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Zombie Turkeys
Sam Melvin, an underachieving e-reporter from a small town, changes forever when he meets turkeys that won't stay dead. You can shoot 'em, chop 'em, burn 'em-they come back stronger. The undead plague of poultry spreads uncontrollably, rocking the whole country. As Sam tracks down the zombie turkeys and how to eradicate them, his editor, Lisa Kambacher, nags him to turn his stories and expenses in on time. During their years of working together, Lisa has mellowed from bitchy into an irascible pinchpenny. Lisa snipes at Sam for plebeian writing but uses her intelligence to pursue the lucrative carnivorous turkey story. Sam and Lisa ricochet across the landscape, tracking turkeys and fleeing the bloodthirsty hordes. Careening from shell-shocked grocery store owners fighting turkeys crawling out of refrigerators, to machine-gunning turkey farmers, to secret militia, Sam and Lisa doggedly report. Throughout the turkey apocalypse, they dare ravaged cities, plow knee deep in gore and corpses, and upload streams of zombie turkey video news to the world. With paranoid militias clashing with the federal government and unkillable turkeys, Sam and Lisa doubt their ability to survive. Sam and Lisa have no superpowers. If you have a heart condition or lack humor, you should not read Zombie Turkeys, no matter how much you want to find out what happens.
185 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2020
45 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Andy Zach
10 books97 followersAndy Zach was born Anastasius Zacharias, in Greece. His parents were both zombies. Growing up, he loved animals of all kinds. After moving to the United States as a child, in high school, he won a science fair by bringing toads back from suspended animation. Before turning to fiction, Andy published his Ph.D. thesis "Methods of Revivification for Various Species of the Kingdom Animalia" in the prestigious JAPM, Journal of Paranormal Medicine. Andy, in addition to being the foremost expert on paranormal animals, enjoys breeding phoenixes. He lives in Illinois with his five phoenixes.
Having conquered paranormal animal humor in his first series, Andy Zach launches into middle school superhero genre with Secret Supers. Four disabled seventh graders all get superpowers. Who knew a disability could be so useful for hiding a superpower? But the four friends, Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey confront problems that can't be solved by superpowers.
Andy follows up the first book with an exciting sequel, Villain's Vacation, set in a coaster park where the Secret Supers fight their archnemesis who's out for revenge.
With his first book, "Zombie Turkeys" Andy blazed new ground in paranormal humor. The second book in his Life After Life Chronicles,
In the sequel, 'Zombie Detective', zombie reporter, Sam Melvin gets fired by his wife Lisa because their paper is barely making money. He tries working as a private detective--specializing in zombies, animal and human.
His third book, "My Undead Mother-in-law" expands the zombie plague from turkeys to humans, with hilarious results. You can find both volumes on Amazon Kindle, Createspace print, and Audible audiobook editions.
Not content to keep in zombies earthbound, Andy puts them afloat in his fourth book, "Paranormal Privateers". Just when you thought every funny zombie trope had been explored, new humorous horizons open up. You can get "Paranormal Privateers" in Kindle and print formats. The audiobook is available now on Audible.
Finally, last but not least is Andy Zach's short story collection, where he collaborates with other writers filling in details about his unique zombie alternate history.
Subscribe to his newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/22d3daf2a1b7/get-y...
Having conquered paranormal animal humor in his first series, Andy Zach launches into middle school superhero genre with Secret Supers. Four disabled seventh graders all get superpowers. Who knew a disability could be so useful for hiding a superpower? But the four friends, Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey confront problems that can't be solved by superpowers.
Andy follows up the first book with an exciting sequel, Villain's Vacation, set in a coaster park where the Secret Supers fight their archnemesis who's out for revenge.
With his first book, "Zombie Turkeys" Andy blazed new ground in paranormal humor. The second book in his Life After Life Chronicles,
In the sequel, 'Zombie Detective', zombie reporter, Sam Melvin gets fired by his wife Lisa because their paper is barely making money. He tries working as a private detective--specializing in zombies, animal and human.
His third book, "My Undead Mother-in-law" expands the zombie plague from turkeys to humans, with hilarious results. You can find both volumes on Amazon Kindle, Createspace print, and Audible audiobook editions.
Not content to keep in zombies earthbound, Andy puts them afloat in his fourth book, "Paranormal Privateers". Just when you thought every funny zombie trope had been explored, new humorous horizons open up. You can get "Paranormal Privateers" in Kindle and print formats. The audiobook is available now on Audible.
Finally, last but not least is Andy Zach's short story collection, where he collaborates with other writers filling in details about his unique zombie alternate history.
Subscribe to his newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/22d3daf2a1b7/get-y...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 21, 2018
I'd be hard press to classify this book. While it's about zombies (turkeys) I couldn't call it horror. It has too much of a parody side to it.
In this story, that reminds me a lot of a documentary after the fact, we follow how an online blogger becomes famous reporting the attacks of the zombie turkeys. While it is a little bit grim, the author doesn't push toward it, so maybe if you have a pre-teen reader who loves zombies, you might want to check it out and see if it would fit his or her need.
If I could give the author one advice, it would be to cut down on the number of exclamation mark. The words are saying it. The addition of it doesn't add anything. That said, this is a fun and quick read. It differs from the usual zombie stories. I mean it's unique. I doubt you could find another one like it anywhere.
I'd recommend for readers of all ages.
In this story, that reminds me a lot of a documentary after the fact, we follow how an online blogger becomes famous reporting the attacks of the zombie turkeys. While it is a little bit grim, the author doesn't push toward it, so maybe if you have a pre-teen reader who loves zombies, you might want to check it out and see if it would fit his or her need.
If I could give the author one advice, it would be to cut down on the number of exclamation mark. The words are saying it. The addition of it doesn't add anything. That said, this is a fun and quick read. It differs from the usual zombie stories. I mean it's unique. I doubt you could find another one like it anywhere.
I'd recommend for readers of all ages.
July 18, 2017
This one is definitely NOT a turkey!
‘He felt great. He was full of energy, he had many hens to breed with, and he was the leader of a great flock.’
Sam Melvin is a reporter with the Midley Beacon, it’s a tiny local paper - with an online presence - run by its penny-pinching editor Lisa Kambacher. When Sam sees the two turkey hunters on the slab in the local mortuary, he knows he has a story to cover and he sets out to do so with great gusto. As the zombie turkeys multiply, Sam and Lisa are the leading media team on the ground and the Midley Beacon goes international, solving their financial woes and syndicating their work across the globe. But it’s not all good news. After all, there are those people-killing zombie turkeys heading into town…
This was a book I picked up with trepidation as it seemed all too possible it would be a ‘one trick pony’ stretching a single joke to beyond breaking point across the length of an entire novel. Wrong! It is like a bowl of potpourri on the sideboard of life - lots of subtle blending examples of humour - many of them very American so I suspect there were even more than I noticed, handicapped by my British perspective. This is a book that takes ironic comedy to a whole new level - maybe ‘steelic’ comedy…? Humour is a very personal thing, but this book hit me right on the funny bone.
‘Wanted badly: .30-06 carbine. Will trade hunting dog or wife for it.’
This is a well-written book which takes a totally deadpan approach to a thoroughly - hysterically - funny sequence of events. It is dark comedy, so avoid if you are squeamish. The pace of the book rolls along in a perfect, unhurried way - screaming up into the action sequences and taking time to enjoy the more delicious moments of humour. The story itself is a lot deeper than many real zombie books and the explanation for the zombie phenomenon is as clever as it is satirical.
The characters are well portrayed, deep enough to engage with and care about, but not so deep you get distracted from what they are doing by their personalities. They are the agents through which we see the events unfolding rather than the focus of the story. But the humour is subtle, all-pervading: like the idea of the survivalist organic turkey farmer, part of a network of such, living off grid - except for ordering things from Amazon on his wife’s credit card of course…
‘The most disheartening thing was, she’d stab one through the heart, it’d drop fifteen feet to the ground with a satisfying thud, and then it’d stagger to its feet five minutes later and fly back up fifteen minutes later.’
The downside is that maybe some of the humour is lost on a non-US reader. There were a couple of moments I thought ‘Huh?’ then decided it was probably a reference to something outside my cultural parameters. The only other criticism I had was that it maybe played the theme along a tiny bit too far and perhaps had a few scenes been a bit shorter, a bit less detail on the way the plague spread, or a couple of turkey attacks left out - it might have been a sharper read. But these are very minor nit-picks against the whole.
This is a book I can recommend wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys slow-boil satire and does not mind a few gory giblets thrown in the mix. If you want a good comedy read, you should gobble this up!
‘He felt great. He was full of energy, he had many hens to breed with, and he was the leader of a great flock.’
Sam Melvin is a reporter with the Midley Beacon, it’s a tiny local paper - with an online presence - run by its penny-pinching editor Lisa Kambacher. When Sam sees the two turkey hunters on the slab in the local mortuary, he knows he has a story to cover and he sets out to do so with great gusto. As the zombie turkeys multiply, Sam and Lisa are the leading media team on the ground and the Midley Beacon goes international, solving their financial woes and syndicating their work across the globe. But it’s not all good news. After all, there are those people-killing zombie turkeys heading into town…
This was a book I picked up with trepidation as it seemed all too possible it would be a ‘one trick pony’ stretching a single joke to beyond breaking point across the length of an entire novel. Wrong! It is like a bowl of potpourri on the sideboard of life - lots of subtle blending examples of humour - many of them very American so I suspect there were even more than I noticed, handicapped by my British perspective. This is a book that takes ironic comedy to a whole new level - maybe ‘steelic’ comedy…? Humour is a very personal thing, but this book hit me right on the funny bone.
‘Wanted badly: .30-06 carbine. Will trade hunting dog or wife for it.’
This is a well-written book which takes a totally deadpan approach to a thoroughly - hysterically - funny sequence of events. It is dark comedy, so avoid if you are squeamish. The pace of the book rolls along in a perfect, unhurried way - screaming up into the action sequences and taking time to enjoy the more delicious moments of humour. The story itself is a lot deeper than many real zombie books and the explanation for the zombie phenomenon is as clever as it is satirical.
The characters are well portrayed, deep enough to engage with and care about, but not so deep you get distracted from what they are doing by their personalities. They are the agents through which we see the events unfolding rather than the focus of the story. But the humour is subtle, all-pervading: like the idea of the survivalist organic turkey farmer, part of a network of such, living off grid - except for ordering things from Amazon on his wife’s credit card of course…
‘The most disheartening thing was, she’d stab one through the heart, it’d drop fifteen feet to the ground with a satisfying thud, and then it’d stagger to its feet five minutes later and fly back up fifteen minutes later.’
The downside is that maybe some of the humour is lost on a non-US reader. There were a couple of moments I thought ‘Huh?’ then decided it was probably a reference to something outside my cultural parameters. The only other criticism I had was that it maybe played the theme along a tiny bit too far and perhaps had a few scenes been a bit shorter, a bit less detail on the way the plague spread, or a couple of turkey attacks left out - it might have been a sharper read. But these are very minor nit-picks against the whole.
This is a book I can recommend wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys slow-boil satire and does not mind a few gory giblets thrown in the mix. If you want a good comedy read, you should gobble this up!
April 13, 2018
Have you ever seen Thankskilling? If you haven’t yet, don’t, it’s absolutely terrible. It attempted to meld the concept of horror films with turkeys with a smidge of humor as the glue, but let’s just say it failed miserably (honestly, no audience could possibly gobble that up). Fortunately, being no stranger to reanimating corpses, Andy Zach succeeded in that department. Zach’s Zombie Turkeys (yes seriously…sort of) was a lot of fun and involved, you guessed it, the zombie apocalypse…but with turkeys.
Zombie Turkeys follows a myriad of distraught survivors as they’re faced with the unthinkable. Sam and Lisa battle their way across a corpse infested Illinois. The fun part about the book comes from the absolute absurdity of it all, and the fact that the turkey (our patient zero in the flesh, light or dark meat your choice) gets his own perspective chapters that added a uniqueness to the classic trope. All around a fun romp through a near future where turkeys get their just revenge and survivors serve up some rotted carcasses with a healthy dose of stuffing!
Zombie Turkeys follows a myriad of distraught survivors as they’re faced with the unthinkable. Sam and Lisa battle their way across a corpse infested Illinois. The fun part about the book comes from the absolute absurdity of it all, and the fact that the turkey (our patient zero in the flesh, light or dark meat your choice) gets his own perspective chapters that added a uniqueness to the classic trope. All around a fun romp through a near future where turkeys get their just revenge and survivors serve up some rotted carcasses with a healthy dose of stuffing!
August 2, 2017
Zombie turkey takeover. This was a really cute book about turkeys turning zombie due to an infection that initially started in wild turkeys and spread to turkey farms. Due to genetic mutations in these zombie turkeys, they become wildly aggressive and kill anything they can spur or peck to death. Trouble is they can't be killed easily. They can grow back heads, limbs, etc. and the flocks keep growing and growing. This becomes a great story for a reporter named Sam of the Midley Beacon. He and his editor Lisa chase the growing flocks of zombie turkeys that are coming from Illinois farms to get stories on the havoc they are wrecking. Lots of people are killed and through trial and error people discover that fire and salt water can stave off these flocks of fury. But despite efforts to contain and kill these turkeys, the numbers keep growing until the national guard is called in to help exterminate this epidemic. The author crafted a pretty good story as to how the turkeys became infected and wove in a bit of romance here and there. All in all it was a good read but it didn't tie up as nicely as one would hope at the end but that's because there is a book two.
October 5, 2018
Imaginative! The idea of zombie turkeys is funny at first, but after the joke wears off it turns into a legitimate horror story. It even gave me zombie nightmares! What kept it from getting five stars was some pacing issues in repeated scenes and conversations. The action was good and the twists very creative! Fun for any zombie fan.
July 28, 2020
So, not generally a big fan of zombies, but this one was absolutely hilarious to read. The author had fun with the storyline, and I found myself nodding along with how the plot line went because I could see it actually happening with people.
Crossposted on both GoodReads and Amazon.
Crossposted on both GoodReads and Amazon.
February 25, 2019
Love it
This book was really good. It kept me wondering what would happen next. Can't wait to read the next one.
This book was really good. It kept me wondering what would happen next. Can't wait to read the next one.
January 13, 2020
Sam Melvin, an underachieving e-reporter from a small town, changes forever when he meets turkeys that won't stay dead. You can shoot 'em, chop 'em, burn 'em—they come back stronger. The undead plague of poultry spreads uncontrollably, rocking the whole country. As Sam tracks down the zombie turkeys and how to eradicate them, his editor, Lisa Kambacher, nags him to turn his stories and expenses in on time. During their years of working together, Lisa has mellowed from bitchy into an irascible pinchpenny.
Lisa snipes at Sam for plebeian writing but uses her intelligence to pursue the lucrative carnivorous turkey story. Sam and Lisa ricochet across the landscape, tracking turkeys and fleeing the bloodthirsty hordes. Careening from shell-shocked grocery store owners fighting turkeys crawling out of refrigerators, to machine-gunning turkey farmers, to secret militia, Sam and Lisa doggedly report. Throughout the turkey apocalypse, they dare ravaged cities, plow knee deep in gore and corpses, and upload streams of zombie turkey video news to the world.
With paranoid militias clashing with the federal gover¬¬¬nment and unkillable turkeys, Sam and Lisa doubt their ability to survive. Sam and Lisa have no superpowers. If you have a heart condition or lack humor, you should not read Zombie Turkeys, no matter how much you want to find out what happens.
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
I love the humor in this and it had me laughing out loud at times!
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building that adds so much to the story.
Can't wait to read more of these.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Lisa snipes at Sam for plebeian writing but uses her intelligence to pursue the lucrative carnivorous turkey story. Sam and Lisa ricochet across the landscape, tracking turkeys and fleeing the bloodthirsty hordes. Careening from shell-shocked grocery store owners fighting turkeys crawling out of refrigerators, to machine-gunning turkey farmers, to secret militia, Sam and Lisa doggedly report. Throughout the turkey apocalypse, they dare ravaged cities, plow knee deep in gore and corpses, and upload streams of zombie turkey video news to the world.
With paranoid militias clashing with the federal gover¬¬¬nment and unkillable turkeys, Sam and Lisa doubt their ability to survive. Sam and Lisa have no superpowers. If you have a heart condition or lack humor, you should not read Zombie Turkeys, no matter how much you want to find out what happens.
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
I love the humor in this and it had me laughing out loud at times!
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building that adds so much to the story.
Can't wait to read more of these.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
July 30, 2017
This book made me chuckle. I'm not a big zombie fan, but I did have a lot of fun reading Andy Zach's tongue-in-cheek chronicle of the turkey apocalypse and America's valiant efforts to avert it. I loved his frequent (if brief) use of the first infected tom's POV, I loved the recurring and mock-chilling effect of the war cry of tens of thousands--hundreds of thousands--of zombie turkeys ("Gobble! Gobble!"), I loved the several romance-blooming-during-the-Apocalypse subplots, I loved the satire of modern American Internet culture (although I was mildly surprised to discover that one really can buy a flamethrower on Amazon.com). And since this was, after all, a zombie story with thousands of human deaths, I also appreciated the author leaving out objectionable language and descriptions that were overly-gory or overly-passionate--this is a creative decision many current writers would not have made.
November 6, 2017
Fun read. Enjoyed the running, fighting, and trying to survive the zombie turkey attacks. I think every Holiday should have a reading of this book. It is past time for the turkey to turn the dining table on the ravenous humans. Check out this book, it is a funny, irreverent journey into the end times.
January 6, 2022
This is brilliant! A really enjoyable amusing read! When I saw the title it was a must to be read! Brilliant idea! Got to chuckle! I do always find this writers work very well written & with something you are never expecting! I do strongly recommend!
August 2, 2023
I like the narrators, they fit the characters well. The romance felt like instalove to me.
November 17, 2022
I've never laughed so much listening to a zombie story before...but then again I've never listened to a book about zombie turkeys before either. Hilariously written and actually has some great characters too. Many cameos as well. Definitely an awesome time listening to this one. Hoping for a sequel!
February 1, 2017
Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton
The title of Zombie Turkeys signals this urban fantasy is intended to be entertaining, not to be taken seriously, and likely a comic romp. You can guess there’s lots of clever twists in the story, and happily the execution is more than what readers might expect.
The yarn is fast-moving from start to finish, opening with the first attack of carnivorous red-eyed wild turkeys very difficult to kill. They can quickly resurrect after death and grow back cut-off limbs. They’re led by a tom full of confidence as Zach gives us this tom’s perspectives from time to time as he builds his flock into the tens of thousands throughout Illinois and beyond.
On the trail of the killer swarm is Sam Melvin, investigative reporter for the small-town Illinois Midley Beacon newspaper and blog edited by his future wife, Lisa. She’s motivated to put her paper on the map and exploits the invasion by selling turkey traps, turkey t-shirts, inedible turkey sausages, and ad space on the paper’s YouTube channel where she posts Sam’s videos. Along the way, as Sam recounts his adventures, we get some obvious jokes. We hear choirs of “Gobble, gobble” when the flock goes after the “predators”—mostly we humans. Humans are literally hen-pecked to death. When we hear cries of “The zombie turkeys are coming, the zombie turkeys are coming!,” the reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is more than obvious.
As the setting expands, we encounter some very strange groups. They include the heavily-armed and very secretive Organic Turkey Farmers network of survivalists. PETA shows up at law enforcement press conferences protesting the “inhumane,” aggressive means needed to kill the murderous turkeys like flame-throwers and chainsaws. There’s the Zombie Widows Help Association created for the survivors of turkey attacks who offer advice on how families can gather for Thanksgiving during the carnage across Illinois. When the flock begins to invade Chicago, Second Amendment advocates press Mayor Rob Emmanuel for a loosening of gun control measures. Even President Obama has several cameos, including an aborted Thanksgiving dinner in the city. Perhaps strangest of all is the battle at Soldiers Field where the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, and a stadium of armed fans take on a horde of relentless turkeys.
Obviously, looking for clear explanations for why all this is happening is way beside the point. We learn about a Turkey Institute who discover where the infectious bacteria came from and how simple salt water is the needed cure. We hear about the Journal of Turkey Medicine where scientific reports are published. Are there really that many turkeys in Illinois? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe so, but again, making real world connections is way beside the point. After all, here’s how the author describes himself:
Andy Zach was born Anastasius Zacharias, in Greece. His parents were both zombies. Growing up, he loved animals of all kinds. After moving to the United States as a child, in high school he won a science fair by bringing toads back from suspended animation. Before turning to fiction, Andy published his PhD thesis "Methods of Revivification for Various Species of the Kingdom Animalia" in the prestigious JAPM, Journal of Paranormal Medicine. Andy, in addition to being the foremost expert on paranormal animals, enjoys breeding phoenixes. He lives in Illinois with his five phoenixes.
I’m not certain, but Promotions for the urban fantasy seem to include fake online news reports, like an article on zombie turkey attacks posted at Weekly World News, “The World's Only Reliable News.” Other online notices for Zombie Turkey games and pranks go back to 2010, so I don’t know which came first—the turkey book or a very different creative egg. Not surprisingly, during a perhaps overlong denouement in the novel, we see the seeds for a sequel, Zombie USA. Don’t put those flamethrowers and chain-saws away just yet--
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Jan. 10, 2016 at:
goo.gl/IqWpSb
September 16, 2018
Zombie Turkeys?? Yup you heard it right. “Gobble Gobble”.
Okay, so it is pretty much the same formula and tropes that we’ve seen before. Science experiment gone wrong, and it causes humans/animals to go rabid and tear apart everything. Amidst all that we have everyday individuals caught in the zombie wave, fighting and holding on to dear life, and the strife brings together people from different walks of life and bonds them together. New alliances are formed, camaraderie and sportsmanship (literally) are bought to the forefront. We find out that the world is indeed a great place and people are essentially good.
Now in this novel it’s turkeys that underwent zombification. Don’t know why Andy choose Turkeys, then again, why the hell not?? Now, read everything in the previous paragraph as a satire or with a comedic tone and you get a novel that is a laughter riot from start to finish. If you take this novel seriously then seriously there is something wrong with you. I’m sure of one thing, Andy must have really enjoyed writing this one, cause I really enjoyed reading it.
Plot Summary:
So there is a turkey infection outbreak across the United States. The result is that the turkeys kind of become like Wolverine, you can cut or shoot or slash or skewer but like good old Wolvie, the turkeys heal themselves and keep on marching. Hell, turkeys kept inside freezers come back to life and start growing feathers and other accessories. They peck to death humans and other predators, overwhelming them by sheer numbers. If this were a movie I would put this in the posters –
“The last thing you hear before being pecked to death is Gobble Gobble “
Anyway back to the plot, as always we need a hero and that role is done by Sam Melvin reporter for a local newspaper. He is the first one to report the zombie turkey attacks and thus the popularity of their newspaper skyrockets. His boss, Lisa who used to see him as an underachiever falls for him and they develop a relationship. They capitalize on the whole outbreak scenario and provide reports and videos of turkey attacks, people who survived the attacks and other info, on how to fight the turkeys and what precautions need to be taken. I was hooked on to the stadium scene where a flock of more than 100,000 turkeys descended to the field while a football match was in progress. This was by far the funniest and most interesting of all the zombie battles. Fans from both teams and the players started chopping up turkeys and singing the Thanksgiving song.
Bonus: The Obamas show up in the novel. If that doesn’t pique your interest I don’t know what will.
By the end of the novel it is implied that the experiment that caused the turkeys to go zombie mode had impacted other animals as well – squirrels, rabbits, bulls and finally humans – technically actual zombies. Hooray!! Which also explains the title – “Life after Life Chronicles Part 1″. What I liked about the novel apart from the comedic aspects is Andy’s writing that sometimes makes us wonder if we are actually reading a satirical novel. As ludicrous as it seems, occasionally we are left to seek out the humor as, when people die by turkeys (Lol) the description takes on a serious tone. Don’t worry, it isn’t that depressing, the humor marches it’s way back in, in the next line or paragraph.
So we have sequels to this and part 2 of the series is called – “My Undead Mother-in-law“.
I wish all the very best for Andy and his zombie horde of characters. Keep writing!!
Okay, so it is pretty much the same formula and tropes that we’ve seen before. Science experiment gone wrong, and it causes humans/animals to go rabid and tear apart everything. Amidst all that we have everyday individuals caught in the zombie wave, fighting and holding on to dear life, and the strife brings together people from different walks of life and bonds them together. New alliances are formed, camaraderie and sportsmanship (literally) are bought to the forefront. We find out that the world is indeed a great place and people are essentially good.
Now in this novel it’s turkeys that underwent zombification. Don’t know why Andy choose Turkeys, then again, why the hell not?? Now, read everything in the previous paragraph as a satire or with a comedic tone and you get a novel that is a laughter riot from start to finish. If you take this novel seriously then seriously there is something wrong with you. I’m sure of one thing, Andy must have really enjoyed writing this one, cause I really enjoyed reading it.
Plot Summary:
So there is a turkey infection outbreak across the United States. The result is that the turkeys kind of become like Wolverine, you can cut or shoot or slash or skewer but like good old Wolvie, the turkeys heal themselves and keep on marching. Hell, turkeys kept inside freezers come back to life and start growing feathers and other accessories. They peck to death humans and other predators, overwhelming them by sheer numbers. If this were a movie I would put this in the posters –
“The last thing you hear before being pecked to death is Gobble Gobble “
Anyway back to the plot, as always we need a hero and that role is done by Sam Melvin reporter for a local newspaper. He is the first one to report the zombie turkey attacks and thus the popularity of their newspaper skyrockets. His boss, Lisa who used to see him as an underachiever falls for him and they develop a relationship. They capitalize on the whole outbreak scenario and provide reports and videos of turkey attacks, people who survived the attacks and other info, on how to fight the turkeys and what precautions need to be taken. I was hooked on to the stadium scene where a flock of more than 100,000 turkeys descended to the field while a football match was in progress. This was by far the funniest and most interesting of all the zombie battles. Fans from both teams and the players started chopping up turkeys and singing the Thanksgiving song.
Bonus: The Obamas show up in the novel. If that doesn’t pique your interest I don’t know what will.
By the end of the novel it is implied that the experiment that caused the turkeys to go zombie mode had impacted other animals as well – squirrels, rabbits, bulls and finally humans – technically actual zombies. Hooray!! Which also explains the title – “Life after Life Chronicles Part 1″. What I liked about the novel apart from the comedic aspects is Andy’s writing that sometimes makes us wonder if we are actually reading a satirical novel. As ludicrous as it seems, occasionally we are left to seek out the humor as, when people die by turkeys (Lol) the description takes on a serious tone. Don’t worry, it isn’t that depressing, the humor marches it’s way back in, in the next line or paragraph.
So we have sequels to this and part 2 of the series is called – “My Undead Mother-in-law“.
I wish all the very best for Andy and his zombie horde of characters. Keep writing!!
August 26, 2017
Let me start by saying that “Andy Zach” has an unusual sense of humor (or possibly has escaped from a lunatic asylum and is living under an assumed name). I invite you to check out his Amazon author page and read the bio. He’s gone all in on this zombie expert thing (since his parents were zombies) and states that he reanimated dead animals as a child for a science fair. He also currently raises phoenixes as a hobby. One more thing before starting on the story. What is that ‘thing’ on his head in his author picture?
Right off the bat, you have to assume that with a title like "Zombie Turkeys" that this will be a humorous story, yet it unfolds almost like a documentary. I wanted to love it, but something didn’t fully click with me. I did LIKE it, nonetheless. There are some cute running gags about expense accounts and the occasional shift of POV to the head ZT “He felt great. He was full of energy, he had many hens to breed with, and he was the leader of a great flock.” There are plenty of other gags (like ordering a Zombie Turkey killing flame thrower from Amazon Prime) that continue to make things fun, as well as all of the way-out ways they develop to dispatch the undead turkeys.
The central character is Sam Melvin, a reporter with the tiny local Illinois paper "The Midley Beacon". Sam becomes an internet sensation by reporting on the Zombie Turkey outbreak. He always manages to be in the right place at the right time to get the story. Sam is a VERY mild-mannered reporter and I found him a little too ‘everyman’. Walter Mitty at least had adventures in his head, Sam seemed to get to the scene MOSTLY in the aftermath of the battle. Overall, I think it was the characters that left me in the friend-zone with this story. None of them struck me as endearing, which I think could have gone a long way to make this a better story (for me). Perhaps I should also go on the record as stating that I’m not a Zombie Genre fan. Never watched an entire George Romero movie and switched off “The Walking Dead” after 3 episodes. I’m more of a “Shaun of the Dead” and “iZombie” kind of guy.
Before closing, I also have to say that at the end of ZT, there is an opening chapter of Andy’s second book “My Undead Mother-in-law”. I found it interesting enough to put it on my reading list for the future. Maybe I just don’t like turkeys?
If you have an off-beat sense of humor, give Zombie Turkeys a try. It might be right up your alley.
Right off the bat, you have to assume that with a title like "Zombie Turkeys" that this will be a humorous story, yet it unfolds almost like a documentary. I wanted to love it, but something didn’t fully click with me. I did LIKE it, nonetheless. There are some cute running gags about expense accounts and the occasional shift of POV to the head ZT “He felt great. He was full of energy, he had many hens to breed with, and he was the leader of a great flock.” There are plenty of other gags (like ordering a Zombie Turkey killing flame thrower from Amazon Prime) that continue to make things fun, as well as all of the way-out ways they develop to dispatch the undead turkeys.
The central character is Sam Melvin, a reporter with the tiny local Illinois paper "The Midley Beacon". Sam becomes an internet sensation by reporting on the Zombie Turkey outbreak. He always manages to be in the right place at the right time to get the story. Sam is a VERY mild-mannered reporter and I found him a little too ‘everyman’. Walter Mitty at least had adventures in his head, Sam seemed to get to the scene MOSTLY in the aftermath of the battle. Overall, I think it was the characters that left me in the friend-zone with this story. None of them struck me as endearing, which I think could have gone a long way to make this a better story (for me). Perhaps I should also go on the record as stating that I’m not a Zombie Genre fan. Never watched an entire George Romero movie and switched off “The Walking Dead” after 3 episodes. I’m more of a “Shaun of the Dead” and “iZombie” kind of guy.
Before closing, I also have to say that at the end of ZT, there is an opening chapter of Andy’s second book “My Undead Mother-in-law”. I found it interesting enough to put it on my reading list for the future. Maybe I just don’t like turkeys?
If you have an off-beat sense of humor, give Zombie Turkeys a try. It might be right up your alley.
May 19, 2022
OK this was funny, I actually started with volume 2 in this series (My undead mother in law) and all the things that I was missing in the story in the one I started are explained here, its brilliant and very funny XD, one thing that I love about this series, the people reading the book (there’s more than one ^__^) they actually sound like they’re having fun, and that’s twice the fun for us that are listening to the audiobook.
If you want a series that makes you laugh, with lots of gore and at the same time, even normal life, yeah people get to know each other and they even marry, yeah I guess you could say this is for all ages hahah
I got a free ARC from StoryOrigin and this is my honest opinion.
If you want a series that makes you laugh, with lots of gore and at the same time, even normal life, yeah people get to know each other and they even marry, yeah I guess you could say this is for all ages hahah
I got a free ARC from StoryOrigin and this is my honest opinion.
December 3, 2020
This was a fun listen! Sam Melvin is a reporter for a small newspaper in a small town. When people start being attacked by turkeys, Sam is on the job! As the first one to report the outbreak of a disease turning the turkeys into zombies, Sam is busy trying to find the flock and let the world know what is happening.
The story follows numerous attacks by the hoard of turkeys and the various ways that people try to fight them off. There is a little romance along the way for a few couples, even in the face of possible death. Add in the backstory of online news and entrepreneurship, a football game turned zombie fight and a great white shark and you have some great scenes!
The author does a great job with his descriptions of the zombie turkeys and the action that ensues when they attack. There is enough science thrown in to make the story more believable and this definitely gave me a pause for thought.
The narrators did a great job and I will definitely be hearing the turkey gobble in my head for a long, long time! If you are looking for a humorous way to spend a few hours, you won't be disappointed.
The story follows numerous attacks by the hoard of turkeys and the various ways that people try to fight them off. There is a little romance along the way for a few couples, even in the face of possible death. Add in the backstory of online news and entrepreneurship, a football game turned zombie fight and a great white shark and you have some great scenes!
The author does a great job with his descriptions of the zombie turkeys and the action that ensues when they attack. There is enough science thrown in to make the story more believable and this definitely gave me a pause for thought.
The narrators did a great job and I will definitely be hearing the turkey gobble in my head for a long, long time! If you are looking for a humorous way to spend a few hours, you won't be disappointed.
August 16, 2021
Zombie Turkeys is not as bad as one would expect a book about zombie turkeys to be. It was campy, which was good, but it was also cheesy, which was bad. It was action-packed, which was good, but it also dragged on at the end, which was bad. The male narrator did some crazy voice work (including a passable imitation of Barack Obama), which was good, but the female narrator didn't differentiate much between her different characters, which was bad. What does it mean to say a book broke even? I don't know, but that's what Zombie Turkeys did for me.
***Update- So it has been over 3 years since I rated and reviewed this book, and I still catch myself saying "Zombie Turkeys". I bought an autographed copy of the book. I bring it up in conversation repeatedly. I've ordered an autographed copy of the sequel "Zombie Detective". I am bumping the rating up to four stars, even though the things I wrote above are still true. Sometimes a book just gets into your head, and I think that speaks volumes for any title.***
***Update- So it has been over 3 years since I rated and reviewed this book, and I still catch myself saying "Zombie Turkeys". I bought an autographed copy of the book. I bring it up in conversation repeatedly. I've ordered an autographed copy of the sequel "Zombie Detective". I am bumping the rating up to four stars, even though the things I wrote above are still true. Sometimes a book just gets into your head, and I think that speaks volumes for any title.***
July 8, 2020
The Review
What a humorous dark comedy! The author does a great job of creating a one of a kind horror story that captures the essence of films like Sharknado while also bringing an even balance of humor and horror to the narrative.
The characters were well rounded and unique for a story set in the dark comedy genre. While given enough depth to care for them, the author did a great job of crafting the characters to give room for the ever-growing threat of the zombie turkeys and the hilarious circumstances that brought these creatures to life.
The Verdict
A humorous, well-written and evenly paced read/listen, the audiobook version of author Andy Zach’s “Zombie Turkeys” is an instant hit! The first in the Life After Life Chronicles series, the book keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The narrators do an excellent job of capturing the characters and their personalities, and readers will not be able to get enough of this amazing audiobook. Be sure to grab your copy today!
What a humorous dark comedy! The author does a great job of creating a one of a kind horror story that captures the essence of films like Sharknado while also bringing an even balance of humor and horror to the narrative.
The characters were well rounded and unique for a story set in the dark comedy genre. While given enough depth to care for them, the author did a great job of crafting the characters to give room for the ever-growing threat of the zombie turkeys and the hilarious circumstances that brought these creatures to life.
The Verdict
A humorous, well-written and evenly paced read/listen, the audiobook version of author Andy Zach’s “Zombie Turkeys” is an instant hit! The first in the Life After Life Chronicles series, the book keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The narrators do an excellent job of capturing the characters and their personalities, and readers will not be able to get enough of this amazing audiobook. Be sure to grab your copy today!
January 26, 2023
I suppose authors shouldn't review their own books, but let me review my voice actors, since I listened to the audiobook version of my book.
Objectively, this is a hard book for audio, since I have 81 different speaking parts (!!!) plus zombie turkeys gobbling, plus singing in places, plus other sound effects. This was also Phil Blechman and Raven Perez's first take of my writing, so they had to form the voice characterizations of so many people.
None the less, they two did a great job performing this book. I've been told this book is funnier read out loud than reading silently. I can't tell; I always laugh at my own jokes.
If you want a copy of your own to review, just contact me and I'll send you an ebook or an audiobook, as long as I have reviewer codes.
Objectively, this is a hard book for audio, since I have 81 different speaking parts (!!!) plus zombie turkeys gobbling, plus singing in places, plus other sound effects. This was also Phil Blechman and Raven Perez's first take of my writing, so they had to form the voice characterizations of so many people.
None the less, they two did a great job performing this book. I've been told this book is funnier read out loud than reading silently. I can't tell; I always laugh at my own jokes.
If you want a copy of your own to review, just contact me and I'll send you an ebook or an audiobook, as long as I have reviewer codes.
July 15, 2020
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.
November 10, 2020
In the midst of the world's turmoil, I was looking for a book that would be mindless entertainment. Zombie Turkeys had been on my Kindle for a while, so I chose it. Not a mistake! This book is so stupid that it is hilarious and definitely entertaining. It's got comedy, horror, gore and a love story. Actually several love stories. All in the midst of very clever ways that the turkeys invade more and more places, including downtown Chicago. Loved when you got the leader turkey's thoughts about what was happening and where they were going. Too funny!
September 2, 2020
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.
May 5, 2021
This book is one word: hilarious! From the first page Andy Zach crafts in a compelling and humorous page turner, which has you laughing even through the blood and guts. Lisa is still my favorite character even after rereading the book several times, she is witty and sarcastic which I absolutely love.
And there are certain scenes I either have to reread or obnoxiously quote because they are so funny! Overall, would highly recommend to anyone with a sense of humor, and if not, get a funnybone!
And there are certain scenes I either have to reread or obnoxiously quote because they are so funny! Overall, would highly recommend to anyone with a sense of humor, and if not, get a funnybone!
August 25, 2021
I read this book to preview it for teen readers. I found it light and humorous considering it being a zombie tale. I wouldn’t recommend it for the hard-core adult zombie, post-apocalyptic fans, but it’s perfect for young adults!
Andy’s take is unique, fun, and refreshing. The story wraps up cleanly with minimal gore and lots of tongue-in-cheek remarks. How fun to learn you can order a flamethrower on Amazon!
Andy’s take is unique, fun, and refreshing. The story wraps up cleanly with minimal gore and lots of tongue-in-cheek remarks. How fun to learn you can order a flamethrower on Amazon!
May 20, 2018
4+ star 🌟 rating for Zombie Turkeys
What a hoot!! Really involved plot following a scientific approach to the spread of the zombie bacteria. If course it spread like crazy with everyone making money and eventually the happy side plots were overshadowed by critters and eventually people getting zombified. Great!
What a hoot!! Really involved plot following a scientific approach to the spread of the zombie bacteria. If course it spread like crazy with everyone making money and eventually the happy side plots were overshadowed by critters and eventually people getting zombified. Great!
July 1, 2021
Busy turkeys!
It’s a book about turkeys going full zombie. There’s some wild, and I do mean WILD, scenes in this book that I’m not even going to try to describe here. To me this felt like world war z, but the zombies are turkeys. I firmly believe if you read this because it’s “zombie turkeys” you’re getting exactly what you bargained for and then some. Poor poor turkey zombie widows. K thx.
It’s a book about turkeys going full zombie. There’s some wild, and I do mean WILD, scenes in this book that I’m not even going to try to describe here. To me this felt like world war z, but the zombies are turkeys. I firmly believe if you read this because it’s “zombie turkeys” you’re getting exactly what you bargained for and then some. Poor poor turkey zombie widows. K thx.
January 1, 2022
Probably more of a 3.5 than a 4. It's silly and definitely ridiculous. Some parts probably didn't need to be there because there was a LOT and the pacing was too fast at times. It was a much better read than my last not audio book read. There's a lot of Illinois in it (like a lot) so if you aren't from there it might be kind of boring at times. So yeah not at all perfect but it was a fun read.
October 7, 2021
Killer zombie turkeys, love, death, maybe even a great white shark...
This is a FUN book. Never have the dangers of a zombie turkey infestation been described so effectively. Do you have your flamethrower?
There are those who would say we need to be less cruel to zombie turkeys, I say death to the fowl creatures!
Read this book!
This is a FUN book. Never have the dangers of a zombie turkey infestation been described so effectively. Do you have your flamethrower?
There are those who would say we need to be less cruel to zombie turkeys, I say death to the fowl creatures!
Read this book!
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