Disclaimer: I received an eARC from NetGalley. In addition, I have previously participated in fundraisers by the author that resulted in me getting some cool books and swag.
Twitter Summary: Pulse-pounding, weird science popcorn thriller.
Affiliate Links: Kill Switch
First line: Where were you when the lights went out?
The Joe Ledger series is a study in what would happen if you took beat cop Steven Seagal and put him in a world where he has to deal with weird science cryptid versions of such staples as ape men, vampires, and aliens. I don’t really like vampire or zombie novels. This (and Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles) is my largest exception.
This is owed in a large part to the author’s penchant for, to put it bluntly, beating the crap out of both the protagonist and the world he lives in. By this point, eight books in, the world Joe Ledger inhabits is far different than our own. Ledger’s world has a LOT less infrastructure remaining.
Having covered zombies, vampires, beastmen, aliens, and other such staples, this time the author delves into the Lovecraft mythos, using that as a baseline for putting the world and Joe Ledger through some more heinous crap. My favorite setpiece is a NASCAR race.
Trust me, you do not want to be at a Jonathan Maberry NASCAR race.
The first line of the book, immediately informs the reader that there isn’t going to be much downtime in this book. The pace of the story isn’t just fast but breakneck, hurling towards the end. This isn’t slap dash “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” though. Maberry skillfully builds the tension, throwing in a couple of false climaxes and a few twists, while maximizing the payoff. In true action movie fashion, there’s not much rest for the wicked afterwards, either.
Final Verdict: Highly Recommended. I have preordered each since the 3rd, and I see no reason to stop.