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A review by stepriot
Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry
4.0
I was stunned by the fact that this was a solid bit of pulp. The last one was abysmal. I only picked it up because The Deep Ones make an appearance later. The things I do for Lovecraft. When I read the first one I thought I was getting into something akin to Resident Evil: pharaoh company makes zombies and we follow the misadventures of the team playing whack-a-mole. The second book was stupid but they added monsters. So I've spent the entire series waiting for a monster / zombie outbreak. I'm not sure if I enjoyed this one so much because it was actually any good or if its because I waited so fucking long to get to the good shit!
The romance as cringey as it gets. I wish these spy thrillers would stop trying with those. If your character is a set piece she'll feel like a set piece. My biggest problem with Maberry is that he has "almost character" characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Toys in the first book, then for know obvious reasons Toys changes completely for the sake of a contrived redemption arch. That man was vicious in Patient Zero in all the right ways. The inconsistency in his character really shows how little Maberry knows his characters. A very similar thing happened with another character in this book. Their first appearance is strong and they clearly have a personality. The second appearance results in them being someone completely new for the sake of the plot in an equally contrived and cringeworthy way as the "redemption" of Toys. These inconsistencies in character are a huge factor in my disdain for spy thrillers which is frustrating because I love over the top and absurd adventures. But I cannot bring myself to give a shit about anyone involved because they are all "almost characters," and now I know they will be completely different the next time I see them.
The romance as cringey as it gets. I wish these spy thrillers would stop trying with those. If your character is a set piece she'll feel like a set piece. My biggest problem with Maberry is that he has "almost character" characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Toys in the first book, then for know obvious reasons Toys changes completely for the sake of a contrived redemption arch. That man was vicious in Patient Zero in all the right ways. The inconsistency in his character really shows how little Maberry knows his characters. A very similar thing happened with another character in this book. Their first appearance is strong and they clearly have a personality. The second appearance results in them being someone completely new for the sake of the plot in an equally contrived and cringeworthy way as the "redemption" of Toys. These inconsistencies in character are a huge factor in my disdain for spy thrillers which is frustrating because I love over the top and absurd adventures. But I cannot bring myself to give a shit about anyone involved because they are all "almost characters," and now I know they will be completely different the next time I see them.