Yes! Yes! Yes! AWESOMENESS!

I have been experiencing Zombie Fallout withdrawal, I know that there are other Mark Tufo books and all of them scratches that itch of Tufo-ism I have needed but none compare to the epicness of Zombie Fallout with Mike, his family, BT + Tommy facing a Zombie Apocalypse and all that it entails.

I am a scientist at heart, a theoretical Chemist to be exact so I express myself well in the form of equation. I will use an equation to describe the narration:
Sean Runnette + Mark Tufo = Perfection!
That's just it.... Absolute PERFECTION. I don't know what fate put this author and this narrator together but to the powers that be... Thank you!

Now this book is just plain exciting... There are so many moments that you are at the edge of your seat... And if you are a true fan of the art of Tufo-ism then you find a couple references to other books in the Talbot Universe (Callis Rose reference the most obvious there) which is always a trip. You have that dry sarcasm teeming from Mike Talbot, the mismatched thought processes of Trip along with his poor wife who is just perpetually confused by her husband, the downright brutish nature of BT, the crafty and hard to kill Mrs. Denou.... With the death of Eliza, Mike has to find a new quest and the quest here is simply to find a cure for his son and his best friend. This book was the nice combination of action as well as plot development.

The book put me in a rather peculiar conundrum.... One where I couldn't help but make my way through this title, and also definitely not wanting it to end. It ended all too soon for me.... There will be more though. Thankfully there will be more! So my only problem with this title is..... I have to wait for book 8.

41 people found this helpful

hibernation does a zombie good!

Any additional comments?

i must admit i was a little leery about the direction of the story now that eliza has been killed. i mean what could be worse than a vampire with mind control powers over zombies having a serious grudge against you? so, i was a little puzzled by publisher's summary, "What he does not know is that an old foe has risen up and a more insidious threat has emerged to not just the Talbots but all of humanity." so yes, i had to google the word, insidious, just to make sure i knew exactly what it meant. i can admit that AND still keep my man card. LOL now that i think about it, wanting to know exactly what insidious means probably has more to do with my obsession with this series. at first, i thought an enemy more insidious than eliza? no way! but after i looked it up, i realized i only knew a partial meaning of the word. after learning the full meaning of insidious and listening to the story, i now agree with the publisher's summary. eliza is not insidious. heck, she'd drive a dump truck full of zombies through the word! no, i'm not going to tell you what it means. go google it. i'm not your mother.

"huh? what? take my pills?" sorry for the tangent folks. the adhd must be kicking in. LOL i'm supposed to be writing a review of the story, right? ok...on with the show...

overall, the story is very entertaining. it's more of the same- the mike and bt comedy hour, but what's new is who occasionally gets in on it- tommy! no, you're not drunk or high! yes, you're reading that right. tommy gets in some zingers. and that's one of the surprising parts of this book. tommy has changed again. in this book, he's a b@d@$$, and it was kewl to see him let loose.

the story is mostly told from mike's perspective, but interspersed b/ween his journal entries are tripp's story and mrs. deneaux's story. yes, the b!tch everybody loves to hate is still alive and doing her worst. oh will i savor it when she gets her comeuppance! believe it or not, tripp is even zanier in this book than in the previous one.

milk does a body good! so does hibernation! well, at least for zombies. good for them but not for mike and company. early to bed, early to rise makes a man, healthy, wealthy, and wise. well, hibernation does a zombie good in a really bad way for mankind. with eliza roasting over the coals, romero has left the building.

i won't say what they are, but there are a few plot threads that finally get tied together in this book. the weaving together of these threads reveals the insidious threat the publisher describes. so, not all is well in zombieland. this direction makes me a wee bit squeamish. but it won't stop me from downloading the next installment. speaking of which, the ending of this story is very abrupt, even for a tufo novel.

as for narration, i have 1 word, "runnette." 'nuff said. btw, i finally googled him, and he looks nothing like i imagined.

17 people found this helpful

I'm afraid to say it...

...but it wasn't my favorite of the Talbot Family saga.

*Dodging stones*

It felt a bit rushed. Sure, I loved hearing more from the Talbot family, BT and the return of Trip but when I heard "This is the conclusion of the audio book..." I literally said out loud, "That's it?" I literally scrubbed back to see if I had accidentally missed a few chapters.

When I run out of audiobooks to binge upon, I'll revisit this and see if my opinion remains the same.

11 people found this helpful

In typical Tufo fashion...

If you have read my previous reviews of the other Zombie Fallout books, you know I’m a big fan of the series. Tufo has a unique style in his writing; he combines the dark and gritty reality of zombies with some just as dark and gritty humor. I don’t know this for fact but it seems that Mark is a family man. There are scenes in his books that really pull at the heart, he really makes you feel what the Talbots are feeling. The scenarios these people are thrown into time and time again, become almost relatable; I care about these characters.

In typical Tufo fashion, the story picks up right on the heels of the last. Eliza is dead, and with that; there is nothing stopping the zombie virus that is still running through the veins of BT and Justin. Mike and family load up another one of his brother’s seemingly endless supply of trucks and set off to find Doc Baker. meanwhile, Stephanie and Tripp go on the road in there new bus in hopes of finding the Talbot’s home in Maine, and Dr. Baker and Porkchop are rescued by a remaining faction of the military.

Many of the zombie stories I’ve read put their main focus on other humans as the foe, and while I think it is likely that would be the case should the Zompocalypse happen, this time around though, Tufo kind of changes the game. Without Eliza around to command them; the zombies are learning, using doorknobs, and even setting traps. It adds a needed change of pace that, I think, really adds life to the series. It’s refreshing to read about truly terrifying creatures that, along with not suffering from human emotions such as fear or remorse, can actually tactically plan and learn from mistakes.

Sean Runnette takes the reign yet again for Mr. Tufo reading both the witty banter and heartbreaking inner thoughts of Mike Talbot with emotion and fluidity. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Runnette is Talbot; he is also BT, and Justin, and Tracy, and…well, I think you get the point.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

7 people found this helpful

AHHH!! And I Thought It Couldn't Get Better!!!

This addition to the series is fantastic. What i loved here is the addition of new characters, the answers of a lot of questions, and the come back of certain characters.

There isn't anything better than reading about the love-hate relationship between Mike and BT, but here you find a new kind of relationship between BT and someone else.. you will love it.

Don't worry, after the vampire's death, there is still a lot of action, and interesting development, you will love this book, too many twists, and too many jokes too.. i bursted out laughing couple of times while i was at the office.. people looked at me like am some kind of a crazy person... I just can't control myself when i read/listen to Mike and BT, nothing is better than these two guys.

The end of this book was a sudden one, and i really can't wait until the next book comes..

7 people found this helpful

Disappointed with unfinished feeling.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

First let me say I love this series. Mark Tufo is a freakin genius and Sean Runnette's narration is awesome. But this book left me with an unfinished feeling unlike the rest in the series. I enjoyed this book as much as the rest, but it left me feeling like I was watching great movie and the power went out. I had to double check that I didn't accidentally skip the end of the book some how. I hate the feeling of having to buy the next book to find out the end of a story. I never felt that way with all the other books in this series.

6 people found this helpful

Even if it didn't have Zombies....

What did you love best about Zombie Fallout 7: For The Fallen?

Zombie Fallout 7, correction ZF 1-7.... excellent writing, superb characters. It doesn't need the usual zombie hype. Mark Tufo always leaves you satisfied with the last book and wanting the next.

Who was your favorite character and why?

How can you pick a favorite when they are written so well by Mark Tufo and performed so perfectly by Sean Runnette that each one is ..... perfect. All of them, Mike Talbot, BT, every one of them... and of course Henry. Who is Henry you ask? When you read the book(s) you will love Henry.

Which character – as performed by Sean Runnette – was your favorite?

OK .... you're going to make me pick one. Michael Talbot. If you have read other reviews of any of the Zombie Fallout books you will see "Sean Runette IS Michael Talbot." over and over and over. No need to repeat it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Unfortunately, I have to eat and sleep .......

Any additional comments?

ALL of Mark Tufo books and series of books are a definite read. Start with Zombie Fallout, then you have a natural progression to the Indian Hill series then .....everything else he has written. I have several authors that are favorites, must reads, can't wait for the next book. John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Stephen King. Mark Tufo is included in that list.

6 people found this helpful

Yay! One of my favorite characters is BACK!!

Would you listen to Zombie Fallout 7: For The Fallen again? Why?

Yes, I will eventually listen to this entire series again...because it is JUST THAT GOOD!

What did you like best about this story?

John the Tripper is BACK!

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

No other person on the face of the planet could read this story like Sean Runnette does. The story is great, definitely one of my favs, but Sean's voice really brings the characters to life. Tufo & Runnette are a SUPER DUO!

Any additional comments?

The ending confused me a bit because it was so abrupt. But the extra Talbot entries helped ease my pain :-)

6 people found this helpful

Cringe-worthy dialogue killing story....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

After listening to 7 books in this series, I can't help but admit my interest level has been chipped away by the horribly cheesy dialogue- especially that written for the main character. I've noticed this with other novels: for some reason, weak dialogue you would skim right past while reading- seems way more painful to listen to when read aloud. The relentless, forced dopiness of Mike is wearing me thin.

I can get past the authors tortured metaphors, but the dialogue is so distracting that it's taking away from an otherwise entertaining series.

The other painful aspect of this story specifically is the over-the-top ridiculousness of the "Trip" story line. It would have actually been a fun single CHAPTER.... but making him a recurring story arc was a horrible decision. It's painful to listen to.

And the last frustration is the overuse of flashbacks to Mikes early life. They are superfluous to the story and really give me the feeling that the author is once again adding useless filler to stretch the story out longer than it should naturally be.

Would you ever listen to anything by Mark Tufo again?

My interest in waning.... and I LOVE this genre. I will start the next book, but if it the shortcomings of this book continue- it will be my last.

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first, I really enjoyed his performance. Actually, I still think he's doing a great job, but he's being forced to read some pretty horrific dialogue.

5 people found this helpful

The only thing bad about Book 7 is ...

it ends. Now I'm going through ZF withdrawal again and trying to pass time with other books that just don't stack up. ZF7 takes up where 6 left off and it was a great listen. I genuinely enjoy the interaction and dialogue between the characters and no one could ever narrate this series better than Runnette.

My only disappointment is that ZF7 just sort of ends without any logical break in the storyline. One minute I'm listening to the current scene and the next I'm in the epilogues. I even hit the back button on my mp3 player to see if I had missed something. God I hope Tufo has ZF8 ready to go soon.

Gotta admit I like ZF much better than Lycan Fallout. The dynamic relationships between the characters in ZF is half the enjoyment and with LF it's all gone. I often smile and chuckle with the banter in ZF but this doesn't exist in LF and I really missed it. Just makes me appreciate the ZF even more now.

5 people found this helpful