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Rogue Team International #5
Red Empire
Not yet published
Expected 10 Mar 26In the next novel in the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series, the team faces new and old enemies alike as a bioengineered version of The Black Death surfaces.
Hundred of years after the first waves of the bubonic plague swept through Europe, a new, more dangerous version threatens London. Joe Ledger’s old enemy the Red Empire—reborn as a far more powerful political and military group—has bioengineered a weaponized version of yersinia pestis—the bacteria responsible for The Black Death that killed tens of millions in the Middle Ages.
As Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International race against the clock to put a stop to the Red Empire’s plans, they’re sucked into the strange and mysterious past of the man called Mr. Church. Secrets come to light that make even his staunchest allies wonder who –and more precisely what—Church really is.
With whispers of an elixir vitae—or elixir of life—circling, Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International are facing the highest possible stakes in their work together yet. As the tension builds and the balance between life and death sways precariously, it seems like tragic losses among them might be inevitable.
Hundred of years after the first waves of the bubonic plague swept through Europe, a new, more dangerous version threatens London. Joe Ledger’s old enemy the Red Empire—reborn as a far more powerful political and military group—has bioengineered a weaponized version of yersinia pestis—the bacteria responsible for The Black Death that killed tens of millions in the Middle Ages.
As Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International race against the clock to put a stop to the Red Empire’s plans, they’re sucked into the strange and mysterious past of the man called Mr. Church. Secrets come to light that make even his staunchest allies wonder who –and more precisely what—Church really is.
With whispers of an elixir vitae—or elixir of life—circling, Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International are facing the highest possible stakes in their work together yet. As the tension builds and the balance between life and death sways precariously, it seems like tragic losses among them might be inevitable.
528 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 10, 2026
3 people are currently reading
3481 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Maberry
519 books7,785 followersJONATHAN 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
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Man, what a book.
This is the 5th book in this series, but it is actually the 15th or so book in the Joe Ledger series. If you have not read any of these books, it is extremely hard to explain. Somehow, Mr. Maberry has created a world with characters and storylines that seem other worldly and supernatural while at the same time giving the readers scientific explanations on how crazy things like vampires or zombies can actually be a threat.
We are again following MMC Joe Ledger and Mr. Church as they continue the "war" against those that try to threaten or harm the innocent. The Red Order has been vanquished....or have they?
This book FINALLY gives us the back story on Mr. Church, and we get to go back into the past and follow him into the present. Even though I had a fairly good idea of what to expect, THAT in itself makes this book worth it.
Without going into spoilers, this book takes us on one heck of an adventure. Things are crazy and there is a heck of a lot going on but the chess board is being manipulated. People are being maneuvered into specific locations and when the fog clears, it is horrifying to discover how vulnerable the folks at RTI are. There is a mastermind pulling all of the strings. There were several times I realized that I was holding my breath as I was reading. Ingenious, yet spine chilling.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. This book will be out for publication on March 10, 2026.
This is the 5th book in this series, but it is actually the 15th or so book in the Joe Ledger series. If you have not read any of these books, it is extremely hard to explain. Somehow, Mr. Maberry has created a world with characters and storylines that seem other worldly and supernatural while at the same time giving the readers scientific explanations on how crazy things like vampires or zombies can actually be a threat.
We are again following MMC Joe Ledger and Mr. Church as they continue the "war" against those that try to threaten or harm the innocent. The Red Order has been vanquished....or have they?
This book FINALLY gives us the back story on Mr. Church, and we get to go back into the past and follow him into the present. Even though I had a fairly good idea of what to expect, THAT in itself makes this book worth it.
Without going into spoilers, this book takes us on one heck of an adventure. Things are crazy and there is a heck of a lot going on but the chess board is being manipulated. People are being maneuvered into specific locations and when the fog clears, it is horrifying to discover how vulnerable the folks at RTI are. There is a mastermind pulling all of the strings. There were several times I realized that I was holding my breath as I was reading. Ingenious, yet spine chilling.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. This book will be out for publication on March 10, 2026.
June 17, 2025
This is more or less the 15th book in the Joe Ledger series.
The 1st book Patient Zero was beyond amazing.
I may have read it 3 times.
Which for me is almost unheard of.
Also still reading a series with so many books in it
is a rare trick.
Maberry has managed to keep the
stories entertaining still even after so damn many of them.
Loosley summed up
this series is
James Bond
+
The X Files.
Ledger is a Baltimore cop
who gets volunteered for the DMS
(Department of Military Sciences)
(imagine Q Branch but with REALLY weird shit)
When on a Joint Task Force he is involved
with raiding a terror cell hideout
and accidentally wrassles
a zombie ( caused by a manufactured virus )
and did not die,
impressing Mr. Church the mysterious leader of the DMS.
He proceeds to fuck up more terrorists zombie and regular.
Foiling the Big Bads nefarious plan.
This time is sort of more of the same.
1) Shit happens
2) Ledger reacts
3)The traitor is revealed
4) The traitors plan is exposed
5)Joe / his team / everyone gets their asses handed to them.
6)Hope is lost as Evil seems triumphant
7)Joe / Church / Someone pulls a miracle out of their ass and saves the day
8)The villain is defeated but at what cost???
This time there is a bonus
we finally learn the origin
of Mr. Church.
And it is a doozey.
Oh and yeah I got an ARC of this, no time travel was involved ( cause occasionally some wanker will complain)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC! As an "auto-buy" fan of Jonathan Maberry, I was counting down the days for Red Empire, and it absolutely delivered. This is a phenomenal continuation of the Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International series that raises the stakes to an almost impossible level.
The plot centers on a weaponized, bioengineered version of the Black Death being unleashed on London by the reborn Red Empire. The tension is relentless as Joe Ledger and the team race against time, but the real highlight for me was finally getting some answers. We learned some truly jaw-dropping information about Mr. Church that we have been wondering about since the very first book. Seeing those long-standing mysteries start to unravel while the team faces such a global threat was incredible.
The pacing is spot-on, with consistent, pulse-pounding action that moves the plot along without ever feeling stalled. It was also wonderful to see so many characters we have come to love over the years; it feels like catching up with old friends, even if they are in the middle of a biological apocalypse.
Another amazing Maberry book that has me eagerly waiting for more!
The plot centers on a weaponized, bioengineered version of the Black Death being unleashed on London by the reborn Red Empire. The tension is relentless as Joe Ledger and the team race against time, but the real highlight for me was finally getting some answers. We learned some truly jaw-dropping information about Mr. Church that we have been wondering about since the very first book. Seeing those long-standing mysteries start to unravel while the team faces such a global threat was incredible.
The pacing is spot-on, with consistent, pulse-pounding action that moves the plot along without ever feeling stalled. It was also wonderful to see so many characters we have come to love over the years; it feels like catching up with old friends, even if they are in the middle of a biological apocalypse.
Another amazing Maberry book that has me eagerly waiting for more!
December 27, 2025
For Joe Ledger fans, this is one of the best yet. Only wish for more!
Review of advance copy
Recycled plots about bioengineerd plaques.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews