Code Zero (Joe Ledger, #6)

by Jonathan Maberry

[leahrosereads]

As a fangirl of Jonathan Maberry's work, I very rarely feel he does any wrong when it comes to his novels, and Code Zero is no exception to that. However, I don't feel like I'm being biased in this novel's case. Maberry did a lot right in Code Zero.

The bad guys were extremely bad, Joe and the DMS were behind throughout the novel, and although I yelled at my book when they weren't connecting the dots, I was happy with everything about this book.

Joe and the DMS had to reface a lot of the monsters of their past in this novel, and I loved seeing the Beserkers (The Dragon Factory), seif al din (Patient Zero), and the fast acting diseases from The King of Plagues making their presence known. I really have always wondered what happened to everything that the DMS has come across over the years, so I was happy this book answered that question, even though it was a bloody, disastrous outcome for the DMS.

The big bads in this book were Mother Night and her anarchist children. And boy oh boy was she just an absolute B! I loved how she was developed and the flashbacks of her story. Just phenomenal work all around on this character.

Also, VP Collins makes his presence known in this book, and while we've known he was a bastard since The Dragon Factory, and I've wanted him dead in every book he's been present in, I didn't feel his death was adequate in this. Fucking suicide! Are you kidding me? I wanted him to suffer a horrible horrible death, maybe via a room of walkers or, even more preferably, in a room alone with Mr. Church or Joe.

Outside of the main plot of the story, I really loved seeing Junie and Joe's relationship, but it wasn't overdone, which I was personally thankful for. I want to read about Joe kicking ass, not really the romantic elements of the stories. I like that it's just an undertone of the story, and that you know they love each other, and that's enough.

I also liked seeing Violin in the book, but I wish she and Arklight had been more involved in the story, especially with how thin the DMS was stretched in Code Zero. I thought they could've helped a lot, and maybe Church's pride got the best of him in this book, or he closed himself off even more, after being betrayed.

I did like that Violin saved Junie's life at the end of the book for Joe, especially since Violin is in love with him.

OK, I'm done. I feel like this review is turning into a rambling mess. Code Zero was amazing, you should read it!

Seriously, go now, get a copy!