Mark Tufo

[a:Mark Tufo|2990843|Mark Tufo|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1303757670p2/2990843.jpg] This author/dude is funny!

First and foremost, this book was FREE! With that being said, it is a great book. I laughed at all of the dialog and first person commentary, whether said out loud or internally. The primary first person thought process was hilarious and real. This is a great zombie book, that not only addresses the loss of community, loss of friends/family, choices and decisions (whether good show more or bad), but also throws in how people adjust to these changes. Some people freeze, some take charge; others crack emotionally and/or mentally, and some that capitalize on being sick and/or depraved; there are people who want to blame others, while others want to control others; there are leaders and then followers; there are characters you can't help but like and others you'd love to throw out for the zombies to feast on; but on top of it all there are those moments where we could become lost in our own thoughts, and yet those moments where a hilariously funny/sick thought might cross our minds. It's all in this story, which by the way, is a full size novel. It could be a stand alone, but would leave you wanting to know... did they all live happily ever after or what tragedy was awaiting them next. I loved the humor and my daughter had to know what was making her mom laugh so hard tears were streaming down my face. I would read her a clip and watch her start laughing just as hard. It's a zombie story that starts with a CDC rushed 'ooops,' in a plausible scenario. It evolves into community survival and family survival. You read about ideas for fortifications, food and ammunition concerns, and of course the what-ifs (when this happens what will we do), as well as WTF moments (Ryan Seacrest, really?!). We get to combine that with depraved humans and their need to be destructive or just an altogether mental sickness some have. Then there's that need to protect our children whether 3 years or 19 years old, they're still our babies. And of course, the love for a pet, that some of us just don't grasp, especially if it meant potentially sacrificing ourself to attempt to save a scared, hiding, useless pet. However, when you add in germaphobia, paranoia and laughable inner dialog, it can make for a very interesting twist on the now common doom and gloom, zombie apocalypse books. I'm greatful for this FREE book, because I found an author whom I might not have read otherwise. I am proud to say I have read every book in the series(all 10), and I think the tears of crying from laughter have been even greater. And yes, my daughter's tears of laughter have been flowing heavily too. Read the first book for free, if it's not your cup of tea, then no loss...BUT just maybe you'll find a book that makes you laugh just as much as it makes you think what-if. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read for the fun and enjoyment of reading. To the Author: Thank you for allowing me the privilege of reading this first book free. show less

The Zombie Fallout Series by Mark Tufo thus far consists of Dr. Hugh Mann (a prequel), Zombie Fallout, A Plague Upon Your Family, and The End.... Although distinct books, I am reviewing them together because that is the way that I read them. Once I finished each book, I was so wrapped up in the story that I immediately purchased the next. Cumulatively, they are an epic apocalyptic tale, which reminded me of Steven King's The Stand and Robert McCammon's Swan Song. If you read the first book, show more and are anything like me, you'll feel compelled to read the entire series. I recommend that you read the prequel Dr. Hugh Mann after the third book. It makes perfect sense then, but is a different story and style from the rest of the books. Zombie Fallout (book 1) sets the stage and is a better starting point.

Told in diary format primarily from the point of view of Mike Talbot, a tough and crude ex-Marine and self-proclaimed survivalist, the series follows a small group of family and friends (and the amazingly flatulent bulldog Henry) who are doing their best to survive a zombie apocalypse caused by a tainted swine flu vaccine. Led by Mike, they stay one small step ahead of the zombies who turn out to be a bit more complicated than George Romero envisioned. Mike's perspective is hysterically funny, primarily because he is a bundle of contradictions - a big tough man afraid of germs and bossed around by his wife, a survivalist who makes plans that are so half-baked that he calls them "ideas" instead of plans, and a ruthless killer who is tender, fiercely protective of his family, and takes incredible, spontaneous risks for strangers. Mike is a down to earth, farting (but never in front of his wife), and beer-drinking man. As such, the humor is sometimes a bit crude, but this makes the story ring true. Mike is also unfailingly loyal, which is endearing, as he cares for a motley collection of friends and family. His friends, particularly the enigmatic Tommy, make for an interesting supporting cast.

In the first book, Zombie Fallout, Mike encounters his first zombie while wearing a towel. The zombie is licking the peephole in Mike's front door, which outrages the germophobic Mike. This sets the precedent for the tone of the book. Mike's first priority is to rescue his son from Walmart, where he was working when the zombie breakout occurred. He also rescues Tommy, the "slow" door greeter who has an infectious grin, incredible girth and strength, and an unfailingly good nature. Tommy joins Mike and family, and the rest of the story is about their retreat to their gated community and their attempt to establish a safe haven. Along the way, Mike encounters a female zombie who he senses is somehow especially evil, and he begins to suspect that they are dealing with more than just a simple zombie outbreak.

Elements of horror, paranormal, supernatural, and dark humor elevate this series beyond your typical zombie fare. These elements, along with Mike's quirky personality & fierce, protective love of his companions, make this series poignant and worth reading. Highly recommended. show less

Considering the juvenile level of the story, the overabundance of smells, farts and Dad jokes, I am embarrassed at how much I enjoyed Zombie Fallout (1) by Mark Tufo. Although violent and gory, this was still the light read that I was looking for. And I remained glued to the pages from start to finish.

With a hero that was much like the father from “Married with Children”, this is a story of a zombie apocalypse that evolves after a new vacination is developed, We follow Mike Talbot as he show more fights to save his wife, three teen aged children, a boyfriend, a strange teen that he saves from Walmart, and his best friend and wife, oh, and of course Henry, their English Bulldog. They are armed and seeking safety in their town home complex but when the zombies arrive in the thousands their gates can’t keep them out. It’s Christmas morning and they are making their last stand in the attic when something happens that changes everything, and leaves us with the need for another book.

I will definitely be continuing with this series. show less

I was at about 50/50 whether I was going to finish this due to several annoyances, some of which were present in the first book and are not just present in this book but intensely magnified. In preparation for this review, I began to write out the grievances so I could remember and thoroughly explain my thoughts when I finished the book; however, it was in writing all that out that I decided to abandon this book immediately.

I honestly don't know that I've ever been more torn about a show more protagonist in any other book I've ever read. I constantly went between respecting Mike and then wishing he would just be eaten by the zombies already. I have decided that I wish the latter, and here's why:

**minor spoilers**

- Grotesque and morbidly fascinating descriptions of zombie gore, I can handle. I can even handle the explorations of the darker side of humanity with the serial rapist from the first book. What I can't handle are the numerous, lengthy, and detailed descriptions of bodily functions that litter this book. Every ten pages Mike is crapping his pants or farting or peeing on himself or getting covered in his own rope-y snot, then he has paragraphs-long internal dialog about it all. This happened in the first book a lot, too, but I mostly overlooked it. I can't overlook it anymore. If these sections were taken out of the book, I would not be surprised if it were 50 pages shorter. I began to feel like they were only added in to create length because they certainly don't generate any value for the actual storyline. Seriously, how often can one crap or pee their pants or fart or have their sinuses dump themselves and, even if one does, how many times can one philosophize about it? I get that maybe things like that might happen in a situation like this when people are scared out of their wits and their bodies are under stress, but that often? And why dwell on it in excruciating detail like that? Just... yuck. I also find it unbelievable that he and his wife have been married so long, yet somehow deny that the other has bodily functions and are afraid to fart in front of each other or things like that. Really? Maybe that denial is why Mike spends so much time thinking about it all, and I guess it would make sense given how awkward their marriage seems to be (more on that later).

- The painfully drawn-out comedy of errors that was the sheriff's office incident was basically when I lost all respect for Mike as a hero and everyone else in his party because they continued to look to him for guidance. I almost stopped reading right then, but decided to give it another chance. I gave up when they got to the motel because I could tell by the way Mike was patting himself on the back about how they'd all coalesced into a group that thinks ahead and plans together that the motel would just be yet another string of bad decisions that would be painful to get out of and make me further lose respect for him and everyone else in his party. By this time, I had learned that any time he was self-congratulatory like that, his thoughts were quickly disproved by their actions. I began to wish that the book was following Alex and his family and April instead of Mike's family.

- The weird relationship Mike has with his wife where he demonizes her in one breath but then praises her in the other became caustic for me, as did her contradictory statements and feelings about him. I get that maybe this is supposed to reflect the complicated feelings we might have about our significant others on some level in real life, but I could no longer overlook it because it got to a point where I just didn't understand why they were even pretending to be a couple any longer, which then basically made all the internal dialogue Mike had about saving his "family" and how important she is to him come off as lies (both to himself and to the reader). It was confusing and distracting.

- Mike keeps talking about how he has "prepared" his sons for this kind of thing and he's so proud of that, but he didn't seem to value teaching any of the women in his life how to shoot a gun or defend themselves?? I just don't get it. Even if you feel that guns are a "man's territory" under normal circumstances, why wouldn't you make sure EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY can load each kind of firearm available and shoot with some accuracy to protect the party as a whole?? It's naive to think that somehow all the men are going to survive this whole thing. What are the women supposed to do if they find themselves alone because all the men have died protecting them? We already saw how well that worked out in the gas station with Mike's wife and daughter when they stupidly went off on their own and had no idea how to load or use the firearm they for some reason brought with them--and that even after all that they they still didn't ask to be given education in this area!! Seriously?? They were seconds away from death because they didn't understand how to use the tool that could have easily saved them, yet it didn't occur to them to ask to learn how to use said tool once they returned to the relative safety of the housing compound. It's one thing to be uninterested or "not believe" in guns before all this; it's another be uninterested and play the damsel in distress with no way to protect yourself during an actual apocalypse. There is just no excuse for any of this. If the women did show interest it was in a comic relief way. Sometimes it was when the women were alone for the reader's benefit (like the gas station incident), and other times it was right in front of the men (like when Erin was ineptly trying to fend off zombies during the rescue with Paul and had no skill whatsoever) and instead of trying to educate them, the men were like, "Haha, women trying to use those things is so cute, of course they don't know what they're doing because they're women." Really? How is this even along the lines of Mike's past and personality? Would a military person really sit there while that lack of education actually makes them more dangerous to the living (particularly with children in their party) and completely ineffective where protection is concerned? So, apparently all women don't have a clue about firearms by dint of being a woman and that is funny (uh, sorry, but no one has a clue about them, man or woman, until they are formally educated about them), women aren't worth teaching these skills even in emergency situations, and the women don't view themselves as worth educating because men are around to protect them. All of this was so inane I just couldn't get over it. Seriously, in an actual zombie apocalypse, clinging to gender assignments with the whole man-protects-woman thing or the fear of tools like that even to the detriment of your party is completely ludicrous. (And, in case you're wondering, I practice what I preach here, as I have been educated about firearms.)

- Why are they putting up with Justin, who has so obviously turned to the dark side?? This is also completely ludicrous, particularly when you consider that Tommy must know what's going on with him. I get that Justin is Mike's son, but he is CLEARLY A THREAT to them, he has done nothing to earn his place with them in a long time, the way Mike is touted in this book you would think he'd maybe figure out that Justin may not be as weak as he is pretending AND that Justin is probably how the baddies who are targeting them are finding them so easily, and Justin has on more than one occasion made his malice toward Mike plain. Like April, I would've gone with Alex, if nothing else to get away from creepy Justin. Or at the very least blindfold Justin and plug his ears or something to try to stop him from giving the baddies information.

- It's like the TV show "Lost" where they kept adding more and more mysteries and unexplained things and we just had to accept them episode after episode as they compounded. There's Tommy's spirit guide and psychic abilities. There's Eliza the vampire and/or some other male baddie who is stalking Mike and have some sort of vendetta against him. There's Justin (also a vampire now?). There's zombies. Oh but wait there are two kinds of zombies now, some that seem to be from the original H1N1 problem and now some that are also vampires? There's telepathy. There's psychic abilities. I mean, for God's sake. Enough already. I am still mildly curious about what all this means, but rather than torture myself with the rest of these books, I will probably just go read spoilers in other reviews so the mystery will be solved and I am sparing myself from Mike's behavior. show less