Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here

by Mark Rounds

"Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here" is the story of Chad Strickland, his family and friends as they try to survive the onslaught of a virulent plague. The setting is in the near future in Central Washington. Chad and Mary Strickland, along with their neighbors, Dave Tippet and Heather Tunney band together to protect their children and their way of life. Along the way, Chris Vaughn and Amber Hoskins join their group as they are hounded out of their homes and forced to go on the road to escape a gang of infected bikers led by Special Agent Macklin who is in turn part of a bigger plot to over throw the US Government and take control.

497 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2015

Reviews

[Mike Siedschlag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Mark Rounds gave me an e-version of Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here for review.

I want to start by saying that this is another case of an Indie gem. The big publishing houses are missing an opportunity with this new author. Amazon does a good job of supporting Indie authors, Barnes and Noble, not so much (Wake up B&N).

Hell is Empty... is a great representation of the Zombie Apocalypse genre. The story is in how the zombies came to be, so I leave it to you to read the book and find out. As a conspiracy theory, post-apocalyptic, wanna be prepper, survivalist, action lover; Hell is Empty... has everything I enjoy in a book. People struggling against long odds, making a stand and not rolling over. Thinking and acting with some intelligence. Intrigue, romance, humor, defiance, kicking butt and taking names. Definitely an action readers book.

I'm not a military expert by any stretch, but it is good to see that the military is not portrayed as a bunch of impotent, idiotic wimps, or testosterone flooded Neanderthals. Good guys, bad guys, and fence sitters a plenty. Kind of like what happens in a real catastrophe.

Hell is Empty... caught my interest immediately and held it throughout. For me there were no dead spots, no places where the story bogged down. The tension is maintained well between all out action sequences. The action is graphic and intense but believable. Not overblown, we are not dealing with comic book heroes or villains here.

A couple of negatives: First (and foremost); the ending it is kind of abrupt. My e-reader (like everyone's e-reader) shows what percent of the book is done. I saw 100% coming up and didn't see an ending setting up. Second; (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) some of the characters are really disrespectful to Spam (I like Spam)(Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam wonderful Spam! Thank you Monty Python).

All the main characters are well developed. Both villains and good guys are introduced in stages, their virtues and shortcomings set up rather than; here are the good guys, here are the bad guys. Character development is part of setting up the story.

So cliffhangers and my possible copyright violations aside, Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here by Mark Rounds is an awesome read. I hate having to wait for the sequel. Enjoy!

Mike

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great beginning to what should turn out to be a great series. It is well-written and
perfectly paced.

The plotline of a virus being manufactured and dispersed by an unknown organisation is conceivable, but hopefully not in my lifetime. The plague, how it spreads, the attempts to stop it and the inevitable collapse of society is disturbingly realistic, although the control of the infected leans towards the paranormal.

The characters behave and react in a believable way, as they learn to work together to survive and fight against the infected population.

I am looking forward to the second book, and finding out what happens next.

I received an eCopy of Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here from Mark Rounds in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[Merrill Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my most intense cinematic experiences was watching George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead one evening late at night on channel seven (ABC) when I lived at home in The Bronx. I almost turned the knob on the film, turned off by the seemingly lame dialogue and cheesy photography and then the first zombie, the guy stumbling around in the background shot of the graveyard, moves (well, shuffles) into action and BOOM! the movie takes off and doesn't let down for a single second.

To this day I remember that as the film progressed, an eerie feeling came over me that I wasn't watching a film so much as a documentary. I now sort of understand the feelings of all those thousands of people who were terrified by Orson Well's 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, even those who knew they were listening to a dramatization. It's a rare atmosphere that only a handful of films I've watched have been able to create. I never watched the original Night again, wanting to keep the memory of that unique experience fresh in my mind.

From that peak experience, my relationship with zombies and the genre has deteriorated. The problem is me. I just have a hard time taking all these zombie movies seriously, particularly the classic "return from the dead" variety. (Though anyone who has watched Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump stalk the land recently understands that the Walking Dead still remain beside us.)

It's my inner scientist that's the problem. You see, being dead is accompanied by a series of handicaps and issues that challenge the whole perambulation and dining activities that seem to motivate the newly expired zombie. Looked at holistically, they're hard to ignore.

Take walking, for instance. Now, when you die, you begin to putrefy quickly. The Walking Dead takes place in Georgia and I've been in Georgia in the summer. It's pretty darn hot and I give any strolling corpse a week, tops, before they transform into a revolting glop of goo and stop going anywhere. (And I'm not sure how you chow down on a screaming, wriggling victim once all your jaw muscles have melted. And ligaments really do count for something.) The name of the most popular zombie show of all time should be The Disgusting Dead and it should have gone off the air years ago.

Also, zombies aren't the smartest folk around. Their strategic and tactical capabilities seem limited to shuffling slowly in giant hordes, when they're not being lured in just about any direction you want by one of several methods, including turning on your chain saw, accidentally firing a found from your shot gun, or whispering in a loud sotto voce voice to your survivalist band that they need to keep it down because, dash nabbit, there are zombies everywhere. I mean, really. The NRA has ensured that when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, a group of well organized Boy Scouts armed with 30-06 hunting riles will have enough ammo to get the situation under control in a couple of weeks.

I understand that today's zombie literati wish to expand the emotional and artistic reach of zombiedom, but I'm skeptical of these efforts. I did my best to express my feelings on the subject in this excerpt from Selling Steve Jobs' Liver: A Story of Startups, Innovation, and Connectivity in the Clouds:

“Landon, I can understand your viewpoint, but I can’t endorse it.” Ignacio’s tone was stern. “The zombie movie must evolve. Many of these films have taken the zombie to places none of us expected. ‘Warm Bodies,’ for example. Read the comments on the board. About how the movie explores the zombie’s emotional world in fresh new ways. Another referred to it as the best love story since ‘Love Story.’”

“Love story?” Michael said. “Don’t zombies want to eat their dates? I just don’t see that as romantic. In ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ when Romeo dies, Juliet doesn’t treat him as a snack. Besides, if zombies are so wonderful, why haven’t they done one with your local hero, Elvis?”

“They have,” Ignacio said.

“‘Bubba Ho Tep.’ A classic,” said Landon.

“Excuse me,” I said. “Just to give my friend here some support, I don’t understand how zombie movies can ‘evolve.’ I mean, zombies are dead, right? Their whole goal is to not evolve.”

Ignacio shook his head sadly. “Nate, you need to expand your horizons. America has embraced the zombie. ‘The Walking Dead’ proved the point. How many zombie movies have you seen? Other than ‘Dead Snow?’ How can you criticize something you haven’t truly experienced?”

“Ignacio, I haven’t experienced going to International Falls in the middle of winter and licking an aluminum lamp post with my tongue, either. Something a zombie could do with absolutely no discomfort, even if they left their tongue stuck to the pole.”

OK, enough kvetching about zombies. Let's get to the review of Hell is Empty.

Mike Rounds' opus (the first of three parts, I believe), is not technically a "zombie" book, but is written in the spirit of 28 Days Later, a zombie sub genre I'll refer to as an "infected." Many zombie purists sneer at infected movies and some harsh words were directed at the the ending of 28, in which the rage-ridden "undead" of the film starve to death. This fate seemed to make sense, and, if you were willing to indulge in a leap of the imagination and accept the proposition that most of the Italian, Indian, Chinese and other ethnic eateries were destroyed by the raging apocalypse sweeping the British isles, logical. Having been to the U.K., I myself would rather starve than eat native British cuisine. Much of it tastes like it was made from leftover parts of the undead.

Rest of post up at: http://bit.ly/1Y97Bs7

[Judith Rook · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “Hell is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here” the very high quality of the writing is immediately attractive. Without doubt this is one of the better contemporary apocalyptic novels, with a storyline which presents an acceptable reality, leading to highly believable action. It is not a reality which one would wish to experience, in which a viral plague, produced and dispersed by a highly placed but unrevealed cabal, overturns the order of the world.
It is well known that in such fictional situations the human spirit tends to rise and burn brightly in certain individuals. These become leaders, resolving the situation as best they can, and in “Hell is Empty” there is an abundance of such people, both male and female.
They appear as strong individuals, but as characters in a novel, they are somewhat undeveloped. Perhaps this is to be expected. In an apocalyptic survival story, with a strong military colour, individual character growth will take second place to the action; and throughout the course of the book the inexorable development of the plague itself is the main focus of the storyline.
The survivor characters are all firmly identified with the military and law enforcement arms of society. They are calm and resourceful. They are very knowledgeable and capable in all areas, from being able to produce the statistical information needed to understand the spread of the disease to the planting of home-made napalm bombs to protect their houses, not to mention fighting off bikie gangs.
It is this reassuring quality which the author personifies in the chief character, Chad. It is a strength which carries him and his family, together with his equally capable and experienced friend, the somewhat enigmatic Dave, through the first stages of survival.
Rounds knows what makes a compelling story. There is a villain, an unpleasant “spook”, high in the echelons of Homeland Security, the creature of the faceless evil. Macklin is a character equally as strong as those he opposes, and through him the author achieves a balance of understanding between how the forces of evil operate and how the forces of good get along in opposition.
If the title of the novel has been taken from Act I of Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”, another Shakespearean allusion can perhaps be seen at work in the action in general. In “Hamlet” Polonius advises his son to avoid getting into trouble but if he finds himself in it, he is to make sure that he gives a good account of himself. In this book the positive characters do exactly that. Although the infected plague victims act in a traditionally terrifying zombie-like manner without actually being corpses, the uninfected survivors manage to cope without sacrificing too much of their basic human generosity of spirit.
The plot is tight and fast and the passing of time is handled very effectively through the use of datelines. If these had not been included it would be difficult to follow the events as they unfold in different places, but Rounds handles what is in fact a very tricky structural need with the aplomb of a multi-book author. One could wish that these prompts stood out a little more clearly within the text, but they are there, and they certainly help.
The storyline and action are thoroughly authentic. From the first recognition of the plague, Rounds shows what happens in military emergency councils; he reveals the decisions which are made and the plans which are formed. It is quite clear that he intends to suggest that this fictional reality is very close to the reality we all know, and he is completely successful.
Certain editorial errors which seem to identify many online independently published books can be overlooked in the face of Rounds’ accomplished achievement. In full command of a distinctive and persuasive writing style he has presented a knowledgeable, authentic, thoroughly interesting and possibly disturbing, story.
“Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here” is highly recommended for general reading, even to those who may feel that stories of the apocalypse are not their preferred genre.

Reviewed by Judith Rook
https://www.facebook.com/JudithRookBooks

[Don Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who let the zombies out?

In this chilling and all-too-realistic novel about end-times fueled by virulent body fluids, first-time author Mark Rounds does a yeoman job of delivering a first-rate apocalyptic novel, long on graphic violence and cast with carefully crafted characters.

Major players Chad Strickland, Dave Tippet and a close-knit band of family and friends fend off wave after wave of whacked-out bikers and other bad guys as they struggle to survive against all odds.

Supplies run low and the action heats up as the AH10N3 virus runs rampant. It's classic, blood-and-guts zombie fare, sure to satiate even the most jaded genre reader. And, at over 500 pages, there's plenty to enjoy.

The taut action also features plenty of authentic military and police lingo, and tons of snappy dialogue. And the author clearly is at home with high-power weapons and military ordnance -- all put to very good use in battling the bizarre bands of plague victims.

Here's a sample of what you can expect:

"There was the crack of a high powered rifle, and the biker’s head exploded from the impact of a .338 Lapua round fired from Remington model 700 XCR. Dave quickly worked the action of the big rifle and scanned for his next target. Meanwhile, Chad, on the roof of his house, opened fire with his AR-15. The leader of the biker gang was staring at the wreck of a human, who moments before had been a member of his gang."

But wait. Who is the sinister spook dispatched from Washington, D.C.'s highest levels to "eliminate" Strickland and any others who may know too much? Bad enough to have to grapple with ghouls at every turn. Does the federal government -- ostensibly in place to preserve peace -- have to be watched as well?

Five stars to this ambitious piece of apocalyptic fiction. The author clearly poured his heart and soul into this project, and it shows. Now, Mr. Rounds -- how about a first-rate spy thriller? Good job!

[Alex McGilvery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plague has struck the US and the rest of the world. Chad organizes his family and neighbours to stay safe and away from the infected. They cooperate in the best of survivalist fashion. The early part of the book is about the attempts to halt the disease as well as how to survive the coming collapse.

Then the book gets really interesting. The characters are well drawn for this style of book and they grow through the story. The details of the progress of the disease are well thought out and presented. I very much enjoyed reading the book and look forward to the next in the series.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this whole series, good characters, fast paced action and great local flavor! It was a page turner from the beginning, I was shocked and saddened when it ended, I wanted it to go on and on!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that I LOVE zombie movies, T.V shows, but more importantly, I love zombie books, especially books that show the beginning and then the mad decent into the apocalyptic world. Most zombie books begin when the apocalypse is already in full force and don't really show readers the how's or the why's. Mark Rounds does the complete opposite with his refreshing take on this popular genre. Fans that love zombies as much as I do will be happy to know that Hell is Empty...isn't your typical zombie book. The flesh eating infected in this book are not people who have risen from the dead. Yes, they eat you, but they are not what you have come to know and expect. Unfortunately, I cannot say more without spilling spoilers, so you're just going to have to see for yourself. There are a few grammatical and formatting errors in the book, but I promise you that it's nothing that will take away from the story. Expect to see the story unfold from different character POV's, which I usually find annoying, but it works for the story because it shows the outbreak from many different angles. Would definitely read more from this author. I highly recommend this book.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot kept me turning pages and the characters were believable and likable. The plot got the military issues right but didn't dwell upon them.

[Luk.gib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it from first to the last page. In my book Yours book is good.