Joe Ledger is a badass cop who's about to become a badass FBI agent. He has some issues due to some terrible stuff in his past - if I remember right, something about him, when he was a teen, being forced to watch his girlfriend get gang raped, after which they both entered therapy and she eventually committed suicide. But he's found a way to turn his issues into assets. He's in perfect control of himself, and nothing and no one can take him in a fight.

But then he kills a terrorist, after which he's brought to a shadowy guy named Mr. Church. Mr. Church has him take part in a test that involves restraining a man...who turns out to be the same terrorist Joe thought he killed, only now the terrorist is a biter and stinks like rotting flesh. Joe is asked to join Mr. Church's shadowy government organization, which is trying to stop a terrorist group bent on making the United States ground zero for a zombie pandemic.

The good: As usual, I enjoyed Ray Porter's narration. This book made me wonder just how many accents he has under his belt - he got to use a lot this time around and my only real complaint was that it occasionally took him a while to get a proper handle on how some of the characters sounded (the one I'm most thinking of here is Joe's friend and psychiatrist, Rudy). The battles were usually pretty good - my favorite was probably the part at the crab processing plant. Maberry's science-based explanation for the zombies was intriguing (prions + genius mad scientist), and the new zombies introduced near the end of the book were interesting. And I was mildly amused by Mr. Church's ever-present plates of Oreos and vanilla wafers.

The bad: For a military thriller featuring zombies, this was surprisingly boring. So boring that I came very close to not finishing it in time and was forced to speed the narration up, even though I really like Ray Porter's regular narration speed. It took at least half the book for most of the action to get started.

The characters were either giant cliches or forgettable. Or both. I got tired of hearing how amazing a fighter (oh sorry, "warrior") Joe was. As much as he'd claim to not be perfect, or not be as experienced or knowledgeable as other men Mr. Church could have brought in, all evidence indicated that he was this world's number one combat machine. Grace was his enormously obvious future love interest - the one thing that surprised me was that Maberry didn't include cringe-worthy on-page "confirming we're alive" sex between Grace and Joe, just a quick mention that they'd ended up in bed together (meanwhile, I was thinking about Joe's fridged girlfriend). The book does have cringe-worthy sex between two of the villains, though.

The villains were awful. The bulk of them were stereotypical Islamic terrorists. There was also a sexy female scientist who could apparently turn men's brains to jelly with a look, and an idiot who was bankrolling the terrorists and couldn't see the flaws in his plans to get rich via religious fanatic-created zombies. The one villain who marginally interested me was Toys (no idea if I'm spelling his name right), the idiot's employee and the closest thing he had to a friend.

Also, one thing I wish Maberry had done was mention the First Lady's name sooner. Or the vice president, or president. I don't remember what the First Lady's name was, but I do remember that it confirmed that neither she nor the president were real-life people. I suspect that the entire Liberty Bell ceremony scene would have gone over a bit better with me if I had read it when this book was originally published. The thought of Mr. Church's group answering directly to the current president made me shiver with horror.

I'm glad I finished this, so there isn't even the tiniest of nagging voices in my head, wondering how things turned out. But I have zero plans to read the next book.

 

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

 

Pesto, penne, papparelle or puttaneca, the best pasta are not so hard to find. You can find so many Italian restaurants in https://businessnewsledger.com/ that harbor some exquisite pasta dishes in their menus, a little searching and you will arrive at a great choice. Since these restaurants are so many, and the options so great to sort out, we have put a small list together for your reference.

 

Pasta Emilia

In the beautiful area of Surrey Hills, this pasta restaurant harbors great pasta dishes. What makes their dishes one of the mouthwatering pastas around Sydney is the fresh ingredients they use in preparation. For over a decade, this great restaurant has been serving handmade pasta with fresh seasonal veggies and everybody loves it.

 

Fratelli paradiso

The name of this restaurant means ‘brother paradise’ and you will not be disappointed as the name implies. If you want hearty pasta dishes, this is the best lace to get it. You will want to learn some Italian to thank the cook for their exceptional skill when you’re done.

 

Il Barto

Not only do they have some of excellent pasta and pasta dishes, they servings are big, and they have been at this for years. You might have to wait for a free table to turn up but you will come to realize that the wait was well worth it.

 

Restaurant 317

The number in the name is the actual address so there’s no missing your way to have the greatest pasta you ever tasted when heading to restaurant 317. Here are so many options offered at this award-winning restaurant including vegan pasta and gluten free penne.

 

Granatas

The location of this restaurant right next to a gym might be the universe’s way of telling you when you deserve a treat. This is some of the very top-class pasta around Sydney and you will keep coming back for more after one taste.

 

ACME

Although relatively new to the game, ACME is making waves in the pasta department with a dynamic chef who has innovative ideas. The salty and creamy macaroni dish with pigs head and yolk was our favorite here, something you should definitely try.

 

Pizza Autentico

Don’t let the name deceive you, this Italian restaurant has mastered different dishes apart from pizza and pasta is way up there in the list. Hey all you can eat pasta and pizza nights are a must go since you can have authentic Italian pizza and the finest pasta within Sydney all for $20.

 

Jamie’s Italian

Jamie Oliver isn’t only good for simple cook books and a nice English accent, his chain of Italian restaurants is another point well-made. Till date, people are still bewildered by the noodle menu and just how fantastic it can be. Try one of their famous pasta dishes and live to tell the story.

 

Summary

If you are looking for a great pasts dish in Sydney, you have come to the right place. Of all the many Italian restaurants, we have searched menus from the best of the best and arrived at the above list of best pasta in Sydney.

 

Joe Ledger: The Official Companion - Dan... This was alright. My mom picked it up because she's a massive fan of the Joe Ledger series and, as usual, I stole it from her and read it as soon as I was aware that she had it.

I can't really put my finger on why I'm kind of just 'alright' with this, so I'll just leave it with some thoughts.

-The 'introduction' of the interviewer just didn't hit the right note for me. Most of the interviewer's questions had me going "Really? You're supposed to be composing the history of the DMS, and these fanboy-ish, 5th grader level questions are what you're asking? REALLY?
-The character interview ANSWERS had me cracking up up at times. Especially Bunny's.
-I had no clue there was cookie code. Whilst I am somewhat delighted by the knowledge, I have zero desire to figure it out.
-The descriptions and sometimes pictures of the weapons were actually really helpful. Like "Honey Boom Boom" was something I was never able to visualize in my head.
-It feels like at least half of this is devoted to summarizing the events in all the books and stories, and while that's helpful for the short stories I haven't read, the pages upon pages of regurgitating the novel plots were something I just skimmed over.
-The 'friends in the industry' was an interesting aspect. I don't think I ever actually fully read any of the mini-profiles, but I can appreciate the shout-out to their fellow authors.
-I liked the interview with Ray Porter. Because I love the audio books, the voices he gives to the characters ARE the voices of the characters to me. Joe, Top, Bunny, etc. When I'm thinking about them for any reason, I'm hearing their voices through him.


Note: There were more than a few mistakes that a proofreader should have caught (most often with the first letter in a word just being completely missing).

Note2: My mom and I have spent way too much time fancasting Church. I would have loved to have seen who Maberry had in mind. Then I could have argued with her some more over it. LOL

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

I'd never heard of Twin Magic before finding this in the Little Free Lending Library. I was intrigued by the cover so I picked it up. It was kind of weird and definitely not what I was expecting, but I could see how children would enjoy it (especially those who like glitter). It could easily be a hit with fans of My Little Pony and Care Bears. 

The story itself (lost tooth) is one that has been told time and time again in children's literature. This one just adds super-hero-style elements to the story. I did enjoy the girl empowerment woven into the story (and the subtle way the twins reject Toby's help). A nice was to introduce girls to the idea that they can do anything. 

I did think the girls' powers were a bit weird (couldn't they have just asked Rosie to fly up and get the tooth instead of creating an elaborate, doomed-to-fail plan to have her stand guard while they use their mind powers to get the tooth?), but to each their own I guess. 

A weird story, but still good. This is a cute beginning to a series. 

I kind of can't even handle how ridiculously pulpy this series is so far. Patient Zero pretends to a kind of scientrism, wherein the zombie outbreak our intrepid heroes race to thwart has, like, a modicum of scientific plausibility, I guess. Baltimore cop and chiseled jaw hero Joe Ledger gets tapped by one of those shadowy X filesy governmental organizations to track down a terrorist with a name like The Jackal. The leader of said alphabet soup organization eats cookies as his ominous tic; Joe has to murder a terrorist twice in a week; international pharma phuckers are the absolute worst. Patient Zero is good fun, with lots of kickass and a fullblown zombie outbreak to salve your need for bloodshed. 

 

But it's The Dragon Factory which really swings for the cheap seats. There's literal Nazis, genetically engineered chimera, Neanderthals, evil albino twins with a side of incest, clones, and more, so much more. SO MUCH MORE. I kept cackling through this novel, unable to believe how fucking bonkers everything was, and just when I got a handle on it, it would get MORE BONKERS. Uff da, I haven't had as much fun with something this silly in a long time. I'm going to read the shit out every single Joe Ledger novel as long as they stay this goofy,