Protocol Zero

A Joe Rush Novel

By: James Abel

Narrated by: Ray Porter

New from the author of White Plague.

Marine doctor and bio-terror expert Joe Rush returns in an electrifying new arctic adventure..."sure to wow fans of Michael Crichton and James Rollins" (Mark Greaney, number one New York Times best-selling author of Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect).

When authorities in Alaska receive a disturbing call from a teenage girl, their investigation leads them to discover an entire family of researchers dead. Joe Rush is called to help examine the bodies. On the surface, it looks like a brutal murder/suicide. But the situation is nowhere near that simple - nor is it over.

Upon closer investigation, Rush discovers the terrifying truth. The research team has fallen victim to something that seems impossible at first, yet the evidence looks undeniable in the lab. Now the danger may threaten thousands more.

Unfortunately, he’s not the only one with knowledge of the looming disaster. The army has cordoned off part of Alaska, and Rush soon finds himself the target of trained killers. Someone suspects Rush of betraying his country. To save countless lives - starting with his own - Rush must uncover the answers hidden in the Arctic. The question is - will he find them in time?

©2015 James Abel (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"James Abel is a superb story-teller who writes intelligent and fast-paced thrillers sure to wow fans of Michael Crichton and James Rollins." (Mark Greaney, number-one New York Times best-selling author of Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect and the Gray Man novels)

“Clive Cussler fans will relish the pseudonymous Abel’s sequel to White Plague…Abel nicely blends action and science in the service of a plausible, but terrifying, plot, peopled with well-developed characters.” (Publishers Weekly)

“The science and sheer isolation of the story is gripping, and Rush is still a formidable hero.” (Associated Press)

SUPERB 5 STARS

James Abel and Ray Porter deliver beyond expectations. Everyone will love this book!!! Check out his other book. white plague

Overall pretty good but some irritating oversights

Overall, story was pretty good, and the performance was spectacular.
I was in the Marines and there are some pretty bad inconveniences in the story in that regard. I doubt anyone who wasn’t a marine would notice these, but to us it’s like dumbing cold water on someone in a hot shower. I understand this will probably seem pedantic to most, but my fellow marines will get it.

-he uses the word “clip” instead of the proper word, magazine. No one in the marines would ever refer to them otherwise.
To my knowledge, the only weapon that uses a clip is an M1 Garand, but I’m sure there are plenty of others.

-he referred to the rounds used by an M4/M16 as “.223”, which they are not. They use a NATO 5.56mm. Some “experts” may argue that they’re the same, but they’re not.
A rifle chambered in 5.56mm can fire .223 rounds, but a rifle chambered in .223 cannot fire (or even chamber) a .223 round.

-He claimed a range of 300 meters as the longest shot in boot camp, but it’s 500 meters, with iron sights. With optics, such as an ACOG, a marine and an M16 are lethal at 800 meters.

-He mentioned being fortunate his drill instructor made them reload an M9 sidearm blindfolded while in boot camp, but this is absolutely not true. Marine recruits don’t even see sidearms in boot camp, let alone train with them. In fact, I was never issued a sidearm throughout my entire stint, only a rifle.
However, it is common to be trained on tearing down and reassembling your weapons while blindfolded once a marine is in his fleet unit. For me, it was my M16, an M2 .50 cal, and a Mk19 grenade launcher. Reloading blind folded is so trivial that it’s not really worth specific training

-Another boot camp fallacy is the “night time land navigation without a compass”. Absolutely not true. Marine recruits are almost never left alone, or in pairs, to do anything. They certainly wouldn’t be asked to blindly navigate their way around Paris island, which is completely surrounded by swamps.
Secondary schooling is where land navigation would be taught, but only very basics and definitely not sent out without a compass at night. That would be difficult for veterans to do. It always looks easy in movies, but even with a map and a compass it’s very difficult to successfully navigate. Maps may show roads and major terrain features, but it’s hard to identify them on the ground, especially when there are many of them.

-he referred to Joe Rush as an “ex marine”. No marine in the world would ever refer to themselves or anyone else as an ex. It’s a macho thing that’s drilled into every recruit. “Once a marine, always a marine. There are no ex marines, only former marines”.

-the main character comments that he’s “a good soldier”. I have never heard a marine referred to as a soldier. Not once. Soldiers are in the army.

-there was a reference to the “gas operated magazine” when referring to the M4. At least he got the magazine part right that time.
The magazines are not gas operated. They have spring that forces them upward. The ACTION of the weapon is gas operated. Gas like nitrogen or helium, not gasoline. All this means is that the weapon uses the expanding gas from the round being fired (from the powder) to unlock and extract the bolt from the firing position (chambered and locked) and pushes it to the rear so the spend care can be ejected and a fresh round chambered.

-Joe also says the M4 has three round burst and full auto selections, but that’s not the case. I’m sure there are some that have full auto, but certainly not the rank and file. They have safe, fire, and three round burst.
It’s incredibly difficult to hit anything on full auto unless you’ve fired tens of thousands of rounds that way. Which is why they got rid of it after Vietnam. It took something like 40,000 rounds to kill one Vietnamese soldier in that war, on average. The marines are very much the “one shot, one kill”. Spraying rounds in full auto is a waste of ammo, is horribly ineffective, dangerous, and can cause rounds to “cook off” and fire by themselves just from the heat of the chamber after full auto fire. I actually had rounds cook off after a few magazines of three round burst in quick succession. This is why true machine guns fire from the open bolt position. No live rounds sitting in a hot chamber in danger of cooking off.

-the last one may be the biggest mistake. The marine corps does not have doctors. None. No medics either. We rely on the navy for that. There may be some random exceptions that I’m not privy to, but I have never even heard of a marine doctor, much less one toting an M4 with them. Corpsman and doctors carry a sidearm or nothing. Not rifles.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed the book and I’m about the start the third one. I just felt compelled to set a few things straight. Not that it really matters much.

Another winner

What did you love best about Protocol Zero?

I loved the entire plot. Who EVER would have thunk?

Which scene was your favorite?

Unfortunately, the scene in the hospital at the end.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't make this book into a movie. Movies are never as good.

Any additional comments?

I'm going to have to actively go out and see when Book 3 will be released. I hope it's soon.

this book was a very fun book to listen to

looking forward to more books by this author really great read great storyline I am looking forward to more stories by this author good job

Outstanding

Excellent story and narration. I’m a sentimentalist, sorry for Joe that Karen had to die.

Outstanding performance as usual. Story was a little slow

Ray Porter is an awesome narrator. Story was slow and a little too detailed. Could have moved along a little faster.

Joe Rush, medical investigator and marine

The story is plausible, mixing enough truth with fiction of a story to be engaging.

Much darker and more violent than the previous book

I love virus novels and books about breakouts. I listened to White Plague by the same author and loved the story. When I was finished I immediately got this which is a stand alone sequel.

The storyline was interesting and I enjoyed the first half a lot. The narration was great. My main complaint is this one is far darker and much more violent than the White Plague. I don’t want to give anything away but be prepared for a lot of fighting, murder and characters breaking. There is more bad language in this one as well.

The last quarter is nothing like the first half in mood or morals. Personally I wouldn’t have gotten this one if I had known before hand how it would play out.

Great Read!

I quickly became a Joe Rush fan with "White Plague".. This one, however, was twice as well written and read and I am now officially obsessed.. The mix of drama, intrigue, emotion all brought to life by the absolute GREATEST narrator in the world, Ray Porter... In my honest opinion, there wasn't anything about this book that I would change... Well, there is ONE thing but I'll read further reviews after mine to see if anyone else agrees... I can only hope and pray that James Abel continues to write this series! Either way it has been an awesome journey!

Pandora had a little lost box and now it's found

Would you try another book from James Abel and/or Ray Porter?

Yes they were able to contain the mystery throughout the book without allowing boredom to take over the story line.

What did you like best about this story?

The author always made me think?..Really can that really happen? No way that cannot happen! What? Why? How did that happen? This goes on thought the book... There are plenty of suspects and liars in the book and you never know who to trust.

Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was Protocol Zero worth the listening time?

I can only say I enjoyed the book, I only wish the ending had been expanded a little more, but maybe there will be another book that will spin off this title.