"If they have to call Joe Ledger - it's already hit the fan."
I love that line from the back cover of Joe Ledger: Special Ops, the new book of short stories from Jonathan Maberry. If you've never read a Joe Ledger book (there are six in the series, with more on the way), that line does a good job of telling you what to expect. Ledger leads Echo Team, an elite anti-terrorism squad that only rolls out for the most dangerous of missions. Why am I writing about him on FEARNET? Because Maberry throws Ledger and his crew at threats composed of off-kilter science, mutations, tampered genetics, shape-shifters, zombies... you know, real mad scientist stuff.
If you haven't read any of the novels, this is a great way to get a taste and see if it's your kind of thing. These stories (seven reprints and two brand-new tales) weave in and out of the series, and there are spoilers for several of the books along the way, but there are notes at the top of each story that warn you when you're entering spoiler territory. There's also a handy guide at the back that lays out the entire series of novels and short stories in chronological order. That being said, all of these stories work just fine on their own."Countdown" serves as a prequel to the entire series, introducing Ledger to the kind of exotic threats he'll soon be facing on a regular basis while immediately establishing the character's gritty, no-nonsense attitude.
"Material Witness" takes Ledger and his team to Pine Deep, the setting of Maberry's terrific horror trilogy (Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man's Song and Bad Moon Rising), where they're on the hunt for a thriller writer whose realistic ideas for mass destruction are attracting the wrong kind of fans. It's a great showcase for Maberry, who shows how strong he's become at writing action while reminding us that he's no slouch when it comes to creeping readers out.
Another standout is "Changeling," which takes us down into a nightmarish underground lab where experiments in human transformation have gone horribly wrong. This one centers on some huge spoilers for the series as a whole, but it's a perfect example of how richly Maberry has developed the world and its characters thus far.
That characterization is an important part of what makes this collection, and the series as a whole, work so well. It would be easy to make the Joe Ledger series all about the plot, but Maberry is not content to stop there. All of his characters feel real, but Ledger in particular is a triumph. He's a man who operates according to a high code of honor, who does not hesitate to kill but doesn't kill lightly; he understands the gravity of taking another person's life, just as he understands the consequences of failing to do so. He's our anchor, our window into his world, and it's important that we relate to, and empathize with, him and the decisions he has to make. Under Maberry's guidance, we do — and then some.
My only complaint about Joe Ledger: Special Ops is a minor one about the cover. I really wish JournalStone had gone for something more like the edgy, distinct design St. Martin's Griffin uses on the Ledger paperbacks instead of the generic photo cover they went with. But, truly, the only important thing is what comes after the cover, and in this case there's absolutely nothing to complain about.
Joe Ledger: Special Ops by Jonathan Maberry will be released April 25 from JournalStone Publishing.
Blu Gilliand is a freelance writer of fiction and nonfiction. He covers horror fiction at his blog, October Country, and contributes interviews to the Horror World website. Follow him on Twitter at @BluGilliand.