ZOMBIE APOCALYPTIC AUTHOR - JONATHAN MABERRY - SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY # 4 - BENNY IMURA SERIES - YOUNG ADULT - SIMON & SCHUSTER

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY # 4

JONATHAN MABERRY

BENNY IMURA SERIES

I love me some Jonathan Maberry, especially his Benny Imura series. This is his YA zombie apocalyptic/dystopian series and it is soooo good. I started this series back in 2011. I have Fire And Ash from the library to read next.

Goodreads shows you the order and any novellas.

You can scroll down and read my reviews HERE . I also have information on one of Jonathan's other series, Joe Ledger.

I have to admit looking at the cover of Rot & Ruin and the title when I first laid eyes on it, I got a not so YA feel about it on first sight. I got a bit scared.

But!

Once I opened the book up and started reading.

OMG!

Jonathan is brilliant. 

Rot & Ruin had me totally loving Tom, Benny's brother. Now I know it is the Benny Imura series, but Benny and his mates are fifteen years old in the first book and act like fifteen year old boys, and...well... Tom stole the limelight for me. For many reasons.

I won't spoil.

Rot and Ruin was an awesome introduction into Jonathan's zombie world.

Dust & Decay, was simply brilliant. 

O.M.G.

Brilliant.

Jonathan brings in J-Dog and Dr. Skillz who are the funniest characters in an apocalyptic world.

It was also a book where I cursed Jonathan ( in my marshmallow way ) cause, he really and I mean really crushed my heart with his characters. What he did in that book, is still killing me to this day.

I got MAJOR feels. 

But, this is a zombie apocalyptic series, so shiz is going down.

What I loved about this series is, it is not what you will think when you think of zombie apocalyptic. 

That whole, Walking Dead theme is not what Jonathan does.

Jonathan brings really great sub characters , humor, sad, sad moments, he brings hope and crushes you, he will rip out your heart and dice it up. He has a lot of heart and soul in this series which I wasn't prepared for. 

Tom is like the wise older brother who is not like Daryl from Walking Dead.

Tom is Tom. Tom has a Katana.

Flesh and Bone # 3 just took off on a non stop ride. I'm not sure if any of the gang stopped to eat, it was that full on. I was hanging on to my book. 

My review was full of quotes. I love quotes and Jonathan gives me a bag full every book.

You will watch Benny and the crew learn how to survive and you will see the change in their characters from Rot and Ruin.

There are also naturally, the villains in this series, who are true villains. They don't hold back.

There are also the unlikely sub character survivors who are doing it their way,  trusting only in themselves and then there are the alliances who you hope to trust in. 

Let's not forget the religious nuts thrown in for good measure. 

There are very intense moments and there are I Am Legend moments. 

A fantastic YA series I highly recommend. I think it will truly surprise even the readers who THINK they aren't into zombie reads. I wasn't particularly either until I read how Jonathan writes them. 

I became addicted to Benny Imura.

So to all you non zombie readers...TRUST ME, check this one out, book two had me totally sold and immersed in Jonathan's apocalyptic world. 

All Jonathan's books rate really well on Goodreads. The reviews are glowing.

Jonathan's Goodreads

******

This image was taken from Gena Showalter's page on facebook.
Gena and Kami Garcia are either side of Jonathan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries.

You can find out a lot more about Jonathan over on his web page. It is worth a look at all of his pages within it.

I'm just butting in here in the middle of About The Author. I have just watched this vid for the first time properly and I totally got what Jonathan was saying in this. He started off wanting to write a gritty zombie read, but along the way it turned into something else. It got heart. That is why this is a book for readers who don't think they are into zombie genre, because it is so much more.


He writes a variety of projects for Marvel Comics involving CAPTAIN AMERICA, BLACK PANTHER, DOOMWAR, WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL, THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, the NY Times bestselling MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN, MARVEL UNIVERSE vs THE PUNISHER and MARVEL UNIVERSE vs WOLVERINE. All of Jonathan’s comic book collections are released as Graphic Novel collections within a month or two of individual comic publication.

Recent short stories include “Pegleg and Paddy Save the World” (HISTORY IS DEAD, Permuted Press 2007), “Doctor Nine” (KILLERS, Swimming Kangaroo Press, 2008; and reprinted in THE STORIES (in) BETWEEN Edited by Greg Schauer, Jeanne B. Benzel, and W.H. Horner. Fantasist Enterprises, 2009), “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost” (LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE 2, Bloodletting Books, 2008), “Clean Sweeps” (AND SO IT BEGINS, Dark Quest Books, 2008), “Family Business” (THE NEW DEAD, St. Martin’s Press, 2010), “Like Part of the Family” (NEW BLOOD edited by Patrick Thomas and Diane Raetz, Padwolf Press, 2010), “Zero Tolerance” (THE LIVING DEAD 2, Night Shade Books), “Flint and Steel” (GI JOE: COBRA WARS, 2011), “Saint John”(THE MONSTER’S CORNER, 2011, St. Martin’s), “The Death Song of Dwar Guntha” (Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, 2012, Simon & Schuster), and “The Wind Through the Fence” (an original e-story available for all e-readers). His essay, “Take Me To Your Leader” will be included in the nonfiction book, TRIUMPH OF THE LIVING DEAD: Robert Kirkman's Zombie Epic on Page and Screen edited by James Lowder (BenBella Books/Smart Pop, 2011).

All of Jonathan’s novels are available on audio, including the audio-only collection, JOE LEDGER: THE MISSING FILES (Blackstone), which includes the short stories “Countdown”, “Ze

BOOK COVER REVEAL - THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS by GENA SHOWALTER - WHITE RABBIT CHRONICLES # 3 - YA ZOMBIES - HARLEQUIN TEEN

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice 'Ali' Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers; until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters; and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing and turning Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

******

I cannot wait for this book. Sadly it is the end of the series. I love this cover. It is showing a much more grown up looking Alice.

DUE FOR RELEASE : SEPTEMBER 30TH 2014

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY $25 AMAZON CARD - RECRUITZ by KARICE BOLTON - AFTERWORLD SERIES # 1 - ZOMBIES

RecruitZ blurb:

Scientists are the new rock stars. The infection has been contained for several months, and the world is celebrating. But humans are still dying. Rebekah Taylor has seen it firsthand. Her husband was killed right in front of her by the very creatures that humans were told they no longer had to fear.

Rebekah is determined to find out who is responsible for the death of her husband and the obvious cover-up. Fueled with revenge, she begins to find answers that lead to one frightening conclusion. The apocalypse might be over, but the battles are just beginning.

Excerpt 

I sat in the passenger seat horrified, but I didn’t dare drag my gaze away. The world had been told zombies no longer threatened human existence. Yet I was staring at an onslaught of them taking slow, deliberate steps toward our vehicle. We had barely pulled into our driveway when the horde descended out of nowhere.

I managed to slide my fingers along the door to the electric lock. I didn’t know why I thought that would save us. The undead had never let a lock deter them before. I looked around our house and it looked untouched. These creatures were only in our yard, coming for us at a most vulnerable time.

Gavin attempted to take the car out of auto-drive, pressing the buttons frantically and commanding it with voice controls. The car only responded with words. We didn’t control it. The car controlled us.

“Pedestrians within minimum safe distance,” the car said, acknowledging Gavin’s attempts to drive us out of danger.

No shit! We want to run the pedestrians over.

Tiny beads of sweat began forming at my hairline as I watched Gavin repeatedly engage and disengage various controls. Nothing would let us override the car’s safety features.

Gavin’s foot pressed on the accelerator trying to override the computer system, but the car still refused to budge. His foot slid off the pedal, and he quickly replaced it.

Damn these self-driving cars!

The engine red-lined with each attempt from Gavin’s override, but the brain of the car overruled Gavin’s actions with every rev of the motor. Gavin kept shaking his head as his finger slid up and down the dashboard. He glanced at me, his green eyes connecting with mine. I didn’t want to believe what I saw behind them so I turned to look out the window.

I gripped the console as I watched the twitches and spasms of the zombies’ movements closing in on us. They were everywhere…the grass, the sidewalk, the driveway. There was no mistaking the rotting, grey flesh that exposed the muscle and bone of the undead. They were something I’d run from countless times, but this time we had nowhere to run. The undead had us trapped. They would rip us to shreds in an instant.

“I think some of ‘em are new,” I said, turning my attention back to Gavin.

There were some clean-looking zombies staggering toward us, their flesh mostly intact. That made no sense. The outbreak had been contained for months. There should be no freshly infected roaming around. Everyone had been vaccinated. The only stragglers evading capture had been around awhile, so their bodies were beat up badly by the time they were caught. Not these.

“Let’s hope not,” he murmured, not bothering to look out the window to confirm nor deny my suspicions.

“We can’t run. They’d totally get us before we got away,” I said, hoping he’d correct me, tell me that we had a chance.

He didn’t.

He slammed his fist into the steering wheel and looked over at me. When the outbreak happened, we never looked back. We were always on the move, running from the disease that took our families and friends. That was the key to survival. Never stay in one place. Always stay on the move. Now we had nowhere to move. I glanced over at Gavin and saw the fear in his eyes. Even with everything we’d encountered, his eyes had never held this amount of terror.

“Babe, whatever happens…”

“Knock it off,” I said.

“We have nothing to fight them with, and a horde this size needs a distraction.”

“Don’t you dare,” I hissed, shaking my head. The fear was pulsing through me at an unstoppable rate. “We didn’t live through the outbreak to die now.”

AUTHOR BIO

Karice lives in Washington with her wonderful husband, who also happens to be her high school sweetheart and their two cute English bulldogs! She enjoys reading, baking, and trying to be crafty on her off-hours. She's also a coffee, tea, and snow addict. If she could live somewhere that had the white stuff year-round, she probably would. She also loves chatting with her readers on Facebook!

Her books include: 

The Witch Avenue Series (Lonely Souls, Altered Souls, Released Souls, and Shattered Souls)

Beyond Love Series (Beyond Control, Beyond Doubt, Beyond Reason)

Watchers Trilogy (Taken, Awakening, Legions, Cataclysm)

Afterworld Series (RecruitZ)

The Camp

Find her on: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karice-Bolton/218230041566833?ref=hl 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KariceBolton 

Website: http://www.karicebolton.com 

Blog: blog.karicebolton.com 

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kariceb/



GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Facebook Page Rafflecopter Link: http://tinyurl.com/kazsykj

RecruitZ flash sale during the event! Only $.99!

AMAZON

BOOK REVIEW - RED HILL by JAMIE MCGUIRE - YA ZOMBIE APOCALYPTIC - SIMON & SCHUSTER

By: Jamie Mcguire

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback from publisher for honest review, 368 Pages

RATING: 4.25 SHUFFLER STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Red Hill grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go until its stunning conclusion. This is #1 New York Times bestselling author Jamie McGuire at her unforgettable best.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I commend Jamie McGuire for taking a chance and doing something different to her smash hit contemporary, Beautiful Disaster. No matter what Jamie writes, those of us that are fans of her writing will simply pick up whatever she releases and read it.

Well, I will anyway. 

I have to read her Providence series. It rates so well on Goodreads.

I do love a good zombie read. Jonathan Maberry does a smashing job of his Benny Imura series.

Brilliant.

I enjoyed Red Hill but, I felt personally like it was almost a Walking Dead parallel. There is of course nothing wrong with that as zombie tales do have folks getting bitten, folks meeting up with other survivors, folks breaking our hearts when they get torn up and will turn. That is a zombie read.

The thing with Jonathan is he doesn’t do a Walking Dead parallel. He really does own Benny’s series. He spins it Jonathan style.

I can’t fault Jamie’s writing. I agree with another reviewer, it is five star writing. I will also agree with that same reviewer that I didn’t connect to the main characters as much as I should have.

Scarlet. Mother, survivor and in the end bad ass chick. I wasn’t getting the feels I should from her.

Move over Rambo.

Nathan. I did enjoy his character, I loved he was sensible and had his daughter Zoe to look out for who has a little learning difficulty. In time we meet his brother-in-law Skeeter who is a great character. I wanted to follow Skeeter about after something happened as I felt his character was more your Daryl from Walking Dead. I simply liked him.

Ashley and Miranda, Bryce and Cooper were a package deal for most of the book. Cooper I loved. I wanted more from him. 

Something Scarlet did with Cooper made me do a double take. I was like WT!

Whiplash.

Joey. I really like Joey. But, again, something gave me whiplash and I am still going WT!!

I think what I am trying to say is, this was a zombie story that had unexpected WT moments, which aren’t necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it was unpredictable, but then the rest was a fairly normal zombie formula read.

I wanted to feel that emotion of great sadness and loss. I actually did feel it with Skeeter and his loss. Now that was undeniably sad.

* grabs tissue *

But some other character demises, were more WT just happened here people!!

WHY!!!!

NOoooooOOoooooo...OOoooo...OOOooooo!!!!!!

Yes, over use of exclamation marks is necessary.

I did like that hopeful ending. It could carry on, or it could be the last we ever hear from Red Hill.

I personally would totally dig a novella on Skeeter and Joey’s characters. If you have read Red Hill you will understand what I am talking about.

I did like the el creepo character. Not what the el creepo character did, but showing not all that you save are decent human beings.

We switch pov’s from start to finish so we are juggling several character pov’s in our minds.

The urgency of the survivors getting to Red Hill was undoubtedly a great part of the story. I felt the danger of the situations they found themselves in. I think I just wanted more feels from the main characters that were driving the storyline. I think a couple of demises were rushed and I wanted the sadness and hopelessness of the situation drawn out rather than being put down like an injured horse. 

I thought one character's could have been very tear worthy.

I totally get Scarlet’s crazed mother anguish. I have kids. I get that. I felt like a large puzzle piece was missing from when Scarlet gets her answer.

This is a strange review for me not slapping a five star down, because I love Jamie Mcguire's writing talent, she is very gifted. The new adult reading world knows the name Travis Maddox. I love that Jamie wrote something totally different. This is just my one personal opinion out of a world of opinions.

If you like zombie reads, well, this one has bite...I know , I need to hold off on the puns. 

I still rated it well and I loved the common goal everybody had to get to Red Hill!!!!

Michelle

ARC BOOK REVIEW - THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS by GENA SHOWALTER - WHITE RABBIT CHRONICLES # 2 - HARLEQUIN TEEN AUST - YA ZOMBIES

By: Gena Showalter

Published By: Harlequin Teen Aust

Released: 24th September 2013

Details : Paperback from publisher for review, 444 Pages

RATING: 5 COLE, FROSTY & BRONX & GAVIN STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I was so excited to get this book in the mail from the publisher that I ripped the pack open like a rabid zombie .

Yes. I . Did.

I am a fan.

I am even more of a fan of Gena’s White Rabbit Chronicles after reading Through The Zombie Glass.

I LURVVEEDDD Alice In Zombieland. 

I could not put down Through The Zombie Glass.

I am giving you fair warning , clear your schedule because when you start this book, you won’t put it down, except for pee pee breaks. Get your drinks, your snacks lined up or summon your butler when you need sustenance. This feels like deja vu for me when I read Alice In Zombieland. 

I planted it and read.

I LOVED THIS INSTALLMENT. 

Gena will grab hold of your heart and almost leave you breathless with Cole’s character. I am not joking. What she did to me with Cole. I really needed somebody to talk to while reading this book. I wanted to cry. I was gripping my book and just feeling, FEELING, FEELING.... 

You have to read to understand what I am talking about.

“I will put my boys in the hospital if they come near you. I don’t share my toys.” 

Kat and Frosty, I swear I love these two, even more now. Kat is such a great character.

Kat toyed with the ends of her hair. “I don’t think Frosty will be willing to become a girl for me, and right now I’m totally giving up on dudes.”



“Kitty Kat,” Frosty said.

“Jerk Face,” she retorted , surprising me.

His eyes frosted over in tribute to his name, “What’d I do this time?”

“Nothing. I thought I’d be mad just to be mad and liven things up. We were getting stale.”


Reeve and Bronx. We get a nibble in Alice in Zombieland, we get more in TTZG. Love these two.

Alice and Cole, O.M.G. Gena, you were killing me. I really felt what you did in this book. It hurt me. I was yelling at my book at one stage.

NoooOOooOOooOOooooo!!!

Bottom line is we know Gena can write. We know she is a seasoned author and we really shouldn’t expect anything less than an awesome read from Gena, but this book really out did Alice In Zombieland.

This is not a middle book.

This book will grab you by your heart and wring it out.

It will excite you.

The emotions you will feel are, anger, frustration, sadness, upset, laugh, cry, intense, heart breaking, fear...

This book takes off from the first page and Gena can be quite relentless with her characters. She gives Alice a good working over. I loved Alice in this installment. The girl has balls. She is a tough cookie. I don’t know how, emotionally, she could go through a couple of the things she went through and come out the other end.

Gena was uber tough on her.

There are some new characters brought into the story line. I got to say, somebody needed a stinky dead fish slap from me.

Big time!

I was like grrrrrrrrGGRRRRRgrRRRRR!

Another will grow on you and is quite funny. I got some funny quotes from this person.

“Will you please stop forgetting you’re into brunettes?”

“I realized I can’t see hair color in the dark.” 

Some enemies could possibly become frenemies, when the shoe is on the other foot, the picture is clearer.

I love Emma, she is a life saviour.

If you could see my notes, you would see all the emotions I was feeling at all the different, very cool named chapter titles. I have exclamation marks with LOL!! or NO!!!!!!!! or WT!!!! plus a few I shall not repeat.

This is such a clever idea having zombies in spirit form and teenagers who are all fit and smexi and tattooed who fight for good.

You can honestly forget how young they are.

Though he was only seventeen years old, he seemed far older. He had major experience on the battlefield, had fought in human/zombie war since he could walk. He had experience with girls, too. Maybe too much experience . He knew just what to say ... how to touch... and we melted. I’d never met anyone like him. I doubted I ever would again. 

Gena has this really cool way of bringing in that adult aspect to her writing but keeping it in the YA genre. I said it after reading Alice In Zombieland, she knows how to write guys. Visually this would be quite a cast of eye candy.

Oh and that nipple ring.

The blade-sharp cut of his body always stole my breath, and now was no exception, regardless of the horror of our conversation. I drank him in -- the delightfully wicked nipple ring, the sinewy chest and washboard abs covered with a plethora of tattoos. Every design, every word, meant something to him, from the names of the friends he’d lost in the war to the depiction of the grim reaper’s scythe. Because that was what he was. A zombie killer.

Humma! Humma! 

I love the cover art on this series. It really is stunning. It took my 11 yr old daughter to show me some of the things that are on this cover. Take the time to really look and you will get that ahaaa moment when you are reading. It may not be obvious at first.

I am sooooo bouncy for # 3. It was rather hard to come down from Gena's world of zombies and kickass smexi characters once I had finished. This book just kept me captive until the very last page. Such a rollercoaster of emotions and quite a ride with a few curveballs thrown in along the way.

I highly recommend this YA series for adults too. Gena knows how to be versatile and keep older readers turning the pages. 

The things I haven't told you  because I want you to feel it like I did. This book really had 3D moments for me.

Strap yourselves in.

I will leave you with a quote from Nana.

A few seconds later, her reply came in. WTF an A!

I blinked , sure I was misreading. But no, the letters didn’t change.

ME: Nana, do U know what WTF means??

Her: Of course, silly. It means “well, that’s fantastic.”

I laughed so hard at that bit J

Michelle

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - PAUL LOH - ZOMBIE GENRE

Today on Novels On The Run I have an author spotlight for Paul Loh. He has included some images of his books and a character. Check him out. He sounds like a very colorful author.

Michelle

Author Bio:

Paul Loh is an ex-Navy submariner. He has dabbled in paranormal investigation, improve comedy and stand-up comedy. He has been a teacher's aide, sonar technician, pizza delivery driver, faux painter, furniture salesman, etc. He has written several children's books, poems, short stories, comic strips, songs and a series of New Chinese Proverbs. He is currently in the band Chief Loh and has written two zombie novels.

Book synopsis:

Zombies are running rampant all over the world. They've been reduced to their basest instincts and can tell the living from the dead by the smell of fear. They behave like animals with a pack mentality. A man who thinks he has been chosen by fate to lead them has no fear. He believes he is the Hand of Karma, sent to rid the world of humanity's evil. Can anyone stop him?

Links:

reverbnation.com/chiefloh
 necrolepsy.blogspot.com

BOOK REVIEW - FLESH AND BONE by JONATHAN MABERRY - BENNY IMURA # 3 - SIMON & SCHUSTER - 5 FUNNY, FRIGHTENING, HEART BREAKING STARS!

By: Jonathan Maberry
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Released : Available Now
Details: Library, Paperback , 469 Pages

RATING:  5 FUNNY, FRIGHTENING, HEART BREAKING STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

In Flesh & Bone, Benny Imura, Nix Riley, Lou Chong and Lilah the Lost Girl are pitted against dangers greater than anything they've ever faced. To survive, each of them must rise to become the warriors Tom trained them to be.


BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Joe sighed and stood up. He looked up at the endless stars.

“It’s been a long night,” he said softly, “and there are still a lot of hours of darkness left. But...”

He started to turn away, and Benny said, “But what?”

Joe gave him a small , sad smile. “No matter how long the night is, the sun always comes up.”

I can’t recommend this series enough to readers. It is YA genre , but Jonathan packs a punch in his story telling. He will have you laughing, cheering, scared for his characters and also heart broken.

Jonathan has a list of things to his name, among those being a writer for Marvel.

I am not ashamed to say, Jonathan had me in tears at the end of Dust & Decay. He just broke my heart , shattered it, I didn’t think he would go there.

He did.

It hurt.

A lot.

But what I loved about Flesh and Bone is Jonathan brought my heartache from Dust and Decay and made it a part of this story. He brought Tom along for the ride in a very clever way.


While he fought, he could almost hear Tom whispering advice.

Be warrior smart.

“Go away! Benny yelled, half to the zom and half to his brother’s ghost.

Benny... most people aren’t defeated - they lose!


It helped me to fill the empty void Tom left behind.

Needless to say, he slugged me again in this installment with another character.

The covers of these books look more horror, but for those of you who have not ventured into the Rot and Ruin, you don’t know what you are missing out on. These are zombie stories with a lot of heart and emotion.

Rot and Ruin , and Dust and Decay, both start off at a slower pace, but they build and build and whahhhhhh!!!

No one had tried to shoot them, torture them, kidnap them, or eat them in almost a month. Benny put that solidly in the “win”category.

Well, that was until the first chapter of this book.

Flesh and Bone started off in a total zombie crazed frenzie with its characters. There was no slow start to this one and it kept going and going with different character pov’s and the shiz was flying left , right and center.

Jonathan really brings a whole arc of emotions to this series. One minute you are laughing at the way Chong and Benny talk to each other ...such teenage boys, and the next your heart will be getting slugged by Mr Maberry.

“Hey, monkey-banger,” said a familiar voice. “You pick the strangest times to lie down for a nap.”


Chong gaped. “Wait ... what’s that on your back?”

“What ... does ... it... look like... you brain-dead... monkey-banger?” gasped Benny.


Chong finds himself becoming a bit of a hero, with the worst results.


Time seemed to have slowed for Chong, but this moment was stretched so taut that it was going to snap. He knew he could flee this encounter and head into the woods. Physically he could do that; but that was not possible on any other level. He also knew that he was no one’s idea of a hero. Benny was although his friend would laugh at the suggestion; and both Nix and Lilah were heroes. Chong was a self-admitted side-kick. No one should ever depend on him for anything heroic. He didn’t have the mentality or the musculature for it. His bokken was clutched in his fists , and his teeth were clenched.



“Talk to me,” said Chong.

“About what?” she asked. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with some smart way out of this bear trap, but every which way I look there’s just more traps.”


As far as the romance for his characters....well that doesn’t get addressed in his story telling like other YA reads where it makes up a whole lot of the story. He tells us that Benny and Nix love each other, but it is more words and life saving gestures than what we are more used to reading when a sixteen year old boy says he loves a girl. I have read enough in the series now to know that they do, but it doesn’t get backed up in the way we are used to in YA reads. There are more important things on these characters minds like saving their group from the horrors that attack them daily.

Benny and Nix are quite the team when it comes to being there for each other. 

“Sacrifice?” gasped Benny. “What are you, nuts or something? It was like I said. Eve was being chased and-“

“We know she was being chased,” cut in Riot. “How stupid do you really think we are?”

“You really want an answer to that, baldy?” asked Nix coldly.

Lilah aka The Lost Girl , we get to connect more with her. She doesn't make it easy for Chong. 

Lilah stood above them, tall and beautiful, her white hair whipping in the fresh breeze, her clothes streaked with gore, her hazel eyes glowing with fire.

She turned slowly to Nix and in her ghostly whisper of a voice said , “I hate boys.”


Lilah and Chong have some great moments. Chong is a bit slow on the uptake. They sure did make me laugh out loud.


Lilah squatted in the tall grass a dozen feet away and stared at the child with hollow eyes through which sad shadows flitted. Benny had once heard Tom refer to that kind of look as a “thousand-year stare.” When Chong made to sit down next to her, Lilah drew her knife and stabbed the point into the earth between them.

“I can see that you need some quiet time,” he said, and scuttled quickly away.



“Yes?” asked Chong.

“Well-?”she said.

“Well... what?”

“I said I was leaving.”

“I know. Did...you want me to go with you?”

She laughed. “This is a hunt.”

“I know.”

“I will be moving fast. Tracking.”

“Yes,” he said. “I know.”

“You’re a --“

“A town boy. Yes. I know that, too.” He smiled. it was a fact she reminded him of a dozen times each day. “And this town boy would slow you down, get you eaten by zoms, and other-wise bring about your downfall of what’s left of humanity.”

“Well...yes.” Lilah studied him, clearly unsure of how to respond. Humour was the bluntest tool in her personal skills set.

“Then if it’s all the same with you, I’ll stay here and manfully defend this tree.”

Lilah narrowed her eyes. “That is not a funny joke.”

“No,” he admitted. “Just mildly silly.”

They sat for a moment, she looking at him and Chong pretending to look at nothing.

“I am leaving,” she said again.

“Okay,” he said.

She lingered, waiting.

“What?” he asked again.

“I am leaving,” she replied, leaning on the word.

“Okay. Good-bye. Be safe. Come back soon.”

“No,” she said.

“Good hunting?”

Lilah growled low in her throat, grabbed his shirt with both hands, and hauled him toward her. Into a kiss that was fierce and hot and instantly intense. After several scalding seconds, she shoved him roughly back.

She got to her feet and snatched up her spear, then looked pityingly down at him. “Stupid town boy,” she muttered, then turned and jogged into the forest.

Chong lay sprawled, eyes glazed and face flushed.

“Holy moley...,” he gasped.


The villains of this installment are the most cray cray SOB’s I have read. More cultish in the way they swoop down on the desperate and brainwash them into being their followers.

Lordy these are some nutbags.

Jonathan does this soooo well.

Saint John is no saint! He is better known as an infamous serial killer, a psychopath, back in the old world. And the guy is totally bonkers. 

He is lethal.

Mother Rose is a user and out to RULE THE WORLD.

I need to throw in an evil laugh here.

Mwah ha ha ha haaaaa!!


“Better her than me,” said Nix. “That guy freaked me out.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not having fuzzy puppy love about Mother Nut Job down there.”


Jonathan has gone all out throwing his teenagers into an onslaught of deathly trouble.

Nix and Benny, Chong and Lilah ( The Lost Girl) , throw in some new characters and the action is nonstop .

The pages turn all by themselves with Jonathan’s story.

Seriously you have to strap yourself in for this one.

I really enjoyed Lilah and Joe Ledger. Joe is very entertaining and he is the guy I would be hanging with. He is a wealth of knowledge and he knows how to survive. 

“And why did you help me back there?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Of course.”

“Well, let’s see. Girl. Hurt girl, actually. Bunch of freaking zombie pigs that want to eat hurt girl. Hmmm, why’d I step in? Truth is, I slept badly last night, woke with a kink in my shoulder, and as everyone knows, there’s no better way to loosen up old joints than to go chop-socky on a couple of zombie pigs. Well-known fact. “

She glowered at him. “That’s a stupid answer.”

“No,” he corrected, “it’s a silly answer. The question was pretty silly too, don’t you think?”



Joe adjusted the seat belts carefully around Lilah’s wound. “Not a chance.”

“You’re going to fight back?”

“Honey, I never stopped fighting.”

He turned and grinned at her. “I admire your spunk, darlin’, but you’re in no shape for a brawl.”

“I can shoot.”

“There’s that.” Joe dismounted. “Tell you what,” he said, “you can play target practice with anyone who gets past me and the fuzz-monster.”



“Okay, kids,” he said loud enough for the reapers and Lilah to hear, “before you go all wrath-of-God on me, let’s chat for a bit.”



“And we do not fear dying. To die is to become one with the darkness, and that is the greatest joy of all.”

“Really?” asked Joe, seemingly incredulous. “You guys actually believe that?”

“Yes!”declared the man with the hummingbird tattoos, and the other reapers roared in agreement.

“No fear of death at all, is that what I’m hearing? I mean. Is that the gist?”

“Death is a pathway to glory and oneness with the infinite.”

“So... if I shot one of you, everyone here would be good with that?”

“You think like someone from the old world,” sneered the leader. “You still think that we fear death and -“

Joe drew his pistol and shot the man through the heart.

.... “Now the funny thing is,” said Joe into the silence, “there’s more than a couple of you who look pretty damn scared right now.”



....”This is an M67 fragmentation grenade. Yeah, I know it’s from the old world, but let’s pretend that it still has relevance to the moment. It has a casualty radius of fifteen meters, with a fatality radius of five meters. That covers all you cats. Now, I’m willing to bet a brand-new ration dollar that not one of you is going to bravely stand there while I throw it. In fact, I’m willing to bet you’re all going to run away as if you really are afraid for your lives. What do you think about that?”

The reapers stared at him.

Joe grinned at them.

He pulled the pin.


“She frowned. “You’re afraid of Saint John?”

Joe put his hands on her shoulders. “Lilah, there’s not a living soul on this planet who shouldn’t be afraid of Saint John.”



“Lock and load, little darlin’,“ bellowed Joe as he gunned the engine.


Joe Ledger is my Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. I’m hanging with him! He’s got grenades and shit!

Quite an emotional ending , that had me sucking back a few. Jonathan knows how to hurt the readers feelings with how tough he can be on his characters hearts. He hurts my heart, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Jonathan brings human chaos and betrayal to their own kind to the fore front in this book.

Zombies are the least of this group of teenagers worries, it is their own kind that are more the monster.

By the time you finish this one, you will be crying for more.

I know I am.

I really liked Nix’s journal entries. A nice touch to the impact Tom has had on them all and what they have learnt from him.

Be warrior smart.


Benny and Nix stumble across world saving information and game plan winning equipment and a whole lot of frightening realization is waving like a flag in front of their faces.

It made no sense. Not according to everything Benny had learned in his nearly sixteen years. Since First Night everyone who died, no matter how they died, reanimated as a zom. Everyone. No exceptions. It was the way things were.

Until it wasn’t.


“A LAW rocket? God almighty, kid... where did you see that?” he asked in a fierce whisper.

Benny smiled and winked. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “It’s a secret.”

And then passed out.

I totally recommend reading this series about an endearing group of friends who will make you laugh, cheer for their survival and the little 'wins' they have on the battle field that has become their life. 

Staying alive is a tough business and so is finding the time to eat amongst all the cray cray that the world is dishing at them.

Jonathan's writing is a total zombie escapism, it's comforting knowing I am safe and sound holding a book in my comfy bed, while Jonathan puts his very brave young gang through the grinder of appalling humanity, and what some people will do when a world has gone to shit and they are looking at power and euthanasia as an answer.

That was a bloody long sentence.

Michelle

Totally psyched for Fire And Ash due for release - 3rd September 2013

Benny Imura and his friends have made it to Sanctuary, they've found the jet and they've discovered that civilization is struggling to regain its foothold in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Scientists are on the verge of finding a cure for the zombie plague. It should be time for celebration, but it's not. Benny's best friend, Chong, has been infected by an arrow dipped in the flesh of a zombie and he hovers between life and death and Dr McReady, a researcher who may have the critical formula for a cure, has gone missing. So Benny convinces Captain Ledger to mount a search and rescue mission to find the doctor and help Chong. But with the Reapers still pursuing their plan to turn all zombies into super-fast shock troops even if they can save Chong, can they save themselves? In the fourth book of the thrilling and emotionally charged Rot & Ruin series, the battle to end all battles is about to begin..

JOE LEDGER SERIES

This I gotta read!!

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....

Visit www.stmartins.com/jonathanmaberry to download the free short story COUNTDOWN

The Joe Ledger Series in Order
The JOE LEDGER series in order

This is a complete list of all of the Joe Ledger novels and short stories (so far) in the correct reading order.

COUNTDOWN
(teaser prequel to PATIENT ZERO)
Meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland task force… who's about to get a serious promotion.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter

PATIENT ZERO
NOVEL #1/Published in 2009/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.... Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382855 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382858

ZERO TOLERANCE
Short Story
This sequel to PATIENT ZERO brings Joe Ledger back into action, hunting for zombies in the deadly mountains of Afghanistan. .
Available in print in THE LIVING DEAD 2 edited by John Joseph Adams
Coming soon as an e-story
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter
DEEP, DARK
Short Story
In an underground bioweapons lab a team of scientists working to develop super soldiers instead create something that is far deadlier and infinitely stranger. Joe Ledger and Echo Team must hunt –and be hunted—deep down in the dark.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter

MATERIAL WITNESS
Short Story
A stand-alone short story that takes place in the early days of Joe Ledger’s service in the Department of Military Sciences, a top secret division of Homeland Security. Joe Ledger and the DMS must protect a Pine Deep resident spook and author who is in over his head with the wrong people and may know more than he is letting on.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter

THE DRAGON FACTORY
NOVEL #2/Published in 2010/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
Joe and the DMS go up against two competing groups of geneticists. One side is creating exotic transgenic monsters and genetically enhanced mercenary armies; the other is using 21st century technology to continue the Nazi Master Race program begun by Josef Mengele. Both sides want to see the DMS destroyed, and they've drawn first blood. Neither side is prepared for Joe Ledger as he leads Echo Team to war under a black flag.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382499 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382490

DOG DAYS
Short Story
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.
An audio exclusive story available from Blackstone, read by Ray Porter

CHANGELING
Short Story
Joe Ledger teams with a mysterious British agent named Felicity to investigate a dangerous bioweapons factory.
This story will be in Midnight Echo Magazine, May 2013.

THE KING OF PLAGUES
NOVEL #3/Published in 2011/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
Saturday 09:11 Hours: A blast rocks a London hospital and thousands are dead or injured… 10:09 Hours: Joe Ledger arrives on scene to investigate. The horror is unlike anything he has ever seen. Compelled by grief and rage, Joe rejoins the DMS and within hours is attacked by a hit-team of assassins and sent on a suicide mission into a viral hot zone during an Ebola outbreak. Soon Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences begin tearing down the veils of deception to uncover a vast and powerful secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to destabilize world economies and profit from the resulting chaos. Millions will die unless Joe Ledger meets the this powerful new enemy on their own terms as he fights terror with terror.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382502 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382506

ASSASSIN’S CODE
NOVEL #4/Published in 2012/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran, the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood. Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview. They say the truth will set you free… Not this time. The secrets of the Assassin’s Code will set the world ablaze.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Macmillan
ISBN-10: 0312552203 / ISBN-13: 978-0312552206

MAD SCIENCE
Short Story
Joe Ledger and Violin go after a kill-squad of Red Knights in this sequel to ASSASSIN’S CODE.
A short story exclusive to the LIAR LAIR audiobook anthology; available now from Blackstone Audio.

BORROWED POWER
Short Story
Joe Ledger teams with a mysterious British agent named Felicity to investigate a dangerous bioweapons factory.
A story told in two parts: A young Mr. Church teams with Lilith to hunt monsters in the sewers beneath Paris; and when that ancient evil rises again, Joe Ledger and Violin close in for the kill.
Available in eBook only for all eReaders.

A FOOTNOTE IN THE BLACK BUDGET
Short Story
Joe Ledger, Top and Bunny go to the bottom of the world all the way to the Mountains of Madness in this crossover with H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
***This story is not yet released. It will be included in the anthology THE MADNESS OF CTHULHU, edited by S.T. Joshi, spring 2014.

EXTINCTION MACHINE
NOVEL #5
The President of the United States vanishes from the White House for five hours. Next morning he is found, apparently safe and sound. Except that he claims that during the night he was abducted by aliens. A top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during a test flight. Witnesses on the ground say that it was shot down by a craft that immediately vanished at impossible speeds. North Korea’s ultra top-secret weapons research lab is destroyed by a volcano –in an area where there has not been an eruption for forty millions years. All over the world reports of UFOs are increasing at an alarming rate. Key military personnel, politicians and scientists begin disappearing. And in a remote fossil dig in China dinosaur hunters have found something that is definitely not of this earth. Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences rush headlong into the heat of the world’s strangest and deadliest arms race, because the global race to recover and retro-engineer alien technologies has just hit a snag. Someone—or something--wants that technology back.

ALIVE DAY
Novella / September 2013
Joe, Top and Bunny go deep into the Afghan desert to confront an ancient horror.
ALIVE DAY
This novella will be included in the new anthology, FOUR SUMMONER’S TALES (Gallery Books, September 2013)

CODE ZERO
NOVEL #6 / Coming March 2014
A rogue scientist takes the Seif al Din pathogen (and dozens of other deadly and exotic weapons) and begins selling them to the highest bidders. Bizarre science-based terrorist attacks tear the nation apart –and at the heart of it are new outbreaks of the zombie plague that first brought Joe Ledger into the DMS. Joe and his crew team up with Arklight (from ASSASSIN’S CODE) in a running battle that leaves a trail of bodies from Los Angeles to the steps of the White House.

PREDATOR ONE
NOVEL #7 / Coming March 2015

Also….JOE LEDGER makes cameo appearances in…

FLESH & BONE
Book #3 of the ROT & RUIN series / Available now in hardcover and eBook from Simon & Schuster

TOOTH & NAIL
An eBook exclusive set between FLESH & BONE and FIRE & ASH


FIRE & ASH
Book #4 of the ROT & RUIN series / Debuts August 2013 from Simon & Schuster)