This was a fun and creative twist on the Battle Mage Farmer series. After saving the world where they lived, John and Ellie go on their honeymoon, into the chaotic void. They’re transported by their faithful super-bull Ferdinand and guided by Ellie’s prescient sense of direction.
Eventually, they end up in a confusing cluster of planets where there is a nest of vicious void beasts.
What a start to a honeymoon!
This creativity continues for the rest of the book.
This progressive fantasy continues with our protagonists Matt and Liz highly trained after years of ascending the path to Level 10.
Now they’ll compete with other Pathers at that level and the problem isn’t they aren’t strong enough, but that they’re too strong! You see, promising Pathers are assassination targets for the other Great Powers who do not want to face the in war.
So they adopt three false identities each and play under their ‘real’ identities, but using only a limited amount of power.
They want to walk a delicate balance. They want to hide their real powers and still qualify for high rewards within the tournament.
Meanwhile, we learn that spies from every government are seeking out their true identities by any means possible.
What a cool book! I knew nothing about globemaking beyond gores; now I know a whole lot more, both of the multiple crafts involved and of its history.
But what makes the book great is the author’s personal story, telling how he went from making a handmade globe for his father’s 80th birthday to starting a bespoke globe company with a worldwide audience and customer base.
It’s a review of both the history of globemaking and of our recent history from 2008 to now.
I recommend this book to anyone with an ounce of curiosity.
What a wonderful explanation of basic Christian principles! Author Miles Stanford explains both the theory and practice of Christian living and growth.
He begins with the cross and explains that trying hard to overcome sin is not enough. We must totally die to sin and realize our death daily. But our death leads to our resurrection in Christ. Having Christ live in us is how we triumph.
How can this miracle be achieved? Not by us. But Christ has already done it. It is up to us to believe and to claim His life and to live it through faith and perseverance.
Mr. Stanford draws from a wide range of respected Christian authors and teachers as well as many quotes from the Bible to prove his points.
I recommend this book most highly to anyone who wishes to learn about Christianity.
This fourth time around, I was writing my own fantasy novel/series and I looked at how Pratchett started out his series. It was a ripping good start, with unending action and interesting characters from the beginning. Who doesn’t like Death as an animated skeleton and a lugubrious voice?
We come to my first favorite SciFi novel and it’s a goody.
My first book of the year! It’s a fantasy, with familiars who are intelligent badgers, owls, hamsters, and prairie dogs. Enjoy a dash of humor with your fantasy.
Familiars enhance and magnify your magic, but they come with troubles of their own. They’re just people, who are animals.
What did you like best about Zombie Turkeys? What did you like least? There were times when the book was laugh out loud funny, but other times it was just cheesy. Also, repetitive use of the word “said” in the dialog portions was obnoxious. I’m increasing my rating on this book, because I listened to it over a year ago, and it still pops into my head sometimes. I still say “Zombie Turkey” every time I hear a turkey gobble. And I felt compelled to order an autographed copy of the book. All of this says to me that I under-rated it the first time, and need to make it right.
Would you be willing to try another book from Mr. Andy Zach? Why or why not? Yes. I want to know where his zombies go from here.
Which scene was your favorite? Roland trying to get Lashaun to come out of the tree. She didn’t want to come down, because the turkeys had pecked her backside and it was showing through her pants.
Did Zombie Turkeys inspire you to do anything? Not eat turkey. Say “Zombie Turkeys” every time I hear a turkey gobble.
Any additional comments? The male narrator did a good job, but the female narrator didn’t differentiate very well between her different characters.
Zombie Turkeys by Mr. Andy Zach is a fun romp of a listen!
Zombie Turkeys by Mr. Andy Zach is a funny, quixotic romp of a listen. It follows the exploits of two intrepid blogger/(initially) online reporters, Sam and Lisa, as they track and help to combat a spreading infestation of killer zombie turkeys. It combines a unique take on zombies, a love story, some quasi-science, and lots of action.
I listened to the Audible audio book and initially I wasn’t sure I liked the narrator but eventually I warned to him. If you like unusual zombie stories with a new approach to story telling and lots of twists and turns, this audio book or book may be for you. I enjoyed listening to it and will be keeping the author on my radar!
When you first listen it an amusing story the narrative is absolutely amusing, and the story a bit “camp”, but under it’s comic veneer ss I listened ” locked in” at home from Covid 19 something very familiar emerges. Yes this is a fun to listen to, totally entertaining book and one you can’t storing listening to, however somewhat deeper it reflects the incompetent and bungling we are now experiencing world wide with this and possible other pandemics to come. This story parodies a disaster of Zombie Turkeys…but perhaps it warns us there could be far worst. Please do listen it overall great story and extraordinary naration.
This very funny tale has it all. There’s peril, adventure, mayhem, even a love story and a happy ending.
I laughed so hard that I occasionally had to stop and go back a few minutes so I could hear what I missed while I was cracking up. There were moments when I had to wipe my eyes, because I was laughing so hard I cried.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.
You have to check this book out. This was a far better book than I thought it would be. Mr Andy Zach has a ‘ell of a imagination, and Mr Phil Blechman does a great narration. I especially loved his turkey gobbling sounds, I had a great laugh every time he did it.
I reviewed a copy of the audio book from the author in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. First book read/ listen from Andy Zach, and I’m totally hook. can’t wait to hear/ RAF the remaining series. the story line is very entertaining, and the way they perform (yes perform not read) the book was perfect. Love the sound affects, they just made the story come to live. This story had it all, from killer zombies, love, mystery, and action. it’s a must read/ hear. I totally recommended.
This book is so mutch fun!! It’s silly and ridiculous, but in a great way! It just brought a smile to my face and an extra skip in my step as I listened at work. My day is pretty monotonous and even the regular audiobooks I listen too just felt monotonous.
I had already listened to My Undead Mother in Law and I remembered I had this one also. Remembering how entertaining U.D.M.I.L was I decided to play this one because I needed a pick me up. And pick me up it did.
I made note of certain parts so I could play them for my husband at our lunch break. Definitely worth your time. The narrator’s are perfect for this series. The turkey calls made me laugh out loud. Great job to all involved!!
This dark comedy combines action and humor set mostly against the back drop of rural Indiana. Sam and his editor Lisa run a small town newspaper, and in their search for a good lead stumble across the story of a life time – Zombie Turkeys!
We follow the turkeys as they make their way from farm to farm gathering more all but immortal fowl while leaving death and destruction in their wake. Sam, Lisa, and soon more reporters track the turkeys across the country side learning not just how to fight back but how to destroy them. This story is not just action packed but is also full of unexpected heros and even has time for a love story or two.
Comfort food for that juvenile part of you that never quite outgrew your comic books. Just forget that it’s preposterous (after all, you were already warned by the title; what did you expect?), and go with the flow…
What added to the Zombie Turkey situation was the author took the reader through the different towns of Illinois by a reporter working on his big story added great humor to the saga. The reader has to wonder how Mr Zach dreams up these crazy stories but they all seem to work.
Welcome 2024! Pick Up More Gifts for the 12 Days of Christmas. In this post you can get book excerpts, free, and discounted books for you!
You may be familiar with the 12 days of Christmas song. The actual 12 day festival ran from December 25th to January 6th, also known as Epiphany, when Christians celebrated the appearance of the wise men or magi from the east.
The Secret Supers are bored out of their minds during summer vacation-until they go to Space Camp. They learn all about the space program, try out moon gravity and zero-g simulations, and practice docking with the International Space Station.
But that’s the easy part. The villains they defeated in the past are back with a diabolical plot that renders the middle schoolers’ superpowers ineffective. Jeremy, Aubrey, Dan, and Kayla face the biggest challenge of their lives. Even if they escape the villains’ clutches, will they survive?
Find out in Secret Supers in Space!
Pick Up More Gifts – Seven Swans a-Swimming
Where do I have seven swans a-swimming in my books? How about seven turkeys? Or more? Check out this excerpt from Zombie Turkeys from Chapter 9 – Chicago. Note the aquarium type chapter icon.
They very cautiously looked in the topmost door. The door opened onto a platform looking down on a large pool full of sea creatures–including a great white shark. A man was there at the edge of the pool, blowing a turkey call. “GOBBLE! GOBBLE!” That was the odd sound Sam had heard. The zombie turkeys responded, “Gobble! Gobble!” and advanced en masse on the man, surrounding him. They seemed mesmerized by the call, staring with red eyes, but quietly marching forward. The man wore a khaki, camouflaged hunting outfit, cammo boots, and a full, bushy beard.
Sam called to him, “Hey you! You can escape this way!”
He looked at them, “Yeah, I know. I’ve got to kill these buggers.”
“How will you kill them with a turkey caller?”
Pick Up More Gifts – Excerpt Continues
“By getting them into the pool with me. It’s salt water. I’ve already gone through my ammo!” He jumped into the aquarium.
“Noo! ” Lisa gasped.
From the water he called, ” GOBBLE! GOBBLE!” Like lemmings, the massed turkeys moved forward, plopping into the water like feathered, twenty pound Alka Seltzers. The ones behind pressed the others forward. Soon, hundreds upon hundreds of turkeys covered the surface of the water, like a turkey patterned pool cover.
As soon as they were in the salt water, the zombie turkeys lost their red eyes. They swam as well as turkeys normally do; badly. Then the great white shark hit. Gobbling the turkeys three and four at a time, the shark was delighted to have this extra feeding. This food was so fresh and crunchy!
The shark was an automatic eating machine; bite, crunch, swallow, bite crunch, swallow.
This excerpt is gift number two of seven. (After the Secret Supers in Space) Here are three free books in exchange for a review:
Next, get personal with me, Andy Zach! Talk to me! You can reach me on x.com.
On to more days of Christmas–and gifts!
Pick Up More Gifts – Eight Maids a-Milking
Do I have eight maids a-milking in my writing? Anywhere? Not exactly. I do have eight reporters covering the zombie turkey outbreak for the Midley Beacon and milking it for all it’s worth. This excerpt fromZombie Turkeys, with the Chapter 9 Chicago icon. That’s a turkey caller in the turkey’s mouth. Why? Read and find out.
“I never thought I’d say this, Sam, but I think the story has gotten too big for the Midley Beacon. I’ve added a zombie turkey Twitter feed to our site, but this is way too big for us to be everywhere, even with the six new reporters I’ve hired. I’ve sent one to Bartonville and Peoria, one to Princeville, two to Joliet, one to Tinley Park, and one to Chicago. Chicago alone should have six reporters.”
“Well, let’s go to Chicago then. Three are better than one.”
“I’m with you on that. Lemme give Charlie a call. He’s our guy in Chicago.” She called Charlie Gomez, one of their new reporters. “Hi Charlie, where are you?”
Pick Up More Gifts – Excerpt Part 2
“I can barely hear you. Oh, keep your head down, then. We’ll cover the loop activity then. Ok, good reporting. Stay alive! Report daily or more often! Bye.”
“What’s up with Charlie?”
“He’s in the middle of the zombie turkey firefight in Soldiers Field. It’s quite a melee there. Let’s go to the loop.”
How about eight gifts? In addition to the excerpt above, I’ve got seven books available through free audiobook codes:
Zombie Turkeys fly to escape to Zombie Turkey hunters
Have I got the excerpt for you! I’ve got twenty or more ladies dancing in this scene from My Undead Mother-in-law.
Frank always got hyped up before an operation, but this one was the strangest he’d ever been on. He’d done his time in Afghanistan and Iraq—that was where he’d lost his leg to an IED. When the marine doctors offered him a chance to get it back through zombie blood, he’d leapt upon it like a duck on a bug. Now he was landing a whole platoon of marines on a superyacht of a criminal, to prepare the landing of more zombies.
Things got stranger. Looking at the helipad as he descended, he saw a crowd of hula-skirt-clad girls—good looking ones too! The crowd resolved itself into a formation: a smiley face! As he landed and brought his weapon to ready, he saw each girl carried a basket of leis.
The Dancing Begins
My Undead Mother-in-law cover.
“Welcome! Welcome!” they chorused in their soprano voices. They ran up to put the leis over his head. He kept them away with the bayonet on his automatic shotgun. Laughing, the nearest ones tossed leis over his gun and over his head. “Aloha Oe” blared in the background on the outdoor speakers as the attractive ladies began to sway in a hula dance en masse.
Yellow flowers decorated his head and his rifle. He felt awkward and a right fool. Already the battle plan was out the window.
“Ladies! Please gather over here!” He followed the contingency plan for if they surrendered.
Giggling, the hundred or so beauties compliantly assembled in the landing circle under the V-22, their hair and grass skirts blowing wildly in the hot rotor wash. After tearing his eyes from their shapely legs, he saw his friend Lieutenant Gerber walk up to him, festooned in leis.
“Not bad duty, eh?”
“Something about this smells.”
“Well, here come the zombie bulls. And turkeys.”
Nine gifts? How about nine discounts for autographed books? These paperbacks are discounted from the Amazon price. Get them here:
Welcome 2024 Pick Up More Gifts – Ten Lords a-Leaping
Zombie Detective cover.
I don’t have ten lords a leaping (I do have several dozen drug lords, though). How about leaping hippos? What, you don’t believe me? Check out this hippo excerpt from Zombie Detective.
“Let me finish with the background. We wanted a fast-growing, healthy strain of pigs. I thought, Wouldn’t it be great if they grew as fast as zombie turkeys?”
“Uh-oh.”
“Right. I created a pig modified with zombie turkey and hippo and mouse DNA.”
“What?” Sam’s stomach clenched.
“I won’t go into all my failures with other combinations. This one worked. I get pigs that grow from piglets to full-grown in four weeks.”
“But what’s the catch?”
“They look like hippos. And they grow only to about one pound.”
Micro-hippo
“Sounds more like a failure than a success.”
“They do taste like pork. And they reproduce fast enough to make up for their lack of size. But―” Bryce stopped and sighed.
“Tell me the worst.”
“They escaped my lab. They’re infesting the whole building. People keep finding them in the toilets. It’s very upsetting.”
So, these hippos leap and scamper like rats. Aquatic rats. Here’s a drawing of one from the chapter about them.
You want eight more gifts? Get all my excerpts for each of my books!
Welcome 2024 Pick Up More Gifts – Eleven Pipers Piping
This’ll be a different set of gifts. I love bagpipes. I have a Youtube category of them. So I’ll share my favorite bagpipe videos with you. Eleven of them!
Pick Up More Gifts – Don’t Forget Your Free Book–Until January 9th
First an excerpt:
We arrived at the top. “Time to ship out the Supers.” Papa Smith hauled out Aubrey and Jeremy. I unloaded Kayla and Dan. We lined them up on the floor.
“It’d be so easy to eliminate them here.”
“Yes, Loretta, but the consequences will follow us. And there’s no money in it. Think of each of them as a billion dollars.”
