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Michele W. Miller

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The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery Kindle Edition

by Michele W. Miller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 385 ratings

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Eight addicts, alcoholics and children of addicts escape decimated New York. They have only one thing in common: the addict gene. The same genetic quirk that makes them susceptible to booze and drugs gives them a mysterious ability to evade the undead. They just need to think quick, stay sober and get along with each other.

Editorial Reviews

Review

2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Quarter-Finalist

"A humorous and surprising satire of both the zombie apocalypse and the culture of addiction....wholly original...satisfying.... The care taken in both characterization and prose earns the reader’s time. A well-written, thoughtful treatment not just of a popular literary trope but of a nagging social issue."
-KIRKUS REVIEWS

"What makes this book stand out, besides its great pacing and true-to-life dialogue, is the characters and their relation to one another... . It's a striking look at the ills of society without being preachy...a study of human nature in the guise of a horror novel.... Miller is also able to weave in her brazen New York style humor seamlessly. The humor is harsh and unbridled, delivered in a way that only a native of New York can really master. If you like zombies or well written books of any genre, then you can't go wrong with The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery."
-HELLNOTES.COM

"Michele Miller has had more lives than a cat, and they've made her a writer of passion and substance."
-Lawrence Block, Edgar Award winner & New York Times bestselling author

"I don't normally read this genre but the prose was so taut and the premise so original that I kept turning pages.... This book deserves lots of accolades. Read it!!
-Ashley Prentice Norton, author of The Chocolate Money

"It is very well-written and well-paced. The writing flows naturally and is not self-conscious. The dialogue is believable.... This is an engaging and entertaining read."
-Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Expert Review.

"The zombie apocalypse is not the story; it's the setting. This thought-provoking commentary on 12-Step culture -- our pitfalls, majesty and volatility -- is the treasure inside this story.... This book ranks as a strong buy from this analyst."
-Rebelliondogspublishing.com

"Likeable characters. Moves at a good clip. Good read."
-Isabel Cristina Pinedo, author of Recreational Terror: Women & the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing

"As an author, fan of the genre... I have nothing but envy for the premise of this book. Addicts, and those who have the genetic makeup of an addict, are immune to the Zombie infection. Zombies don't smell them and seek them out the way they do with other humans. So what is left wandering the post-apocalyptic zombie wasteland is either recovering addicts, or those who continue to get high on the scraps left behind. Why can't I think of something cool like that? ...[L]ike all the best zombie stories, this isn't about the zombies at all. It is to see if humans can keep their humanity, or will they become like the undead they are trying to escape... You will smile and become part of this group as you read about their adventures...."
-Mark Matthews, author of On The Lips of Children

About the Author

Married to a New York City high school chemistry teacher, mom to15-year-old twins, and an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awardssemi-finalist, Michele practices law and lives in Manhattan.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GK67COU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HOW Club Press; 1st edition (November 4, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3086 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,469,656 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,331 in U.S. Horror Fiction
- #10,383 in Dystopian Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #11,457 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 385 ratings

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Michele W. Miller

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Michele's books have been named "Best of 2019" by Strand Magazine; Outstanding August 2021 Mystery & Suspense title by Library Journal; and semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Kirkus Reviews calls her "Mary Higgins Clark with Teeth." Michele has lived most of her life in Upper Manhattan—Harlem and Washington Heights—where her novels often take place and where she currently resides with her husband, 20-year-old twin sons, two cats, and a large dog. Former chief government ethics prosecutor for NYC, she now serves as General Counsel for a non-profit agency that provides re-entry services to the formerly incarcerated. She has herself overcome addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. (MIchele sometimes writes under the name Michele Weinstat Miller.)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

385 global ratings

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Dr Morbius

New life (unlife?) for a played out genre

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2013

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I've pretty much had enough of the popular zombie craze of the last several years. And don't even mention the vampire thing -- Twilight & its contemporaries make me sick. I'm an old school horror and science fiction guy, and I paid my dues throughout high school and college by way of teasing, mockery, and general disrespect for those of us who liked that sort of thing. I have no interest in skinny jeans-wearing, caramel latte-drinking, "lite" fair-weather horror fans.

Then along comes The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery. This is horror the way that it should be (blood, gore, terror, paranoia) but also horror for the 21st century -- the details ring true and are thought out well, and the characters seem like people that you know, or might know, or even like yourself. The novel had this jaded horror snob compulsively turning pages, and admiring the new twists on an old story. In particular, I liked how the author explored some of the dangers (besides the legions of undead and crazed survivors) of a modern post-apocalyptic America that I don't think have ever been incorporated before in other zombie stories.

Highly recommended: suspenseful, scary, bloody, and with surprises and new ideas. Excellent!

One person found this helpful

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Aaron LaBarbera

A page-turner from page one!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014

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Excellent read! This book captured my attention immediately and I finished almost in one sitting. The idea of addicts being the ones to survive an apocalypse is such a novel idea(no pun intended).
The writing is great as are the characters. A good mix of personalities and actually believable ones. My only complaint would be a bit too much of a reliance on the AA process. It almost starts to sound preachy. It's obviously needed for the story, it's in the title. However, there were a few spots where it felt almost religious in nature. Still, the overall story was fantastic and a very fun read! You don't often find zombie novels that actually have a happy ending, so this was a nice change. Just because it's the end of the world, doesn't mean it has to be the end of the world, right???

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James Mann

Not just another zombie novel

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014

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I recommend this novel highly -- it is entertaining and a quick and fun read, but also has sufficiently serious and insightful things to say that you don't feel like you've wasted your time reading another trash novel when you're through! The story has a great deal to do with people in recovery (alcohol and drugs), but you don't have to be in recovery or have it affect your life in order to find the book interesting. Having said that, as a recovering alcoholic, the book's descriptions of the way I think and feel are spot on, as is the novel's discussion of 12 step programs. The author seems to take a generally pro-twelve step program stance, but is not preachy or didactic -- she lets the character and plot development make her points, so you don't really notice until after.

Also, the book is very well-written -- the people speak and act like people you know (except the zombies of course).

I recommend this book all around.

One person found this helpful

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Laurabee

Interesting read.

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2014

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I tried to read some reviewers, but they wrote like alcoholics talking in an al-anon meeting. way to long without much to say. This was my first Zombie book. but as a 12 stepper I got into it and couldn't put it down. I love the symbolism, how the whole world wants to believe the addict is invisible, but when faced with the addict wants to destroy addict and not understand them. People with a disease and that it is. As for the Tennessee place, that was well thought out. I know what miller was saying about circuit speakers. I was at a roundup once and I was knitting as was my al-anon sponsor next to me and the AA speaker approached us and say I don't want to look out when I'm speaking and see you knitting so put your stuff away. I simply said to him,. I'm going to knit, it will either be in here or out in the lobby, your choice. As for finding the new world it was the spiritual awaking and carrying the message. IF you follow the journey to a place you would go on your own, peace will be yours. thank you, Michele. you hit the nail on the head about real recovery. PS I think all alcoholics should to go al-anon meetings so they won't become codependent to other alcoholics, I have seen that more than once and it makes a good meeting go south. As in the case with jared.

6 people found this helpful

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FF

Good Book In Spite of the Splattered Brains

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2013

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I can't give this book five stars because I'm such a pacifist. Zombies are not part of my generation's culture and I really hated the splattering brains.

That said, this book is fast-paced, exciting and interesting. A cast of diverse characters set out to survive in a post-zombie world and their adventures drew me in from the first chapter. Characters are sympathetic, situations are realistic, the plot pulls you forward through space and time on a well-described travelogue from a destroyed New York City to I won't say where. Because that is part of the mystery. Who is immune to the zombie virus and why is the other mystery, tied up nicely in the end of the book.

The strengths and weaknesses of 12-step programs are interwoven into the story adding complexity and raising interesting questions on the nature of cults. Also interwoven subtly is a socially responsible view of poverty, racism, and materialism which together with the 12-step commentary make this book much more than just a zombie adventure story.

12 people found this helpful

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ST

AA abounds

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2015

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I stuck with this book to the bitter end, for some reason. It's basically an endless repetition of ghastly zombie attacks and tedious AA 12-step rant. I think it's great that people are helped by AA, although studies have shown it's generally more effective for men than women but, seriously, when is enough too much? Yes, you are an alcoholic forever but could there be such a thing as focusing on it too much?? If there is, this book "wrote the book". Still, I slogged on. It's not badly written and the characters are engaging; the story line isn't even that bad, it just took forever for it to get where it was going. I don't know that I exactly recommend it; a lot would depend on your tastes/standards. I wouldn't say don't read it either. It's free so do whatever.

One person found this helpful

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Amira Abdellatif

The unliving & the undead

Reviewed in Canada on March 14, 2014

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Quite sensible for a horror book! It's more of a social commentary and discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous/Addiction than blood and gore - though there is that, too. It's thought provoking.

Lisa Richardson

A great twist to the zombie genre

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2013

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I had already read the beginning of this novel on the author's website prior to it being released and, having been intrigued by the premise, I was very much looking forward to reading the novel. I wasn't disappointed. What I love most about zombie fiction is when it shows the bonds that develop between people who probably would never have met, or even have mixed with each other, if it wasn't for them being driven together under extreme circumstances; and this book does that perfectly. A group of survivors, most of them having met in New York, begin an exciting journey through a zombie infested landscape while learning to trust and rely on each other.

There is an original twist to the zombie genre in the reason why the survivors were immune to whatever caused the infection on Z Day, and this brings the group even closer. I loved reading about how the believable and diverse characters and their relationships develop, and I found myself routing for them all.

The book is fast-paced, well written and realistic. The high level of research the author must have done to make the dystopian world believable, together with the addict theme give this book more depth than your average zombie-fest. A really enjoyable page-turner, I highly recommend this book.

One person found this helpful

doomsayer

very good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2014

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As a fan of the walking dead comics and tv series this book had a lot to live up to and never disappointed.
My only quibble would be that I wanted more pages to read!

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Recovery and Zombies - who could ask for more?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2014

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As a person in recovery (although still working on a book addiction) I do sometimes find the normal fare of personal memoirs and/or self-help manuals starting to wear thin. As good as some of them are they are still a variation on the same theme.

So how great it is to read a book where issues and questions about recovery are artfully interwoven with a good old apocalypse. And the supposed "affliction of addiction" becomes an asset in the race for survival.

There are many parts of the book that people in recovery will identify with, and for those who have not struggled with addiction (if they exist!) it will give you a real insight into addiction recovery- alongside how to survive a zombie attack!

I read this book in one sitting (see book addict above) much to the chagrin of my dogs who knew it was way past bedtime. Next time I will read it more slowly in order to savour the themes it encompasses.

Whether you love recovery, or love zombies, or in my case both this is one for you.

One person found this helpful

Paul Pengilly

Very enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

So different to other zombie books I have read. A TWIST in the type of survivor. It would be nice to have a follow-up to see how they get on.

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