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Working Stiffs
Something has gone horribly wrong in the Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals factory and ex-meth dealer Marshall Owens, the companies owner and drug genius, must keep the surrounding Pittsburgh area from finding out. Unfortunately, the undead assembly line workers have other plans.
The infection spreads and chaos reigns supreme as the surviving Pro-Well employees battle their way through offices with whatever weapons they can scrounge from the supply closet. They must get outside. But they don't know that The General is out there amassing a shambling, rotting army of Pittsburgh's finest.
Will the employees make it?
Will two repulsive works find love in a janitors closet?
How many office workers can one man take down with the blade of a paper cutter and some staplers?
Will Own Marshall go back to selling meth?
And most important of all, will Pro-Well's stock value plummet?
Find out all the answers in this brilliant new horror/comedy novel reminiscent of the style of Christopher Moore.
The infection spreads and chaos reigns supreme as the surviving Pro-Well employees battle their way through offices with whatever weapons they can scrounge from the supply closet. They must get outside. But they don't know that The General is out there amassing a shambling, rotting army of Pittsburgh's finest.
Will the employees make it?
Will two repulsive works find love in a janitors closet?
How many office workers can one man take down with the blade of a paper cutter and some staplers?
Will Own Marshall go back to selling meth?
And most important of all, will Pro-Well's stock value plummet?
Find out all the answers in this brilliant new horror/comedy novel reminiscent of the style of Christopher Moore.
241 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
336 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Leitner
21 books52 followersLucy Leitner is the author of five novels and many published short stories that blend horror, sci fi, black humor, and irreverence to explore “the terror of knowing what this world is about.” Her books have been classified as transgressive fiction, satire, splatterpunk, and, her personal favorite, “goofball noir.”
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 28, 2019
“The employees have gone mad,” she had cried into the receiver. “They’re killing one another and eating some while they are still alive and screaming!”
“Remain calm, and stay in your office,” Harold had said. “I will speak to Mr. Owens.”
Then the line went dead, and, unlike her co-workers, it never came back to life.
Try to envision the perfect factory workers . . .
They'd show up on time, they'd work long hours without complaining, and they'd NEVER try to unionize. In fact, they wouldn't even notice if, say, they got an arm torn off in a piece of machinery.
You got it!
ZOMBIES! The ideal employees!
Until, they get loose. Then they'd take to the streets, and NOT to protest the 1%.
Pittsburghers are once again menaced by roaming groups of brainless, hungry zombies . . . and THIS TIME, it's NOT just Steeler's fans!
Can a small group of office workers holed up in a conference room make it out of the office alive, AND before five? Will they follow the advice from one of those annoying motivational posters - “Teamwork: You can reach your goals only with the help of others”, or end up killing each other instead?
Leitner has crafted a funny, undead romp with a delightful Shaun Of The Dead feel. Though there is plenty of grisly zombie action involving organ and intestine chomping, this one is definitely played more for laughs than chills.
Highly recommended for zombie, AND humor fans looking for a good time in the Steel City.
"When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will go to work.”
“Remain calm, and stay in your office,” Harold had said. “I will speak to Mr. Owens.”
Then the line went dead, and, unlike her co-workers, it never came back to life.
Try to envision the perfect factory workers . . .
They'd show up on time, they'd work long hours without complaining, and they'd NEVER try to unionize. In fact, they wouldn't even notice if, say, they got an arm torn off in a piece of machinery.
You got it!
ZOMBIES! The ideal employees!
Until, they get loose. Then they'd take to the streets, and NOT to protest the 1%.
Pittsburghers are once again menaced by roaming groups of brainless, hungry zombies . . . and THIS TIME, it's NOT just Steeler's fans!
Can a small group of office workers holed up in a conference room make it out of the office alive, AND before five? Will they follow the advice from one of those annoying motivational posters - “Teamwork: You can reach your goals only with the help of others”, or end up killing each other instead?
Leitner has crafted a funny, undead romp with a delightful Shaun Of The Dead feel. Though there is plenty of grisly zombie action involving organ and intestine chomping, this one is definitely played more for laughs than chills.
Highly recommended for zombie, AND humor fans looking for a good time in the Steel City.
"When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will go to work.”
July 10, 2021
Premise: Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals is Pittsburgh’s premiere pharmaceutical company, led by the former meth dealer Marshall Owens, developing drugs that treat diseases and ailments such as erectile dysfunction. When a terrible accident stops production, however, their dirty little secret is revealed: the factory workforce is actually full of zombies who only need payment in human flesh.
The office employees quickly go into survival mode, banding together or falling victim to undead hunger. They gather makeshift weapons of paper cutters and staplers in order to fight off zombie hordes as they try to escape the building before it’s time to clock out. Marshall Owens has barricaded himself in his fourth floor office, but his surviving employees might have plans of making him pay for his crimes against nature.
The zombie horde amassing outside the building makes their escape plans even more of a challenge, especially with no contact with the outside world. The outbreak has spread to other parts of the city, but the surrounded building isn’t enough to make these employees work overtime.
Themes: Survival is the key in any zombie outbreak, and that is no different in Working Stiffs. Improvisation is essential, especially when trying to find food, water, and weapons. Knowing your enemy is important as you make a plan for survival. The employees search for office supplies that can double as weapons and do their best to plan for escape from the Pro-Well building. We are given insight into the creativity needed for survival situations.
Romance sort of plays a role in the story, though a small part, even if it is unrequited or hidden between unlikely characters. Two employees make their secret romance known, while the goth girl on her first day of work longs for the gay pessimist who becomes the appointed leader of the survivors.
Pros: The dialogue is pretty funny if you aren’t offended by obscenity. The unique characters are probably the best part of Working Stiffs, being thoughtfully characterized without becoming too much of a caricaturization. I liked the fast pace of the action and the funny conversations, especially of the boorish O’Brien. And the loveable General will surprise everyone with his leadership. I also liked that no one is safe when it comes to becoming a zombie meal.
Cons: One of the problems I had with Working Stiffs was that I wasn’t convinced the improvised weapons would have been quite as effective as they were. I don’t think reams of paper and telephones with cords attached would smash a skull as well as they did in the story. A minor gripe considering the humorous nature of the book, I feel like it ended with a few loose ends unresolved while other things tied up too quickly. Perhaps it needed a bigger climactic event to have more payoff. I thought some of the content was offensive for the sake of being offensive, such as with the self-depreciating homosexual or the comments about obese people.
Recommendations: If there is such a thing as a lighthearted zombie gore fest, this falls into that category. Working Stiffs is humorous, full of violence, gore, profanity, and indiscriminately offensive toward all social groups, from geek to goth, including religion, race, age, sexual preference, weight, et al. Some people will be offended by these things while others will greatly enjoy the book because of them. I have a feeling after reading this review you will know which camp you fall into. Think of Working Stiffs as a cross between Office Space and Shaun of the Dead.
The office employees quickly go into survival mode, banding together or falling victim to undead hunger. They gather makeshift weapons of paper cutters and staplers in order to fight off zombie hordes as they try to escape the building before it’s time to clock out. Marshall Owens has barricaded himself in his fourth floor office, but his surviving employees might have plans of making him pay for his crimes against nature.
The zombie horde amassing outside the building makes their escape plans even more of a challenge, especially with no contact with the outside world. The outbreak has spread to other parts of the city, but the surrounded building isn’t enough to make these employees work overtime.
Themes: Survival is the key in any zombie outbreak, and that is no different in Working Stiffs. Improvisation is essential, especially when trying to find food, water, and weapons. Knowing your enemy is important as you make a plan for survival. The employees search for office supplies that can double as weapons and do their best to plan for escape from the Pro-Well building. We are given insight into the creativity needed for survival situations.
Romance sort of plays a role in the story, though a small part, even if it is unrequited or hidden between unlikely characters. Two employees make their secret romance known, while the goth girl on her first day of work longs for the gay pessimist who becomes the appointed leader of the survivors.
Pros: The dialogue is pretty funny if you aren’t offended by obscenity. The unique characters are probably the best part of Working Stiffs, being thoughtfully characterized without becoming too much of a caricaturization. I liked the fast pace of the action and the funny conversations, especially of the boorish O’Brien. And the loveable General will surprise everyone with his leadership. I also liked that no one is safe when it comes to becoming a zombie meal.
Cons: One of the problems I had with Working Stiffs was that I wasn’t convinced the improvised weapons would have been quite as effective as they were. I don’t think reams of paper and telephones with cords attached would smash a skull as well as they did in the story. A minor gripe considering the humorous nature of the book, I feel like it ended with a few loose ends unresolved while other things tied up too quickly. Perhaps it needed a bigger climactic event to have more payoff. I thought some of the content was offensive for the sake of being offensive, such as with the self-depreciating homosexual or the comments about obese people.
Recommendations: If there is such a thing as a lighthearted zombie gore fest, this falls into that category. Working Stiffs is humorous, full of violence, gore, profanity, and indiscriminately offensive toward all social groups, from geek to goth, including religion, race, age, sexual preference, weight, et al. Some people will be offended by these things while others will greatly enjoy the book because of them. I have a feeling after reading this review you will know which camp you fall into. Think of Working Stiffs as a cross between Office Space and Shaun of the Dead.
July 13, 2012
It is a given that anything zombie is vastly popular, in print, film, comics, and TV. But thankfully, debut novelist Lucy Leitner gives us something fresh (er, okay, except for those rotting, renaimated corpses with a hungry penchant for human meat) and funny as hell. Yeah, after reading this slender novel, it would easy to see it a black comedy horror thing akin to Shaun of the Dead, or Night of the Living Dead meets The Office, but I give her huge kudos for making Working Stiffs all her own. After all, it is set in Pittsburgh, home of the godfather of zombie-horror, George Romero.
The novel is about a mad pharmaceuticals mogul, Marshall Owens, who designs a drug that turns humans into zombies. But he does this to use them as slave labor in his manufacturing plant...until one day they revolt, break out, and begin eating the denizens of the South Side area. The Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals office workers are unaware of this until the zombie horde (led by the General, a mostly harmless homeless man who somehow doesn't feel the need to consume his fellow man) begins to storm the home office and tear apart their coworkers. A ragtag group of surviving office workers bands together and uses office equipment to fend off and kill the hungry living dead. What Leitner does best is intersperse the obvious zombie gorefest with a lot of dry wit, black humor, often perverse but poignantly true, as the quirky office workers (led by Hank, an aging gay rocker type, who hates everyone) try to find a way to stay alive. Those from Pittsburgh, like this reviewer, will especially get a kick out of the numerous cultural and local sports references of the Steel City. Highly recommended!
The novel is about a mad pharmaceuticals mogul, Marshall Owens, who designs a drug that turns humans into zombies. But he does this to use them as slave labor in his manufacturing plant...until one day they revolt, break out, and begin eating the denizens of the South Side area. The Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals office workers are unaware of this until the zombie horde (led by the General, a mostly harmless homeless man who somehow doesn't feel the need to consume his fellow man) begins to storm the home office and tear apart their coworkers. A ragtag group of surviving office workers bands together and uses office equipment to fend off and kill the hungry living dead. What Leitner does best is intersperse the obvious zombie gorefest with a lot of dry wit, black humor, often perverse but poignantly true, as the quirky office workers (led by Hank, an aging gay rocker type, who hates everyone) try to find a way to stay alive. Those from Pittsburgh, like this reviewer, will especially get a kick out of the numerous cultural and local sports references of the Steel City. Highly recommended!
March 13, 2015
I am going to start with what I think are the pros for this author and story.
The author’s marketing is freaking brilliant. The company in the book is called ProWell Pharmaceuticals. The author created a website for this company:
ProWell Pharmaceuticals <— This is beyond hilarious. Not only did she create a website for the company, she created a zombie workout site for survival:
FITApocalypse <—- She really has an edge with her marketing plan.
CONS:
To me, it had a very Stephen King vibe, not in the story, but in the descriptions; where he goes into pages of description for one person. Another dislike for me was that the author goes on and on about humanity, and whores and women, etc. The story itself was really good. The idea, the flow and thought process from beginning to end. For a female author, she’s really rough on women. I feel she tries too hard at throwing in pop-culture references.
Overall, this is really midline for me. It was easy enough to read, but I found myself skipping pages and skimming the story, just to actually get through it and finish it.
The author’s marketing is freaking brilliant. The company in the book is called ProWell Pharmaceuticals. The author created a website for this company:
ProWell Pharmaceuticals <— This is beyond hilarious. Not only did she create a website for the company, she created a zombie workout site for survival:
FITApocalypse <—- She really has an edge with her marketing plan.
CONS:
To me, it had a very Stephen King vibe, not in the story, but in the descriptions; where he goes into pages of description for one person. Another dislike for me was that the author goes on and on about humanity, and whores and women, etc. The story itself was really good. The idea, the flow and thought process from beginning to end. For a female author, she’s really rough on women. I feel she tries too hard at throwing in pop-culture references.
Overall, this is really midline for me. It was easy enough to read, but I found myself skipping pages and skimming the story, just to actually get through it and finish it.
August 5, 2012
When one thinks of zombies and Pittsburgh, the name that readily comes to mind is that of filmmaker George Romero. However, if this books gains the popularity it deserves, the name Lucy Leitner will also come to mind when one thinks of undead folks shambling through the Steel City.
Romero's films were social commentary, but Ms. Leitner's book goes a step beyond that, mixing the zombie apocalypse with the world of office politics, and the result is hilarious!
When Marshall Owens, a reformed meth user who now owns a large pharmaceutical company, attempts to develop a new drug for erectile dysfunction, he accidentally creates zombies instead. Figuring he can save a few bucks, he uses the drug to create a workforce of zombie slaves, but it all goes awry, as such things are wont to do.
Working Stiffs is a wonderfully entertaining novel, populated with a wonderful cast of characters, my favorites of whom are Hank, a curmudgeonly middle-aged gay guy who basically hates everything but has a soft spot for an elderly street person known as The General; and Janice, a woman who, on her voyage of self-discovery, has been a hippie, a punk and is currently a goth.
I was actually sad when this novel came to an end but will gladly read the next book Ms. Leitner writes, no matter what it's about.
Romero's films were social commentary, but Ms. Leitner's book goes a step beyond that, mixing the zombie apocalypse with the world of office politics, and the result is hilarious!
When Marshall Owens, a reformed meth user who now owns a large pharmaceutical company, attempts to develop a new drug for erectile dysfunction, he accidentally creates zombies instead. Figuring he can save a few bucks, he uses the drug to create a workforce of zombie slaves, but it all goes awry, as such things are wont to do.
Working Stiffs is a wonderfully entertaining novel, populated with a wonderful cast of characters, my favorites of whom are Hank, a curmudgeonly middle-aged gay guy who basically hates everything but has a soft spot for an elderly street person known as The General; and Janice, a woman who, on her voyage of self-discovery, has been a hippie, a punk and is currently a goth.
I was actually sad when this novel came to an end but will gladly read the next book Ms. Leitner writes, no matter what it's about.
December 28, 2012
Loved it! The coolest thing is that I know Lucy. Anyways, think she wrote an awesome book.
November 23, 2015
I loved this book! It is funny and fast paced keeping my interest the entire way through it. I recommend this anyone with a sense of humor.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews