King of Plagues--Jonathan Maberry



Another distraction in a long line of distractions that distract me from my distractions.  I wonder when I'll discover what it is I'm being distracted from.  Reading, it occurs to me, is like a long conversation between two old friends--you may start anyplace, but in the course of ranging the field, you'll cover a great deal of ground and never truly exhaust the initial topic of conversation.

Ah, well then,  The King of Plagues.  For a reasonable description think, James Rollins crossed with Matthew Reilly.  James Rollins for the fact-based scenarios and Matthew Reilly for the sheer love of military equipment.  It is this latter that I find hard to take in the Joe Ledger series of books.  So difficult, in fact, that I have not finished the first in the series--Patient Zero--dearly beloved of the Zombieists in the audience.

So, what to say without giving the house away?  Well, once again we're in plague-land--while it isn't obvious from the beginning of the book, the jacket blurb tells you that much--if the title weren't sufficient. Super bad guys, for a variety of motives--sociopathy, megalomania, greed--are bent on destabilizing governments and economies for profit.  They hit upon a scheme whereby discrete terrorist acts in various countries are targeted to begin this destabiliztion.  Enter the good guys who with various pieces of armament splatter the world back into a semblance of its bad (but not apocalyptic) self.

Overall, a good thriller read of its type.  Terrorists bent on apocalypse versus truth, justice, and the American Way.  And, of course, the latter wins.

Reasonably good prose and good plotting make this a wonderful diversion--a great beach read for those who crave something in the line of thriller/action.  ***1/2

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