The Dragon Factory

This book kept me reading late into the night for just one more chapter. The Joe Ledger novels fuse cutting-edge/theoretical science in the vein of Michael Crichton with the military technothriller style of Tom Clancy, and sprinkles in just a little James Bond (secret lairs, evil supervillains, etc). The formula obviously works. The Dragon Factory is one of the most gripping thrillers I have read in a long time.If youre read the first book in the series, know that youre pretty much getting more of the same which is just fine with me. The pace is fast and relentless. Theres enough characterization that neither the good guys or the bad guys in the main cast come across as ciphers, and a body count up there in the hundreds. Fans of high-octane action thrillers should lap this one up.

Another great Joe Ledger book. And now I am understanding the books more. They are not all about Zombies. They each have different plots and different casts of villains. This one has a few running stories in it, and at first there seemed to be a lot of characters to get used to, but once I got going it was easy to decipher between each cast of characters and the stories. The premise behind this one is so outrageous yet still so realistic. It still has the running plot of terrorists, and many of them that Joe and his team needs to stop. It is so action packed and adrenalin based, you can’t help but turn the pages.

I of course love Joe Ledger’s character, he is strong, witty, and relentless. We also get a little more story on Joe as well and just makes me love him all the more. Along with him I also love Bunny and Top as well. I feel like I connected with them both so much more in this one, and I wanted nothing to happen to either of them. The whole cast of characters are so realistic and believable. Another of my favorite characters is Grace. I love the love affair between her and Joe. Maberry created it so realistically. I feel they have a special connection.

The action is the book is really non stop. And I was pulled right smack in the middle of all of it. And I loved every minute of it. Maberry knows how to get the blood pumping that is for sure, from page one to the last page of the book. There really was not anything I did not like about this book, only that it ended. I look forward to the next installment and the next exciting tale I get to jump into.

You can read my review here: […]

The second novel in Maberry’s Joe Ledger series starts very soon after Patient Zero left off, with Joe visiting the gravesite of one of his oldest and dearest friends. The problem is, he’s a wanted man, and the man that wants him is none other than the Vice President of the United States. He’s sent his goon squad to pick up Joe, but Joe has other plans…

Taking off like lightning and never letting up, The Dragon Factory is a cross-genre, gritty, fun, roller coaster of a ride! I loved Patient Zero, and The Dragon Factory doesn’t disappoint, in fact, I think I loved it more! Told in first person POV of Joe Ledger, my favorite tough, snarky ex-cop, (with frequent forays into third person with one of the book’s star psychos, Cyrus Jacoby) it grabs you by the throat, and doesn’t let you go until the last page! What’s not to love? Joe and Echo Team have to deal with everything from psychotic Nazi clones, to an organization called the Cabal, which is out to achieve ethnic cleansing on a worldwide scale. Add to that DNA manipulated beasts, a race of slaves called the New Men, bio-terror on an epic scale, a pair of the creepiest, ickiest (yes, icky), twisted (had to throw that in there), albino (yes, albino) twins, and a boy hero that will break your heart and reaffirm your belief in the power of the human spirit.

Maberry throws all of this at you with his usual perfect pacing and style, and the depth of detail and research put into this book is, as always, impeccable. One thing that Maberry does in his novels is something that you don’t see a lot of in books that are this action oriented. In the midst of all this chaos and adrenaline, in Joe Ledger he’s created a character that not only kicks ass, but he has a heart and soul, and it comes across in nearly every scene that he’s in. In Joe, he gives us a hero to root for, if for no other reason than he is intrinsically good. Joe is not superhuman, and he doesn’t have supernatural abilities. He’s an everyman with, admittedly, rather unique talents that we can all identify with in some way. In The Dragon Factory, Maberry takes topics that are complex and sometimes terrifying, and delivers them with humanity and sometimes humor. There were moments during this book (in particular one) that brought me to tears, as with Patient Zero, and Maberry shows us that humanity does not have to be sacrificed for the sake of an exciting read!

This series is absolutely not to be missed, and I recommend it to anyone that loves thrillers, horror, suspense, espionage, fantasy, and all of the above! I am breathlessly anticipating the third book in the Joe Ledger Series, The King of Plagues, due out March 29th!

After reading (and thoroughly enjoying) the first novel in the Joe Ledger series “Patient Zero” I definitely wanted to give this sequel a go. So for those of you familiar with the series, Joe has just done his bit in saving the world from a plague of zombies working for the DMS – a specialised, and very secret, government agency. This next installment sees Joe up against some new villains and their handiwork. The surprise is pretty fantastic – let’s just say, it makes zombies look appealing.

The first novel had quite a bit of scientific information regarding pathogens, disease and infection.The dragon factory still holds onto the science element but in a little more detail. Some of these sections I found really interesting actually and they especially helped me to understand some of the key elements within the novel. I did find the science element a little far-fetched sometimes so if you’re picky about accuracy then you might find that irritating.

I did find one thing a little annoying, not enough to ruin my opinion of the book though, Maberry was a tad over the top with some of the British characters dialogue in that they sounded VERY British. But again, this took nothing at all away from the book.

Did I think this was any good? Did it match up to Patient Zero? Absolutely! If you were already a fan then this next installment won’t disappoint you. I sometimes think that the second books in a series can be more of a filler than a great addition but that’s certainly not the case this time – Joe Ledger is as enjoyable and hilarious as ever. If you liked the previous characters on Joe’s team then you’ll be pleased to know some of them are back to help him out.

Was there anything you should know before you buy? Be prepared to be desperate to get hold of “The King of Theives” – Joe Ledger 3.

I’m a big fan of the series. This will never be anything more than an action packed fun time filled with cliches, but if that’s what you want, it does that really well.

I did prefer the first book in the series, Patient Zero, as I quite enjoy zombie post-apocalyptic work in general, but I thought The Dragon Factory was an interesting follow up. Think of it as less intellectual Michael Crichton works.

Still, the books are fun, and though this was a little poorer edited than the previous one, I’ve really enjoyed this book. If you want something that is not particularly high brow literary reading, but rather, you want a fun action packed film in a book, I recommend this.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member