Zombie Fallout 1 by Mark Tufo

Zombie Fallout 1
by Mark Tufo
324 Pages
Published by CreateSpace February 5, 2010
Genre: Zombies, Horror, Humor

Reviewed by Paul (The Audiobook Reviewer)

It was a flu season like no other. With the H1N1 virus running rampant throughout the country, people lined up in droves to try and attain one of the coveted vaccines. What was not known was the effect this largely untested, rushed to market, inoculation was to have on the unsuspecting throngs. Within days, feverish folk throughout the country convulsed, collapsed, and died, only to be reborn. With a taste for brains, blood, and bodies, these modern-day zombies scoured the lands for their next meal. Overnight the country became a killing ground for the hordes of zombies that ravaged the land.

This is the story of Michael Talbot, his family, and his friends: a band of ordinary people trying to get by in extraordinary times. When disaster strikes, Mike, a self-proclaimed survivalist, does his best to ensure the safety and security of those he cares for. Book one of the Zombie Fallout Trilogy follows our lead character at his self-deprecating, sarcastic best. What he encounters along the way leads him down a long dark road, always skirting the edge of insanity.

Can he keep his family safe? Can he discover the secret behind Tommy's powers? Can he save anyone from the zombie queen? Encircled in a seemingly safe haven called Little Turtle,  Mike and his family, together with the remnants of a tattered community, must fight against a relentless, ruthless, unstoppable force. This last bastion of civilization has made its final stand. God help them all.

I painstakingly choose Zombie Fallout: Zombie Fallout, Book 1 for several different reasons. It was a newer zombie audio book, it was the first in a series of zombie audio books, the publishers summary seemed interesting, almost feeling like a new take on the genre, it was available at Audible.com, and the image on audible captured my attention. So I dove in head first without knowing what to expect except for zombies, as you know or will find out by reading more of my reviews, I am a sucker for zombies, and I was hoping for a lot of them.

I really enjoyed the fact that Zombie Fallout: Zombie Fallout, Book 1 is an atypical zombie story. By not believing that it’s a super serious literary achievement, immediately I knew that this was going to be an entertaining journey. Mark Tufo has realized that zombie novels should be fun, engaging, exciting, suspenseful, and has hit the nail on the head. Even made me laugh out loud on several occasions, to the surprise and mortification of my coworkers. I found the way that that the zombie "virus" spread through the population different and intriguing but not unique. By the way this is the exact reason I have never and will never get a flu shot willingly. Tufo tells his gory tale through the eyes of a white, smart-alecky, ex-military, self-proclaimed survivalist, almost douche-baggy Michael Talbot. Who’s trying to protect his family and friends from the zombie hordes. There was a moment that I had me thinking that this apocalypse was going to go in a different direction than most...

Sean Runnette is one of those narrators that make me think that I will hate everything about the story, just because of his horrible nasally, whiny voice. As The Guilded Earlobe, a fellow reviewer puts it "As the story opens, my first thoughts when hearing Sean Runnette’s voice was that he sounded like Ray Romano with a traumatic brain injury. Yet, as I got deeper and deeper into the story I started to realize that Michael Talbot sort of acted like Ray Romano with a traumatic brain injury". He couldn't be more right on with what I was thinking, just stated way more eloquently than I ever could. In the end I really enjoyed Sean Runnette narration and will be listening to the next installment of the Zombie Fallout, hopefully, very soon.

About the Reviewer:

Paul was sucked in to the world of audio books not necessarily by choice but by necessity . One day at work he needed something to stimulate his brain will toiling away in front of my 3 computer screens. He tried music but that gave him a headache after a while. Then he had an epiphany, “I should listen to audio books”, he thought. And there the journey began. 

Paul is not a professional writer or reviewer or book critique. He is a self proclaimed simple man from the Midwest of America that likes to speak his mind and often has trouble writing about what is on his mind. Find more reviews at http://audiobookreviewer.com

You might also like: