Finally Ended: "Deep Silence" by Jonathan Maberry

Finally Ended: Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry, 2018, audio downloaded from Wisconsin Digital Library.


This audiobook kinda dragged on.

I've gotten sick of Ray Porter's narration where he chews up and spits out everything in these books. He reads these stories as a performance and I really enjoyed previous entries. But, now Porter's purposeful hamminess and Maberry's schmaltz have been getting on my nerves.

This Joe Ledger series features Joe Ledge of the super secret Department of Military Sciences (DMS) has about 12 entries. Here is the scoop: Ledger and Friends fight powerful bad guys and high-tech threats and many, many people die and Ledger as Friends save the world from destruction.

The series is very comic book but with sharp edges. There are big shootouts. Car chases. High tech guns and gear. A little schmaltzy romance and pensive introspection by the heroes. Shadowy international organizations. Jet planes flying around the world. Big disasters. Alternate realities. Mind Control. Biological terrorism.

This time aroud Ledger and company are fighting against Russians who are intent on setting off God Machines - machines using technology from an alternate reality that cause massive earthquakes - and destroying the U.S. and much of Europe. The Russians will then take over. Part of the God Machine's unexplainable technology also sends off waves of power that drives humans homicidally and suicidally insane.

An attack on Washington D.C. lives the country in turmoil. The Trump-like President is more concerned about himself and since he already dislikes the DMS he works to stop them from getting an work done. Meanwhile, the President's chief advisor is a dirty rat and working with the terrorists. Ledger and Co. have to go around the President's foot dragging and track down the No Goodniks to stop them from killing more people.

We get more shooting, stabbing, punching, bleeding, exploding, dog biting, hidden caverns, shock silences, super computers, and false climaxes as the hits keep coming. Meh, it passes the time.

Comments:
1. Some of the series regular characters barely appear in this novel. One character who is mostly absent, Rudy Sanchez, still says "Ay Dios Mio" every damn conversation.
2. The characters witty and stress relief chatter is getting on my nerves as well. Never mind all the super high technology gadgets that always work - but, I suppose this is science fiction.
3. Maberry rejects real life into parts of the novel and references Putin's screwing with our elections.