuff that was edited out of an earlier draft of Patient Zero and was re-purposed as a very short short story.
Zero Tolerance follows on the heels of Patient Zero, with Joe and his DMS squadron tracking down one of that book's surviving terrorists. It's a sharp little story, but, like "Countdown," it's not exactly indispensable. Ditto "Deep Dark," which has Ledger and his crew squaring off against terrorists in an underground vault. It's a neat story involving transgenic modification of human test subjects, written as a precursor to help tease The Dragon Factory. While I can't say it's redundant, and Maberry does enough things differently in this short story, "Deep Dark" also feels almost exactly like a particular encounter that occurs in The Dragon Factory.
It's not until the last two stories that we get to the really good stuff, and they present some original concepts as Maberry finds his feet with Ledger and company existing in short-form narratives. "Material Witness" sees our band of DMS operators taking a trip to Pine Deep, the setting of another Maberry series. I haven't read the Pine Deep trilogy yet, but there's enough teases of information in "Material Witness" and Church's presentation of the official cover story to pique my interest and move those books further up my To Be Read pile. This story is just flat-out cool, involving an author whose cutting edge thrillers have made him a wanted man by various terrorist factions. Maberry shades "Material Witness" with plenty of The X-Files inspired intrigue, enough so that I could practically hear Mark Snow's theme playing as the story's final denouement plays out. That's no bad thing at all, mind you.
"Dog Days" was my main reason for checking out The Missing Files, and it delivered exactly what I had hoped for. Ledger's second novel-length outing, The Dragon Factory, ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. I was immediately disappointed to discover all those loose ends wrapped up before book three, The Plague Factory, even started, and with Ledger suddenly having a canine partner to wage war alongside of. Well, all that connective material is told in this short story, which introduces Joe's new partner, Ghost, and puts him on the hunt for The Dragon Factory's escaped assassin. Maberry does a fantastic job condensing all of the fun interpersonal dramatics between Ledger and his comrades into this short, before launching into all the action. Given the way the second book ended, Joe is in a bit of a dark place; it has some necessarily sad overtones, but thankfully revenge is sweet and Maberry writes one hell of an action-packed finale.
Joe Ledger: The Missing Files is not an indispensable read, at times coming across more like deleted scenes from the core body of work, but it does tie up a few loose ends here and there, even if it sometimes feels repetitive of particular plot points covered in the full-length novels. "Material Witness" and "Dog Days" are the clear stand-outs here, providing enough story to satisfy. The rest are largely ancillary, recommended only for Ledger completionists.
May 13, 2014
My full Joe Ledger: The Missing Files audiobook review can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
I don't normally review anthologies of short stories. My rules are mine to break. Really the only reason that that I am is to satisfy my own curiosity, and to learn more about what drives Joe Ledger and makes him what he is today.
There really isn't a whole lot to review here. Joe ledger story short stories, full of everything you would expect from Jonathan Maberry. If you are a true and I mean true Joe Ledger fan you have already picked this title up or if you're like me you been humming and hawing and waiting for the right time. Well the time has come.
One story is a simple introduction to Joe Ledger, much of this we know already is we listened to Patient Zero, still good to hear. One story intertwines with Patient Zero and is yet separate. One story gives an introduction to my favorite literary canine, Ghost. Another twists together, what I though were parallel universes, the Pine Deep series with the DMS. And the last really gets you inside Ledger's head.
Audiobook purchased by reviewer.
I don't normally review anthologies of short stories. My rules are mine to break. Really the only reason that that I am is to satisfy my own curiosity, and to learn more about what drives Joe Ledger and makes him what he is today.
There really isn't a whole lot to review here. Joe ledger story short stories, full of everything you would expect from Jonathan Maberry. If you are a true and I mean true Joe Ledger fan you have already picked this title up or if you're like me you been humming and hawing and waiting for the right time. Well the time has come.
One story is a simple introduction to Joe Ledger, much of this we know already is we listened to Patient Zero, still good to hear. One story intertwines with Patient Zero and is yet separate. One story gives an introduction to my favorite literary canine, Ghost. Another twists together, what I though were parallel universes, the Pine Deep series with the DMS. And the last really gets you inside Ledger's head.
Audiobook purchased by reviewer.
June 21, 2021
Maberry, Ledger & Porter. These guys are made for each other.
September 13, 2020
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
- Excellent narration by Ray Porter
- All of them were good but mostly useless if you're not familiar with the series.
- Added small details to already known points.
- Nice to have the short story in Pine Deep & loved the one about getting Ghost.
Currently on Audible Plus
- Excellent narration by Ray Porter
- All of them were good but mostly useless if you're not familiar with the series.
- Added small details to already known points.
- Nice to have the short story in Pine Deep & loved the one about getting Ghost.
May 28, 2021
I have always liked the art of the short story. Some of my favorite works are short stories. I discovered Jonathan Maberry through short stories, and I really enjoyed this set of tales bridging some of the gaps between his Joe Ledger novels.
September 30, 2013
A collection of short stories, some of which tie up loose ends to the major Joe Ledger books and some of which are stand along. The blend of action and intrigue with the usual cast is a must for any Joe Ledger fan.
Also See my short individual reviews here
Countdown: This prequel didn't add much if anything but as part of the overall missing files book it was with the read.
Zero Tolerance: Awesome short story running on the back of patient zero with plenty of action. The story continues for joe ledger and Echo team
Material Witness: A great book that is going to get me to read the pine bluff trillogy. Joe ledger takes on more terrorists and something else in this short story!
Deep, Dark: A short story of things to come for joe ledger and his team. A good mix of action and joe ledger's human side
Dog Days: A wonderful short story that finishs up the Dragon Factory nicely. It has a little bit of action and a bit of a twist. A great complement to the story.
Also See my short individual reviews here
Countdown: This prequel didn't add much if anything but as part of the overall missing files book it was with the read.
Zero Tolerance: Awesome short story running on the back of patient zero with plenty of action. The story continues for joe ledger and Echo team
Material Witness: A great book that is going to get me to read the pine bluff trillogy. Joe ledger takes on more terrorists and something else in this short story!
Deep, Dark: A short story of things to come for joe ledger and his team. A good mix of action and joe ledger's human side
Dog Days: A wonderful short story that finishs up the Dragon Factory nicely. It has a little bit of action and a bit of a twist. A great complement to the story.
April 9, 2012
This was my first ever audio book. I don't have a long commute so I can't listen in the truck, and it just feels weird to sit there listening to someone else read to you. If they were all available in ebook I would have read them months ago.Buuuuuutttt.......since I love Jonathan's books, and Assassin's Code comes out TOMORROW I figured what the hell. I found a great way for me to listen to them, while I'm ironing all my clothes for the week. Yes, ladies I iron regularly. These books made is go by so fast I didn't even realise it until every single thing was done. I listened to and really enjoyed all of them except the one in Pine Deep. Since I haven't read to Pine Deep trilogy yet I chose to wait before I listened to that one.
October 7, 2013
Great mix of Ledger short stories. Now I must pine until "Code Zero" comes out.
November 3, 2013
Enjoyable collection of short stories that shore up some of the details that occur between the novels.
February 18, 2014
Enjoyed Dog Days, find out where Ghost had come from. Good story to bridge between books 2 & 3
July 21, 2021
There is not much I can say about Jonathan Maberry's stories that I have not said before but a quick recap here: They are f*cking awesome! I have read the Rot and Ruin series, the Pine Deep Trilogy, all of the DMS/Rogue Team International (Joe Ledger series), and each of them is great in their own way but Joe is the closest to my black little heart.
I like to think of Joe as a combo of Jason Borne, Jack Reacher, and John Wick all rolled into one. He is trained and a bad@$$ but still fully human and that is what makes the most sense. He works with a special team but he is still the main focus. With the "Missing Files", Maberry collects up the short stories about JL that happen before and after Patient Zero and The Dragon Factory when Joe and the DMS are just in their infancy.
Gritty, hard-hitting, but familiar to those who have read spy, action, or thrillers but with a combo of horror and hard science-fiction threw in.
Highly recommended.
I like to think of Joe as a combo of Jason Borne, Jack Reacher, and John Wick all rolled into one. He is trained and a bad@$$ but still fully human and that is what makes the most sense. He works with a special team but he is still the main focus. With the "Missing Files", Maberry collects up the short stories about JL that happen before and after Patient Zero and The Dragon Factory when Joe and the DMS are just in their infancy.
Gritty, hard-hitting, but familiar to those who have read spy, action, or thrillers but with a combo of horror and hard science-fiction threw in.
Highly recommended.
April 16, 2022
A collection of the first five short stories in the Joe Ledger series.
Joe Ledger 0.5 - Countdown - 3⭐
Prequel origin story to the Joe Ledger series introducing us to Joe via the first Op that got him noticed by Mr. Church.
Joe Ledger 1.1 - Zero Tolerance - 5⭐
A few weeks after Patient Zero, Joe and the team are back in the desert, as there may be infected that escaped the blast site. Ties up one of the loose ends with the most interesting character from Patient Zero.
Joe Ledger 1.2 - Material Witness - 4⭐
In this story that ties in to the Pine Deep Trilogy, Joe and his team have been sent to Pine Deep to protect a man under witness protection, whose writes books with plausible terrorist scenarios that the "wrong people" are starting to notice.
Joe Ledger 1.3 - Deep, Dark - 5⭐
In this survival horror prequel to The Dragon Factory, Joe, Top and Bunny have been called in to handle a terrorist threat at The Vault, an Ultra High Security Biological Research Facility that happens to be located underground. Except the attackers aren't terrorists, but escaped genetically engineered lab research subjects.
Joe Ledger 2.1 - Dog Days - 5⭐
After suffering a tragic loss in The Dragon Factory, Joe Ledger is assigned a new canine partner, Ghost. Despite Joe's reservations and claims that he is a "cat person", Ghost, the smartest dog according to the lead trainer, wins Joe's heart. Then they catch a break, and go hunting for the world's deadliest assassin, Conrad Veder. Rating is probably biased on the high side because Ghost is such a good boi.
Joe Ledger 0.5 - Countdown - 3⭐
Prequel origin story to the Joe Ledger series introducing us to Joe via the first Op that got him noticed by Mr. Church.
Joe Ledger 1.1 - Zero Tolerance - 5⭐
A few weeks after Patient Zero, Joe and the team are back in the desert, as there may be infected that escaped the blast site. Ties up one of the loose ends with the most interesting character from Patient Zero.
Joe Ledger 1.2 - Material Witness - 4⭐
In this story that ties in to the Pine Deep Trilogy, Joe and his team have been sent to Pine Deep to protect a man under witness protection, whose writes books with plausible terrorist scenarios that the "wrong people" are starting to notice.
Joe Ledger 1.3 - Deep, Dark - 5⭐
In this survival horror prequel to The Dragon Factory, Joe, Top and Bunny have been called in to handle a terrorist threat at The Vault, an Ultra High Security Biological Research Facility that happens to be located underground. Except the attackers aren't terrorists, but escaped genetically engineered lab research subjects.
Joe Ledger 2.1 - Dog Days - 5⭐
After suffering a tragic loss in The Dragon Factory, Joe Ledger is assigned a new canine partner, Ghost. Despite Joe's reservations and claims that he is a "cat person", Ghost, the smartest dog according to the lead trainer, wins Joe's heart. Then they catch a break, and go hunting for the world's deadliest assassin, Conrad Veder. Rating is probably biased on the high side because Ghost is such a good boi.
November 26, 2022
This is a collection of a handful of five short stories that are either prequels or postscripts to full books that Maberry had written. They get a low rating from me because 1). they're spoilers; 2). they don't necessarily stand alone by themselves, and without proper exposition they don't always make sense; and 3) at least one borrows verbatim text from the book it is connected to.
It seems that some of these are designed to draw people to the series. The problem I have, given the self plagiarism, is that people might have to pay for these.
It seems that some of these are designed to draw people to the series. The problem I have, given the self plagiarism, is that people might have to pay for these.
August 3, 2017
Great fill in for the Joe Ledger series. This series of short stories surrounds the first and second book in the series. A couple of the short stories were pretty far out and "heebie jeebie" but they were on par with the series. I tried to listen in the correct chronological order and mostly succeeded. Very good add to the series, though I prefer long epic tales vs. short stories. Excellent narration by Ray Porter on the audible edition.
February 27, 2018
I really enjoyed each story but I wished I had waited to listen to them.
Each story is connected to one of the Joe Ledger books. Since I had only read (listened to) Patient Zero before listening to this series, there were spoilers and some things weren't in context.
Now that I'm many more books into the series, this deserves another listen for greater enjoyment.
Note: Ray Porter is fantastic narrating the voice of Joe Ledger. No one could do it better. He IS Joe Ledger.
Each story is connected to one of the Joe Ledger books. Since I had only read (listened to) Patient Zero before listening to this series, there were spoilers and some things weren't in context.
Now that I'm many more books into the series, this deserves another listen for greater enjoyment.
Note: Ray Porter is fantastic narrating the voice of Joe Ledger. No one could do it better. He IS Joe Ledger.
November 23, 2021
Joe Ledger short stories are as fun to read as the full length novels. In fact, while they're different types of stories, I probably haven't rated any short story collection this high since the last time I read Harlan Ellison.
Joe Ledger is entertaining, fun, fast paced, well written, and enjoyable. There isn't a boring page in them . . . ever. I highly recommend if you like action novels. I'm sure Hollywood is going to get their hands on this sooner or later.
Joe Ledger is entertaining, fun, fast paced, well written, and enjoyable. There isn't a boring page in them . . . ever. I highly recommend if you like action novels. I'm sure Hollywood is going to get their hands on this sooner or later.
February 2, 2024
I was happy to find a new (to me) Jonathan Maberry book. The Missing includes four or five short stories. One was made full length later. I've read most of them before but I don't care because Joe Ledger is one of my favorites.
Reading one of Jonathan Maberry's anthologies are like eating a piece of candy--oh so sweet.
Reading one of Jonathan Maberry's anthologies are like eating a piece of candy--oh so sweet.
June 20, 2019
I listened to the audio version of this driving to and from work in a few days. Definitely an awesome read for those who have read up through the end of the Dragon factory. I also now want to read the Pine Deep series after reading these. All the stories had a good bit of action.
February 10, 2021
This is not essential reading, but it's amazing. I love the stories of Joe Ledger and these were really well done. They add a depth to some of the other stories in this universe that really make them fun to read.
February 15, 2023
This is a collection of five short stories in the Joe Ledger series that it turned out I already listened to. But since I like the series, I listened to them again. The stories are "Countdown", "Deep, Dark", Zero Tolerance", "Material Witness", and "Dog Days".
April 4, 2023
I’ve never read anything from this author before so I figured a book of short stories would serve as an introduction to his writing style. I am not disappointed. This book was riveting and has left me wanting to seek out more from Jonathan Maberry.
April 12, 2023
2.75
This would have been better as a movie or anthology rather than a bunch of short stories. I just personally dont think i enjoy this kind of action man zombie thing in book form as much as i do movie form, and yes, that is completely a me issue, not the book itself.
This would have been better as a movie or anthology rather than a bunch of short stories. I just personally dont think i enjoy this kind of action man zombie thing in book form as much as i do movie form, and yes, that is completely a me issue, not the book itself.
June 14, 2017
4.5 *
December 28, 2017
Mayberry’s techno hero is too gruesome for me. I just do not like the genre and have to stop reading the series. Maybe you will find it more interesting than me.
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