Zombie Fallout

The word lighthearted doesn’t usually come to mind when we think of the zombie apocalypse, but Sean Runnette does a skillful job balancing humor with horror in this audio edition, which makes for an entertaining stroll with the walking dead. When a new vaccine against the latest incarnation of the H1N1 turns the majority of the population into flesh-eating monsters, blue collar Colorado family man and survivalist Michael Talbot—along with his family and an eclectic group of neighbors from the small gated community of Little Turtle—is forced to fight for his life against an ever-growing hoard of the living dead. Runnette gives Talbot a dry, I-knew-this-was-going-to-happen-to-me-someday attitude that captures the wry spirit of Tufo’s prose. This provides a welcome departure from the doom and gloom of most zombie tales, and Runnette wrings plenty of chuckles from the material. Still, the narrator doesn’t forget that this is an apocalyptic horror story, making sure there are plenty of chills and thrills along the way. A CreateSpace paperback. (March)