Dogs of War

by Maberry Jonathan

[leahrosereads]

The ninth book of the Joe Ledger series does not disappoint this long time reader, that's for damn sure! And it get's all the stars! Every damn day of the week. Stars for days!

Sure, it follows what has worked for past novels in the series by using a very well known formula (if you read these books). Something horrific is happening, Joe and the DMS come to the party late, shit gets crazy, shit goes down, and it feels like there's just no way the good guys will win.

In DOGS OF WAR, the reader get to see some of the worst technology yet. I didn't think we could see much worse than what went down in The Dragon Factory (which until this book, I believed had the scariest technology/science), but DOGS OF WAR takes the cake. I think what makes this book so much more frightening is how believable all the technology really is (and how much is already out/in development/in process of going live).

And no matter how terrifying it all was, it was awesome to read about. I think that's just how I view technology and new scientific discoveries in general. Terrifying but awe-inspiring. So much good comes out of both fields, that even when the bad stuff hits the market, it's hard to argue against. I mean, just look at all the good it does too? Ya know?

Anyway, the technology is just one of the elements I thoroughly love about the Joe Ledger series, and this one in particular.

The other of course, is our wonderfully damaged main character Joe. From his fucked up humor to his relentless drive to solve any mystery, to his ruthlessness when it comes to the bad guys, I just can't get enough of him. A lot went down in the last book (Kill Switch) that I didn't know if Joe and the Echo team would recover. It's one thing I really appreciate in these books too, the consequences from previous books are not only prevalent in the next book, but part of the larger plot/world building/character development of the next book. It all ties in together.

DOGS OF WAR is no different in that realm, of course. I will say where past books have felt like team books, DOGS OF WAR felt mostly like a Joe story. We got to see some character development for my two favorite members of Echo Team (Bunny and Top), but for the most part, Joe was center stage. Not that I minded. We also got to see Joe at what may have been his most vulnerable in any novel to date.

It did make for a sometimes awkwardly paced book though, because of it. While we got to see what Bunny and Top were doing (plus of course, seeing into the past and present of the big bads), when those have happened in past books, it didn't feel like such a pace destroyer, as it did in this one.

Maybe it was just how I was reading it, and needing to stay in Joe's POV because so much was going down, but this time around when those chapters/interludes happened, the pace of my reading and my enjoyment glitched for a moment. And, I'd have to take a moment to adjust from the edge of my seat to a more comfy position.

Even with that though, it's not enough to knock this down to 4 stars at all. DOGS OF WAR has become my favorite Joe Ledger book to date, and I love that fact!

If you haven't tried this series yet, I really highly recommend it! While I'm sure it's not a perfect series by any means, it's as close to a perfect series as I've ever read.