RELENTLESS
Release Date: 07/13/21
By Jenny Robinson
** This article will have minor spoilers to previous books **
Over the past 12 years, we have followed Joe Ledger’s mission in preventing one possible apocalypse after another. From keeping a lid on Sief Al Din all the way through to RAGE, Ledger and Echo/Rogue teams have stopped the world from becoming ashes. Strangely in those years and books, I find it easy to forget how Joe has always been rooted in tragedy, redemption and revenge. What has drawn me to this written evolution of Joe is that his redemption is based within honor and promise. His revenge is ultimately granted but at a price. His tragedy is forever on going, yet in spite of it all we can win. He can still see the light.
Relentless felt different. Relentless is exactly that…relentless.
Let’s start this by saying that I believe this book is completely about Joe, and not so much about Ledger. Not Cowboy or Outlaw. No matter which direction, Book 2 of Rogue Team International focuses more on Joe’s internal war and the effects it has on his relationships. To date there are well over 25 stories that involve Joe. Even though each story has been co-piloted by his Modern Man, the Cop and the Killer (depending on who is telling the story - The Warrior), Joe has always been behind the wheel. Relentless flips that concept on its head.
We have walked “through the valley of the shadow” so many times before with Joe. Each step showing more and more cracks in his patched up veneer. An example I keep thinking about is the events at the end of The Dragon Factory where Joe was left riddled in pain after the loss of Grace, only to be followed by the short story Dog Days with the introduction of Ghost. Ghost’s and Ledger’s story both start rooted in revenge, inadvertently leading to a journey of healing and vindication. The events leading up to Relentless were larger and way more damaging. As readers, we feel we know Joe Ledger. When he is knocked down, he will get back up. We’ve seen it over and over again. This book was the first time I feared how, and if he would actually get back on his feet? What state of mind would/could we find him in? In some cases, dramatic foreshadowing to the events can be found in those previous books. In The King of Plagues, Mr. Church tells Joe “We are of a kind, Captain, and neither of us is holding a candle against the darkness. Like the unknown and unseen enemy we fight, people like you and me, we are the darkness.”
This fourth passenger now in Joe’s head “The Darkness” is fueled and fed by the mutual loathing between Ledger and Santoro. Rafael Santoro has been a constant since his introduction with the Seven Kings. The proven confidence of the Spaniard has always played out in a sort of background sense. RAGE/Relentless brings that to the foreground. The absolute hatred Santoro and Ledger have for each other became paramount. Santoro has always been a force but somewhat shadowed by the larger names like Hugo Vox and Kuga. With Rafael directly murdering Joe’s family, he struck the most disruptive personal blow Joe has ever taken. Personally speaking, Kuga took a back seat in this story. Kuga's self-confident attitude in comparison to Santoro’s self-assertiveness cannot compete. Santoro is and always has been a monster.
I enjoyed how Joe’s story is told largely by others in Relentless. It has that “outside looking in” sensibility. The supporting cast show more of who Joe Ledger truly is than he ever could. It refreshes the importance of family and simple togetherness. There are so many examples of sacrifice within this story which drives in the importance of that fact. In my unexpected surprise, some of my favorite parts was in Toy’s development in Relentless. I believe it is some of the most enlightening and captivating character growth. Toys possesses a lot of parallels with Ledger. Both men’s love toward Junie Flynn being a big reason for both’s salvation. I wonder how Toys would have landed if he grew up with a support system like Joe, or how Joe would have turned out vice versa. Those conversations between those who love or hate Joe felt to me like closing the circle of the tragic events at the end of RAGE. Those secondary character’s role in that support circle being the deciding point on how and if Joe can overcome his obstacles, and see the light again.
The surprising twist is the inclusion of Mr. Sunday within the terrifying evil and science that exists in this world. The supernatural throwbacks and wicked wrongfulness Mr. Sunday brings only add to the terror. This has me excited and mortified for what happens next. Concerning (you know who), I feel our beloved characters are waiting for the other shoe to drop. The idea of his return is almost unbearable.
This unabated story started early with the tech of Dog’s of War, and ultimately joined with the bio-terrorism in Rage. That convergence will take time to recover from. My only question is… will they all be able to? Will the stakes of the war continue to grow, and become impossible? The past always finds it’s way back.
In conclusion, let’s continue the previous quote above from Mr. Church to Joe Ledger,
“In some ways we are more like the things we're fighting than the people we're protecting. Granted our motives are better--from our perspective--but we wait in the shadows for our unseen enemy to make a move against those innocents with candles. And by that light we take aim.”
For more coverage, please check out Matt’s (Two Broke Geeks) review Fourteenth Interlude: Matt Reviews Jonathan Maberry's "Relentless"
Find more about Jonathan Maberry at www.jonathanmaberry.com