Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

WTF, Love the Series

Where does Whiskey Tango Foxtrot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was my first audio book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character in the book is Sergeant Brad Thompson. Sergeant Thompson finds himself in the worst possible position a soldier could find himself, alone in the desert with his convoy with no radio at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. With no base camp he must lead his surviving unit through the desert to find other survivors. I love zombie novels that include a lead character with military experience. You just know these combat trained men and women just stand a better chance of making it.

What about Eric Vincent’s performance did you like?

Mr. Vincent’s narration flowed. I did read that one of the problems with audio books is that sometimes the voice will change, which could be an indication that there was a correction made in the tape editing. I heard none of that.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

WTF:FUBAR

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of W.J. Lundy and his WTF series. His third book in the series, Only the Dead Live Forever, is supposed to be out sometime in October (can’t wait). This series is great because the books are so original and different from other zombie novels I have read. Mr. Lundy’s series contains everything that I like about the zombie genre. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to WTF and did so in one sitting. I really respect this author, not only does he serve our country he also donates a portion of the proceeds from his books to the Wounded Warrior Project. Mr. Lundy is a great writer, dedicated military man, and a super nice guy who truly appreciates his fans.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Seat of the Pants Entertainment!

If you could sum up Whiskey Tango Foxtrot in three words, what would they be?

WHAT THE FOXTROT. This is a new twist on your standard zombie book. I really enjoyed it.

What did you like best about this story?

The realism, the way the soldiers come together to survive, Even the warring parties get against their differences to join a common fight. The Story is fast paced and very tense, I found myself sitting in the driveway waiting to finish it..

Have you listened to any of Eric Vincent’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. I have not, but plan to in the future. Eric has a knack for entertaining, instead of a standard monotone read, he really gets into the characters. I don't understand the negatives, I think his excitement adds to the adventure, it doesn't distract at all.

Who was the most memorable character of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and why?

The lead Brad Thompson, I can't wait to learn more about him.

Any additional comments?

Proceeds from these books go to the wounded warriors. Makes this a very worthwhile purchase.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Train wreck

Sophomoric storyline. Mechanical narration supplemented with horrible character voices. Full of technical inaccuracies about the area in which the story takes place. Afghanis are not Arabs!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Story may get more than 3 stars

I'll start by stating that I couldn't finish this audiobook, Eric Vincent is a horrible narrator. It sounds like he would be a great character actor but with this book he sounds like the love child of George W Bush, William Shatner and a robot.

As for the story, I have moved to reading the Kindle version. I'm about halfway through and so far its pretty good.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great story.

Would you listen to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot again? Why?

I already have, its not to long, so you can listen to it on a short day trip.

What did you like best about this story?

The intensity and tension.

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

His attitude adds to the excitement.

Who was the most memorable character of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and why?

The Primals.

Any additional comments?

Sometimes it gets a little fast for me. Waiting on the sequel.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Typical Military Zombie Sci-Fi

I don't have a whole lot say about this, it is a typical Military Zombie story, with a high body count. Some may not be happy with the Taliban connection, I make no judgement. I did not get this for free and I never do, cause I can not be trusted to be enthusiastic about everything I read. It's your money.

21 of 29 people found this review helpful

WTF was a good, fast ride!

Before I get into the review, I should be clear up front and mention a couple of things. First, I received this copy of WTF for free from the author to evaluate. Second, this was a copy from Audible and is my first experience with what used to called a book on tape.

Let me address the second part first. I see some major pluses and minuses with the audio format. On the plus side, I was able to enjoy the book while driving around town, something that is generally frowned upon with traditional print media. Second, and this is really more about the Audible application than the audio format itself, I was able to listen seamlessly on different devices. I used my iPhone in the car, and switched to my iPod to finish the book while lying in bed Sunday morning. The app had my place bookmarked and picked up on the iPod right where I left off on the iPhone. Pretty cool.

The minuses for me are related to personal preference. When I read a book, I 'hear' a different voice for each character. With the audio format all I heard was the voice of the narrator, who sometimes changed his voice, cadence or accent to suit the character - but that was based largely on HIS interpretation of the character. He lapsed in and out a few times as well - sometimes the Hispanic character had an accent, sometimes he didn't. The narrator himself had a bit of a southern whang to his voice so that further affected the characters. I found that hard to get past, though after several minutes of listening I didn't notice it as much. Still, every time I turned it on there was an adjustment period. It's pretty clear to me that a good narrator can make or break an Audible experience.

Outside of the format, WTF was a good story. Set in Afghanistan at the onset of a zombie outbreak, the language and descriptions of the action suck you in. It didn't take much to visualize what was going on. When Lundy describes the car running around town shooting at zoms I had visions of action ala Blackhawk Down in my head. The chaos and action made for quick chapters, and I found myself sitting in my garage after making a food run - rather than taking the food inside - because I wanted to finish the current chapter.

The total length of the audio book was 2 hours, and I suspect I would have read it myself faster than that. While it was on the short side, it introduces a universe I want to know more about. How did it start? Was it intentional or accidental? Has it spread beyond the region in the book or is it localized to the rough and isolated terrain of Afghanistan? Most importantly, what happens next? None of these questions are answered here, which is of course designed to make you buy the next book.

Really, that is one of my criteria for rating something 4 zombie heads. If I finish the book and I want more, that's a component in a 4ZH rating. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ends in a spot where I definitely wasn't ready to end the story. I definitely will be reading the next installment.

In summary, I really liked the story and I want to read more. I'm not entirely sold on the Audible format. I can see that it really has some merit, but at the same time outside of some specific scenarios like driving I don't know that I would listen to a book over reading it. Maybe when I run…I like my music when I run, but maybe I need to give a book a try sometime while I'm staying in shape for ZPOC.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Outstanding story and plot POOR voice performance

What did you love best about Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

The story line as well as the accurate use of military terminology and tactics is spot on. Creating infected people who are fast is far more realist when talking about end of days scenarios. Slow zombies are easy to pick off and don't make for a believable foe against a well armed and trained military force.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Greg, only because it is humble in his role when compared to the navy seals.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance was the big failure here. Clearly the use of a narrator who does not understanding military terminology as well as how to properly use military acronyms was a miss. Also, he did a very poor job of showing proper voice inflection as well as portraying the parts as the writer must have wanted. He would probably do better narrating a children's book and not a military style book. I think Christian Rummel would have been a much much better choice for this style of reading. Eric Vincent would talk really slow during some parts and normal during others. He also would do a belly laugh or a overdone laugh when the situation only called for a small short chuckle. He would laugh in areas where there wasn't even a laugh written in. Just did a horrible job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I think a well funded version of the book as a movie would be a great idea. A low cost version would be a disservice to such a well written script.

Any additional comments?

Please rerecord this book with Christian Rummel as the narrator.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Loved the story but.....

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I had read the book and could not finish the audio.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the story itself.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The accent was not right for the characters origins (i.e. Brad was not from the south and the accent was predominantly southern) and incorrect use of acronyms (i.e. F O B spelled out, when it is a FOB, one word)

Could you see Whiskey Tango Foxtrot being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Absolutely!! But could not select who the actors should be---so long as they are believable!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys zombie/milit

Set in Afghanistan, this Escaping the Dead (Whiskey Foxtrot Tango) focuses on an active military unit out on patrol only to find complete radio silence, local blood crazed maniacs and their home base completely overrun by these ‘primal’ crazies. Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson struggles to remain alive, keep his unit intact and find out what is going on. Feelings of abandonment and never ending horror haunt these men in the Afghan wasteland.

An extremely short story, well written and action packed. The plot was well constructed and the character development was excellent. The plight Brad Thompson was almost tangible through vivid detailed descriptions. Listeners could get caught up in Thompsons being cut off from everyone, being chased by primals and not knowing the fate of his friends and family.

This is a unique zombie book as it takes a very small group of survivors and drops them in the middle of a wasteland, completely removed from everyone and everything except the enemy. They are not given the insight into what is happening or how it happened, where to go, what to do.

Lundy was considerate of his audience by not losing them in the descriptions of the military equipment. His writing style is laid back, informative and engrossing.

Eric Vincent did an excellent job of narrating and drawing the listener in with his talent.

The audio production of the book was well done.

I recommend this volume 1 to anyone who enjoys zombie/military genre.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

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7 of 13 people found this review helpful