Dark of Night - Flesh and Fire

Dead of Night #2.5

by Jonathan Maberry, Rachael Lavin, Lucas Mangum

Dark of dead rose. We fell.The survivors are trapped in a world of monsters who prey on the helpless. Some of them are zombies…but they are not the only predators who feed on pain and suffering.DARK OF NIGHT is a story of worlds in collision. Three heroes who have survived the apocalypse are in a deadly race to save a busload of children from ravenous zombies and ruthless human scavengers.This brand new novella brings together three of New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry’s award-winning novel series.Captain Joe Ledger (PATIENT ZERO and CODE ZERO), Officer Desdemona Fox (DEAD OF NIGHT and FALL OF NIGHT), and Rachael Elle (BITS & PIECES, a Rot & Ruin novel) are caught between an endless wave of the living dead and an army of corrupt men who want to enslave the last human survivors.Jonathan Maberry teams with debut novelist Rachael Lavin to tell a sweeping story of adventure, horror, and heroism.Flesh and the midst of a midlife crisis, Todd is haunted by Chloe, the lover who died not long after their relationship ended. When Chloe escapes Hell in search of the peaceful rest that has eluded her, a demon named Samael is on her trail and she needs Todd’s help. While on the run Todd and Chloe face demons real and personal, soul-threatening danger, and their long-buried feelings for each other.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2016

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

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Dark of Night': Review originally posted on audible (April 3, 2018).

Mayberry is nothing less than a creative phenom! All three books in this series are like being on a nonstop rollercoaster which is always in the motion of a free-fall. The amazingly descriptive graphics, combined with well written, dynamic characters came together flawlessly - creating the perfect listening experience.

Des Fox was refreshing as the lead female protagonist, and I love her pull no punches authenticity. She's a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman, who can mouth off like a sailor with her fellow brothers in blue without ever missing a beat! Just a super funny, take no prisoners kind of gal, who had me laughing out loud quite a bit while listening to her clever, rapid-fire quips and retorts - which she shot off at whoever was aggravating her at that moment in time. That being said, she also has a softer, compassionate component to her personality, and all three of these factors combined together made her one of my favorite characters throughout all 3 books.

Much thanks for the opportunity to experience Joe in a whole different environment and circumstances and showing another side to his already charismatic and fetching personality. He still kicks bum like nobody's business and I look forward to many more adventures with him once he rejoins his posse (Top, Bunny, Ghost, etcetera.) as they go out to save the world from nefarious evildoers....yet again. - Hooyah!

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella takes us back to the world of Rot & Ruin and Fall of Night and merges the characters. Desdemona Fox, Joe Ledger, and Rachael Elle all come together to rescue a busload of children from the monsters. No.... Not the zombies. The vile men who take women and children and make them slaves and use and abuse them.

I loved the banter between Joe and Des. And Rachael is an absolute delight in her cosplay hero costume.

But to top it all off... Ray Porter narrates! He’s the bomb!

[myreadingescapism · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short novella for the Dead of Night series, but the best part was Mr Ledger making an appearance. This series needed your help in book 2.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, incredibly great characters and a nice backstory for ones we've met before. Pretty gruesome, though. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I love this world - full of horrible people and zombies!

Ray Porter really makes this story. His audio performance is stellar.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a step of the first two novels. Nothing really happens besides the mixing of stories published by Maberry. From Joe ledger to Elle ( the three characters from his series) the last is the hero of this Desdemona.

Every writer that tries to create enemies not zombies on a zombie apocalypse is always the same thing. White men (usually KKK) it's like the authors are afraid of making a black man or group, evil. Because they are always afraid of being called racist. So they go the easy way..enfin..boring story that belongs to a walking dead spinoff lol

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:

I've read a lot of Maberry's work and the ones I enjoy the most are the ones with Joe Ledger & his group. Des is like Joe's twin. They're a lot a like. LOL

2 Thumbs up for Author Notes! I have a better handle on why Rachel Elle is being written by Rachael L. I'm willing to give her own work a try.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all friends here, right? Yes, we are, so I feel this is a safe place. I have to confess that I have a full on literary crush of Joe Ledger. I would seriously like to have his "book babies."


Thank you for listening to me.

[Jenny Robinson]

I love how well the various stories from Maberry's books merge in this on. There was a great mix and comparable likeness between The Ranger (Captain Joe Ledger) and The Cop (Dez Fox). I can't complain with a story about a couple of badasses. This was a great "in between" story if you love the Ledger novels and the Dark/Dead of Night series. Thumbs up!

[Alondra Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

*sigh*

Reading this, knowing what will happen in the Joe Ledger series (RTI series); is melancholy at best. Even with all of the action; you know its the end. Of course, with Joe Ledger, it is never really the end. His presence is so steadying in all of the novels; even when you think he's been bested. He rises again. Sometimes its with a new team, new dog; but the same old Joe.

Of course, in this particular series, we have Dez Fox as the main antagonist. No matter how far we get into the books, I do not like her. At some point, yeah, I guess she means well; but she is a wreck of a human being. At her best, she is no Joe Ledger.

This is an in-betweener, and I need more from this series. Regardless of not liking the MC; this story fills in the gaps between Joe and the Rot & Ruin series. It gives us info as to what happened the night it all ended.

Highly recommended

p.s. This is a dual novella. The work of another author w/no association to Dead of Night series is on the backside, and that work was not a part of this review.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

It took a while to get going, and most of the POVs that weren't Ledger were a little lacking, but it was fast-paced and violent.

[Tim Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark of Night- 4 stars
Flesh and Fire 5 stars- it was awesome

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the latest volume of Journalstone's Doubledown series in which two short novels are presented back-to-back in the style of the old Ace Doubles. Flesh and Fire is a story of death and loss and second chances, well-written but not particularly memorable in that there wasn't anything there that didn't seem pretty familiar. Dark of Night is a new short novel following the adventures of the excellent Des Fox and her attempt to escape and survive the zombie apocalypse. She's the classic hero in spite of herself, and here joins forces with Maberry's most famous character, Joe Ledger. This book does a lot towards tying all of his original works together. The bad guys are as bad as they can be, we find out that Bunny and Top survived and are presumably still out there somewhere, there's an interesting fannish character hero (who seems the have the same name as Maberry's co-author on this book), and best of all the descendant of Joe's dog is a major player. Put on Wagner for some background music and get out the popcorn!

[D.K. Hundt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhh, there’s nothing like being dropped headlong into a Zombie apocalypse—smack dab in the middle of chaos, the setting co-authors Jonathan Maberry and Rachael Lavin place the reader into at the beginning of, DARK OF NIGHT.

Don’t worry; our heroes are armed, but so is the evil among the living.

Side Note - I Love the Badass Women in this book!

If you survive to the end of DARK OF NIGHT unscathed—then welcome to FLESH AND FIRE by Lucas Mangum, wherein you enter a different kind of Hell.

Thank you, Lucas Mangum, for providing me with a copy of his book FLESH AND FIRE. Though I wasn’t able to find a link on Amazon for readers to purchase his book separately, I decided to buy DARK OF NIGHT - FLESH AND FIRE, part of JournalStone’s DoubleDown Series. I, for one, am glad I did.

I Loved Them Both and Highly Recommend!

[WendyB · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great to read more about these characters. I wish this had been much longer but it will help tide me over until the next installment of the series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desdemona Fox was part of a caravan of buses transporting children out of her hometown. Unfortunately, they were separated from the rest and stranded by an EMP. She has to find a sace place for the kids before they are eaten by zombies or killed by scavengers. Joe Ledger is travelling with his dog, helping those who need help and killing those who hurt others. Rachael Elle used to be a cosplayer and now is a warrior against the undead. She is part of a community and seeks to find people who need help. All of them will eventually meet up and find themselves fighting against a very human threat.

Dark of Night is a novella continuation of the Dead of Night series, falling in between the second and third books. It's a nice piece to fill in gaps, but isn't really necessary to the story. Dez and Joe are from previous stories and Rachael is a brand new character. Dez is one of my favorite characters ever. She does what needs to be done, even murdering adults who make noise after many warnings of the danger. To save the children, she painted the bus with zombie blood to keep them away and kept them safe until she knew it was time to leave. Joe Ledger is a strong soldier struggling to keep his humanity after losing his family and killing to many zombies and degenerates. Rachael is a former cosplayer who sharpened elven knives and a sword to fight orcs (what she calls zombies) and uses the heroes of science fiction and fantasy as inspiration to keep fighting and keep saving people. Each character brought something different to the story and had a different perspective on the situation.

Many things have happened since the last book. The government thought it somehow prudent to set off nuclear bombs and EMPs to slow the spread of the disease. It only really creates radioacive zombies, horrible weather, and kills what few vehicles were left. The zombies have some new behaviors that they exhibit as time goes on. They seem to be attracted to each other and travel in packs. Smell, sight, and sound make them swarm towards something, moving rather slow and shuffley. As with the previous books, a worm parasite causes this disease and spreads through bodily fluids. The previous installment made it airborne, causing every corpse to turn after death. These developments moved the storyline forward and explained how the characters start this story.

Dark of Night is a colorful novella that combines disparate characters against a common foe. My biggest problems were in the very poor editing (numerous misspellings and grammar mistakes) and in the human enemies. They may as well have been zombies because they blended together in a horde of people calling themselves the Nu Klux Klan. No one stood out and they all acted exactly the same: attacking, slaving, pillaging, and generally being horrible. I wish they were a little different or stood out in some way. The development of the main characters and the world building were all great, but this aspect stood out to me as being a bit lacking in comparison to his other works. It was still enjoyable and I can't wait to read the followup, Still of Night.

[MarytheBookLover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a zombie apocalypse book for the ages. I found it interesting how these heroes came together and survived. From Des's heroic efforts to get some kids to some kind of safety in this new world to Rachael's heroic efforts to help any survivors she could. Joe was thrown in for good measure yet he was the most interesting because of the dog. I know that this book has several before and after books to catch you up to speed on what was before and what happens after but I didn't feel like I missed anything. I liked how they all were grouped into fighting and winning against the NKKK. Which is absurd but happening in this new world. The book was quick-paced and satisfying. I give it 4 stars.

[Tyff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read and makes me want to start the Joe Ledger series. Not as good as the others in this series, but only because it is so short.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard zombie fare with characters I’ve grown accustomed too. Easy, fast read.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Massively disappointed, but I've been getting retrospectively more down on the Night series and timeline. I am a very enthusiastic Maberry fan--think he is one of the best authors out there currently in regards to horror, that he is second to none when it comes to writing action, and he winds up exploring a lot of new ground when it comes to something that has been well trodden. I also though would like to see his work elevated a bit--I know a lot of horror comes from something of a gonzo background, but lately it feels like more typos and plot holes and grammatical errors, instead of less. And this book, which I'm not sure totally classifies as a book--maybe novella--is just 172 pages--and it looks like it was a writing collaboration done to help foster a new writer--which is nice of Maberry. Seems he does an awful lot to help showcase and promote other authors.

Anyways, this book felt a little on the lightweight side. It starts raising one question and brings up others:

Joe Ledger series: Now
Night Series: 15 Years in Future
Rot & Ruin: 29 Years in Future

I'm just not going to think about the timeline and how everyone is running into everyone else anymore. This book all takes place in about a day, maybe less. The intrepid busty heroine Desi Fox is stuck on the road with a school bus full of kids and needs to find shelter. A cosplaying Amazonian is also out on the road with her trusty sword surveying the land for her party of nerds. And a young girl is fleeing a packful a rapists, with a grizzly old Joe Ledger on her heels. Is he trying to save her? Or is he trying to rape and murder her? She doesn't really try to find out. Nor does any woman in this book for one smart reason...

The hills are alive with rapists. Hundreds of maddened pedophile crazed rapists roaming the highways. Oh and a lot of zombies too. Basically the three women and a bus load of kindergartners have to fend off literally hundreds of rapists over the course of the night--luckily for them, the house they are holed up in only has two entrances, and the rapists are nice enough to come in head first through the window slowly one at a time, giving them ample time to cut off limbs with swords. This is not the only book that has bugged me when it comes to this (see one of my many complaints about The Strain series)--how many limbs can you hack off before 1) you get too tired 2) the sword gets too dull and 3) people stop coming in single file and just burn the house down?

Meanwhile, Joe Ledger is prowling around all sneaky Rambo like, creating more zombies in the chaos but... I think horror in general and apocalyptic books in particular go to the rape well once too many times. This isn't like Piers *shudder* Anthony and it also doesn't leer at it like I think some of Joe McKinney's books do, but I think it also took it very lightly. The action itself felt almost like Sailor Moon fighting off perverts, because of how unrealistic it felt--and slightly cheesy--and while rah! girl power! women rule was the message! it also felt underwhelming. Pretty much every man outside of Joe Ledger was someone to shoot before any zombie and it gets tiring I think to see rape as an easy plot point. Also, the villains had zero sense of self preservation--purely evil for the sake of evil--if any of the pack of Nu-Klux-Klan had a name, I forget it, but they were only really a threat collectively, there was no narrative showing what was happening with them.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for Lucas Mangum’s Flesh and Fire. I haven’t gotten around to reading Dark of Night yet, but I’ll hopefully get to it soon.

In this supernatural romance story, Todd loses his ex-girlfriend, Chloe, to a heroine overdose. Decades later, when he’s settled into a less-than-satisfying domestic situation with a wife and a couple kids, Chloe returns with a demonic entity in pursuit. Now Todd must find a safe haven for his former lover so that she can fully escape the tortures of hell and find peace.

What this short novel does right out of the gate is subvert our conventional understanding of the Judeo-Christian dichotomy between heaven and hell. Too many stories about the afterlife have a hard time avoiding cliché, but Mangum introduces a refreshing mythology and manages to make a tired concept both interesting and engaging.

I’ve heard this book compared to the television series Supernatural, and while I do agree with the comparison, I also feel that it has a lot in common with Clive Barker’s early novels, most notably Cabal and The Damnation Game. It shares the same seamless marriage between horror and fantasy. At the same time, despite its modest length, Flesh and Fire is also a family drama, a tragic love story and a tale about redemption. Even though Mangum is playing with so many pieces he successfully keeps the story tightly under control. It never feels unbalanced or unfocused.

One issue I had with the book is that I felt it would have benefited from more distinctive POV shifts. The voice, diction and delivery, remains the same throughout the story, even though its chapters are clearly designating POV shifts similar to what George R. R. Martin does in the Song of Ice and Fire books. The characters were so complex and nuanced, I would have liked to delve further into their personalities, and see their voices emerge through the prose.

In a similar vein, the villain was a bit of a mixed bag. Toward the beginning he straddled that thin line between tragic figure and villain, but as the story progressed, his somewhat sympathetic origins took a back seat to the purpose-driven, evil-side of his persona.

But these are minor complaints: Mangum’s first novel is an excellent read. It’s an emotional freight train from beginning to end, a supernatural love story told through an extended chase sequence. Lucas Mangum is going places and this book is solid proof of that. I can’t recommend it enough.

[Darren Dilnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's not enough stars in the night sky to even come close to rating a Jonathan Maberry \ Ray Porter \ Joe Ledger fusion. I've got to say it. There is no better writer of apocalyptic action that Jonathan Maberry. In fact he's not only first, he's second, third....and on.
Its simply magical the way the Rot and Ruin world and the Joe Ledger world is circling in, and merging. These two series of books are without comparison, so to have characters popping up within the series makes for extra excitement. As if a boost of excitement is required.
Ray Porter is Joe Ledger! Ray carries off the humour, psychotic brutality, and humanity of Joe to absolute perfection. Absolute!
If you have never experienced any of these series, you truly, honestly need to change that.
I guess im trying to say Jonathan Maberry is my favourite author. Genius!!

[Michael Louis Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually two novellas. "Dark of Night" by Jonathan Maberry and Rachel Lavin, and "Flesh and Fire" by Lucas Magnum.
I actually picked this up to read Lucas Magnum's story. The other story was a zombie story, and I have had my fill of this sub-genre. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised by "Dark of Night" and found myself hooked right from the beginning. It's a real page-turner. Does it add anything new? Not really, but the writing is compelling and the action and suspense keeps you engaged. I was also happy to be reunited with Joe Ledger--I love the Joe Ledger novels.

I only have one complaint, they really need a better copy editor. The typos are so numerous that they become distracting.

Lucas Magnum's story was fantastic. "Flesh and Fire" hooked me from the beginning and wouldn't let me go until I finished it. I wanted more. It reminded me a little bit of Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker but it clearly has its own voice. I will definitely be looking for more work from Lucas Magnum.

MLD

[Wendy Bocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read "Dark of Night" so far, not "Flesh and Fire". Absolutely loved "Dark of Night", of course - it re-visits some of my absolute favorite characters from Jonathan Maberry's various books. We get to check in again with Dez Fox, Rachael Elle (superhero) and Joe Ledger, and get a little more information regarding them. Only problem with the book is that I wanted more (usual problem with all books in the Maberry universe)!

[AziaMinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read Dark of Night to finish the Jonathan Maberry Series. I really love the way he was able to connect his 3 main series together in an interesting - although very morbid way. You get rough Joe Ledger, hard as nails Dez, and the lovable Rachel, all trying to survive the end of the world. The premise seems totally hopeless in this unforgivable world, but there is always that scrap of hope that keeps you going. Totally love it.

[John R. Dailey Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A TWO TAILED TALE IT IS..

Hello, the first tale was kick ass, of course. It was good to know Ledger is still kicking butt and taking names. The second story was kinda out there. More sad than scary. It was kind of a "if I knew then, what I know now, i would have done things differently" story. Thanks.

[Andreas Acevedo Dunlop Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Of Night was excellent - like I knew it would be. A blend of Maberry's Rot & Ruin series, the Dead Of Night series and featuring none other than Joe Ledger. Who could ask for more? Well, maybe it would be even better if it was set in Pine Deep too... :)

Flesh And Fire was good too. A bit weird, but good. It reminded me of early Clive Barker a bit.

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review here: http://tinyurl.com/z92tl5v
__________

This novella is an in your face adventure full of heart pounding action, compelling characterization and some pretty terrifying zombie action plus the struggle for survival in a chaotic world where the survivors much face not only undead monsters but also those who while still human have embraced the evil, dark side of human nature.

[Steve Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

off to a great start. read 38 pages in the first sitting. made me hate to have to quit to sleep.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was technically 2 books. Obviously I loved the Maberry one. The other one was pretty good too

[*Suzy (ereaderuser)* · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the Joe Ledger story alone. My only complaint... the typos. Why so many typos?