Countdown

Joe Ledger #0.5

by Jonathan Maberry

Countdown: A Joe Ledger Prequel Short Story to Patient Zero

"I didn't plan to kill anyone. I wasn't totally against the idea, either. Sometimes things just fall that way, and either you roll with it or it rolls over you. Letting the bad guys win isn't how I roll."

Meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland task force… who's about to get a serious promotion.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Zombies, Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ]

I've been planning to start Joe Ledger series for ages and this prequel seemed a good way to start. The creepy ending promises a great story.

[Julie]

It was good to learn the backstory & I enjoyed the sly humor!

[Cam]

I wish they would just combine the short stories in with the books. 🤦🏽‍♀️ This book is a before the Patient Zero zombie Apocalyptic book. I’m not a fan of the .5 books lol.

[Kimmy’s Reads!]

I read this this morning and I am excited to see where this story will go. I love true crime and the undead so combining both is a wonder. This is fabulous !!

[Panda]

Audiobook (20 minutes) narrated by Ray Porter 🤗

Ray Porter 🤗 the awesomest 🤗 jazz hands narrator has got this one.
The audio was good, without issue.

This is the prequel to the Joe Ledger series that was recommended to me by a friend. A quick 20 minute read to set the scene and I am off to Patient Zero ☣️

[Sinisa Mikasinovic]

Short introduction to the character of Joe Ledger.
Very good as well, but not meant to be a series starter.

It is a short story about the event that put Joe on the radar of DMS and what prompted Mr. Church to organize a... job interview for Ledger.

If you liked Patient Zero, you're going to like this short story as well. 5*

You may also read it before the actual series starter as it will provide a sense of continuity.

I should probably add that Patient Zero was one of the best books I read in 2015, and I'm still hooked to the series.

[Estevam (Impish Reviews)]

This one was pretty good, fast-paced, a lot of action and some intrigue that led to some of the strife on the first book, in this one we have a quick snippet of who is Joe Ledger, I'm not 100% sure but I think the beginning exists as the first few chapters of Patient Zero, still, this was a good small book.

[Unapologetic_Bookaholic]

Was this later included in patient zero? I just listened to the audio of book 1 and I feel like this was apart of the story. I do enjoy these snippets that fill out vital moments such as Mr. Church discovering Joe's uncanny ability to dispatch the enemy.

[Armina]

3.5 stars

Great action-packed short story which can be read before the main series. It's only 20 minutes in audio but I was hooked from the start. I like the style and more important - I like the MC's voice. He's calm, tough and hardly hesitates before shooting ;). I definitely want more of him and more of this story so book #1 is already in my TBR soon.

Audio Note: I'm giving half a star up because of the fantastic audio performance. This was my first listening to Ray Porter and he was great! Half of my enjoyment comes from him. Huge bonus points!

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

A good intro to the kind of guy Joe Ledger is. Definitely look forward to spending more time with him.

[Jen]

This is just a quick prequel to the events of book 1. It's always nice to have a bit of backstory.

[Di]

This was an interesting introduction to the series. Fast-paced and action-filled.

[Madeline]

Joe Ledger is the best.

[myreadingescapism]

The only problem I have with this is, it being too short. 😂

[Heather_Readsalot]

3.5

[Riju Ganguly]

This is a short but effective read that introduces Joe Ledger and his first 'special' antagonist. It was crisp, dryly ironic, and appetising.
Recommended.

[Latisha’s Low-key Life]

ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟: 𝔸 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕝 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕥𝕠 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 ℤ𝕖𝕣𝕠
𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆

Countdown is a Joe Ledger bonus short story. When a story starts with, “I didn’t plan to kill anyone,” you know you will have an action-packed story. It is a detailed and descriptive raid on a terrorist group that ends with a cliffhanger.

The different types of guns and such information went over my head, yet I felt it was well-written and would be great for gun aficionados and military thriller lovers.

[Seana Lamha]

this was cool kinda made me want to read the book patient zero

[Pete]

Segment taken directly from Patient Zero.

[Steph]

This VERY short story (literally 20 minutes) was narrated by Ray Porter. I would listen to Porter read the telephone directory, if he would do so…

Still, 3 stars. Sorry, Ray.

[Kenneth McKinley]

I'm giving Countdown 3 1/2 stars. Why? Because it's kind of an unnecessary preview to a personal favorite of mine, Patient Zero. I love Patient Zero and Countdown is kind of like a 15-20 page prelude that is pretty much the same as the beginning of Patient Zero. So, you've got one of two choices. If you're undecided on whether you want to read Patient Zero (which you shouldn't be, by the way), you can download Countdown for free and get a taste of what it is like. Or you can simply start reading Patient Zero. Want an idea of what it's about? Read my review of Patient Zero and trust me, it's a great book.


You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

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TWITTER - @KenMcKinley5

[Barry]

First off, there is virtually NOTHING in this story that isn't a part of the full 'Patient Zero' novel. In the novel, the events here are depicted in a flashback, so perhaps this is a little more fleshed-out. So, I'll admit: reading an action-packed short story was kind of fun.

Secondly, there is NOTHING in this story that has ANYTHING to do with Pine Deep! I know that one of the other novels/stories featuring Joe Ledger having something to do with that town (where Maberry's trilogy of 'Ghost Road Blues,' etc. takes place), but this one ain't such.

Finally, don't be fooled by the page count; the actual story is less than half of what Kindle presents. (Oh, eBooks...you have no love from me.)

For Joe Ledger completists ONLY!

[Chris Haught]

Here's a rarity. A prequel that can actually be read before the book it is prequelling!

But that's because most of the contents are actually in the book it's prequelling. Word for word.

This is a bit of an expansion on the introductory part of Patient Zero. Don't look for much new here, you won't find it. But it's not a bad way to burn a few minutes.

For a more satisfying short read, try Zero Tolerance, but make certain that gets read after Patient Zero, or it will seriously spoil.

[Michael Roop]

Oh crap. The world of Joe Ledger gets deeper and deeper. Here Jonathan Maberry takes Joe to the town of Pine Deep. A town Jonathan Maberry wrote a series about as well called the Pine Deep Trilogy. In this town Joe meets up with some hardcore action and ghosts...maybe? The end of this short story leaves you scratching your head and wanting more. MORE! It wasn't long enough and it was hardcore to the max. The action was tense and gripping leaving your one armed fist pumping for Joe and Echo Team!

[Barb]

This is very short. It is pretty much just the first chapter of Patient Zero and then a preview of another book-that I didn't want to read yet because I'm just starting this series.

[Vicky]

This short story is a recap if you've already read Patient Zero. It describes the events that put Joe on the radar of the DMS. It's a great one to read if you're curious about the style of the Joe Ledger series but don't want to invest a lot of time to find out if you'll like it.

[Kirsten]

The prequel to the Joe Ledger series: this is a very short snippet showing how Joe Ledger gets the job that he must have in the subsequent books. A good example of Maberry's ability to write action scenes. It gave me enough of a taste to read the others.

[Tiffany]

Very short & free. Seems like it will be a good introduction to the Joe Ledger series.

[Penny Ramirez]

Another impactful short story, this one a prequel, bringing Joe into the DMS. I love backstory!

[Badseedgirl]

This was an interesting little story, ut I'm not sure it added anything to the arc of the series.