What do you think?
Rate this book
Doll Parts
In this bloody, gory Irish sequel to the author's strong seller Drop Dead Gorgeous, a tattered band of survivors continue to struggle for survival in the chaotic aftermath of the zombie apocalypse.
311 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
4 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Wayne Simmons
36 books178 followersWayne Simmons is a writer and journalist with several genre novels published in the UK, Germany, Spain, Turkey and North America.
His zombie novel, Flu, was serialised by Sirius XM's Book Radio.
His cyberpunk novel, Plastic Jesus, was described by the Guardian as 'a stunning read, but not for the faint hearted.'
Wayne is a regular contributor to Skin Deep Tattoo Magazine.
His zombie novel, Flu, was serialised by Sirius XM's Book Radio.
His cyberpunk novel, Plastic Jesus, was described by the Guardian as 'a stunning read, but not for the faint hearted.'
Wayne is a regular contributor to Skin Deep Tattoo Magazine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 23, 2019
Drop Dead Gorgeous started off reasonably well and got terrific towards the end. This sequel was terrific for most of the time but the ending was a bit of a let down. So many unanswered questions and it was a messy way to end. Would hate to think that there isn't a part three in the pipeline as we won't some sort of closure.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
April 4, 2012
Doll Parts is the sequel to Wayne Simmons novel 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' starting were the previous book left off. Filled with action, gore, horror and a brilliant story. This book starts off running and never slows down - giving the reader a thrill ride to remember.
I can honestly say that this is one of the most original horror novels I have read in many years. Simmons has created a monster that will stay in your head and gut for years after finishing the book. He has taken the 'zombie' and turned it on its head - maybe even turning it into something altogether different (I'll let you discover what by yourself).
With harrowing scenes and blood soaked action, this book is a page turner. Never relenting in gut wrenching horror and shocks that will keep you glued to its pages. I couldn't put it down.
Over the last year I have became a massive fan of this authors work and I have to admit that this is his best book to date. It's originality and fresh angle works wonders for the story and his great skill at creating diverse and interesting characters shines in this novel.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. I cannot wait to see what Wayne Simmons has in store for us next.
I can honestly say that this is one of the most original horror novels I have read in many years. Simmons has created a monster that will stay in your head and gut for years after finishing the book. He has taken the 'zombie' and turned it on its head - maybe even turning it into something altogether different (I'll let you discover what by yourself).
With harrowing scenes and blood soaked action, this book is a page turner. Never relenting in gut wrenching horror and shocks that will keep you glued to its pages. I couldn't put it down.
Over the last year I have became a massive fan of this authors work and I have to admit that this is his best book to date. It's originality and fresh angle works wonders for the story and his great skill at creating diverse and interesting characters shines in this novel.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. I cannot wait to see what Wayne Simmons has in store for us next.
October 29, 2017
A brilliant follow up to Drop Dead Gorgeous. Survivors holed up in Belfast airport struggle to survive the Doll attacks and each other. A rag tag band of individuals with so much baggage they wouldn't meet the airlines weight restrictions try to restart a normal society within the terminal. But are there Dolls already hiding out among them.
Mr Simmons has given us a glamorous apocalypse and I whole heartedly recommend you read both this and its prequel.
Mr Simmons has given us a glamorous apocalypse and I whole heartedly recommend you read both this and its prequel.
August 21, 2019
This book is definitely fantastic.
July 20, 2017
An interesting twist on typical zombie themed books, interesting characters with a good plot.
September 16, 2013
After reading Drop Dead Gorgeous by Wayne Simmons, I was keen to return to the bleak post-apocalyptic Belfast that the author had created and left wide-open for a return at the end of DDG in which, . And so, I eagerly set about reading its sequel, Doll Parts.
Doll Parts picks up almost immediately from where Drop Dead Gorgeous left off with our protagonists still fighting for survival against the savage onslaught of the undead. In keeping with the flow of the story from the end of DDG, Doll Parts starts off at breakneck pace and simply does not let up. Where DDG progresses patiently towards its inevitable and bloody conclusion, Doll Parts rockets along as if the reader had merely turned the page to a new chapter rather than picking up a new book entirely. In keeping with this tempo, Simmons ramps up the bodycount and gorehounds will not be left disappointed. The action and deaths within Doll Parts are brutal and the author festoons his work with brains and other assorted viscera as if they were punctuation marks.
Simmons introduces new characters to proceedings and once again creates painfully real individuals who bring their own fallacies, dark secrets and "quirks" of their personalities to proceedings, which ultimately, for many of them, prove to be their undoing; and Simmons is in no way hesitant about despatching his protagonists. I would suggest to you that it is this aspect of crime and consequence that elevates both Drop Dead Gorgeous and Doll Parts above many other works within the walking dead sub-genre.
Much of the sectarianism that provides fuel for the fire of division among characters in Drop Dead Gorgeous is left behind in Doll Parts, rendering it more akin to a straight-up action/horror novel. However, to categorise it as such would be unfair since Simmons continues the evolution of his unique antagonists in a direction that I had not anticipated, making the reading of Doll Parts all the more satisfying.
Despite the characters having transportation and being able to move with relative freedom around what remains of Belfast, Simmons creates a sense of dread and foreboding throughout proceedings due to the near omni-present walking dead, no matter where the characters run to.
Critically, the pace of Doll Parts may leave a reader fresh to the universe that Simmons has created a little lost or intimidated. However, I would suggest that Doll Parts is not intended to be read as a stand-alone novel and I am grateful that the author has bypassed much of the recapping that is prevalent in many follow-up works. Moreover, Simmons spent much of Drop Dead Gorgeous developing his bleak and foreboding Belfast and ought not to have to retread old ground unnecessarily.
Doll Parts is a well-written, bloody sequel to the fantastic Drop Dead Gorgeous that due to the author's style, pace and content, will not take long to read at all. If you have yet to read either book, I would suggest that you obtain Drop Dead Gorgeous before starting Doll Parts; it can only enhance your appreciation of both books.
Doll Parts picks up almost immediately from where Drop Dead Gorgeous left off with our protagonists still fighting for survival against the savage onslaught of the undead. In keeping with the flow of the story from the end of DDG, Doll Parts starts off at breakneck pace and simply does not let up. Where DDG progresses patiently towards its inevitable and bloody conclusion, Doll Parts rockets along as if the reader had merely turned the page to a new chapter rather than picking up a new book entirely. In keeping with this tempo, Simmons ramps up the bodycount and gorehounds will not be left disappointed. The action and deaths within Doll Parts are brutal and the author festoons his work with brains and other assorted viscera as if they were punctuation marks.
Simmons introduces new characters to proceedings and once again creates painfully real individuals who bring their own fallacies, dark secrets and "quirks" of their personalities to proceedings, which ultimately, for many of them, prove to be their undoing; and Simmons is in no way hesitant about despatching his protagonists. I would suggest to you that it is this aspect of crime and consequence that elevates both Drop Dead Gorgeous and Doll Parts above many other works within the walking dead sub-genre.
Much of the sectarianism that provides fuel for the fire of division among characters in Drop Dead Gorgeous is left behind in Doll Parts, rendering it more akin to a straight-up action/horror novel. However, to categorise it as such would be unfair since Simmons continues the evolution of his unique antagonists in a direction that I had not anticipated, making the reading of Doll Parts all the more satisfying.
Despite the characters having transportation and being able to move with relative freedom around what remains of Belfast, Simmons creates a sense of dread and foreboding throughout proceedings due to the near omni-present walking dead, no matter where the characters run to.
Critically, the pace of Doll Parts may leave a reader fresh to the universe that Simmons has created a little lost or intimidated. However, I would suggest that Doll Parts is not intended to be read as a stand-alone novel and I am grateful that the author has bypassed much of the recapping that is prevalent in many follow-up works. Moreover, Simmons spent much of Drop Dead Gorgeous developing his bleak and foreboding Belfast and ought not to have to retread old ground unnecessarily.
Doll Parts is a well-written, bloody sequel to the fantastic Drop Dead Gorgeous that due to the author's style, pace and content, will not take long to read at all. If you have yet to read either book, I would suggest that you obtain Drop Dead Gorgeous before starting Doll Parts; it can only enhance your appreciation of both books.
June 18, 2013
Wayne Simmons, Doll Parts (Snowbooks, 2012)
Drop Dead Gorgeous remains, to date, my favorite Wayne Simmons novel, a fun, original take on the zombie that made honorable mention on my Best Reads of the Year list in 2010 and finished up pretty much crying out for a sequel. Well, that sequel is here, it's called Doll Parts, and damned if it isn't almost as good as the first one. It's a little more on the traditional-zombie-novel side of things than Drop Dead Gorgeous was—Simmons wasn't trying to push any envelopes here the way he was in the first book—but he turns about and shows us that he is equally capable of writing the kind of fast-paced survival thriller structure that forms most zombie novels, and doing it just as well.
Plot: when we last left what remained of our ragtag band of survivors in Drop Dead Gorgeous, they were stuck in a town square surrounded by the ravenous—and totally freakin' hot—undead. As is often the case with cliffhangers along these lines, the first question is how they're going to get out of this situation. (One of the reasons I am most looking forward to 28 Months Later..., assuming we ever get it, is because Danny Boyle gave his survivors a pretty impossible taks in that regard at the end of Weeks.) Suffice to say they do; if they didn't, this would be a short novel indeed. They get wind of another band of survivors who have set up a well-defended position at the city's airport, on the outskirts of town, and head there, finding other bands of survivors and battling the undead along the way. But, as you are well aware if you've consumed any half-dozen random pieces of zombie media, the undead are far from the only predators roaming any given post-apocalyptic world...
If you liked DDG for its realistic, complex characters who reacted in ways that made sense to situations that didn't, then you can expect more of the same here, and that is a welcome thing indeed in a genre rife with characters who exist solely to advance plots and make incredibly stupid decisions time after time. And if you enjoy well-written genre survival-horror/survival-thriller novels, you will find a great deal here to love. In fact, I'm trying to come up with someone who likes zombie fiction who would not like this book (it could probably work as a stand-alone, but of course I'm going to tell you to read Drop Dead Gorgeous first because it's lovely), and I'm coming up empty. You like zombies? You need this. ****
Drop Dead Gorgeous remains, to date, my favorite Wayne Simmons novel, a fun, original take on the zombie that made honorable mention on my Best Reads of the Year list in 2010 and finished up pretty much crying out for a sequel. Well, that sequel is here, it's called Doll Parts, and damned if it isn't almost as good as the first one. It's a little more on the traditional-zombie-novel side of things than Drop Dead Gorgeous was—Simmons wasn't trying to push any envelopes here the way he was in the first book—but he turns about and shows us that he is equally capable of writing the kind of fast-paced survival thriller structure that forms most zombie novels, and doing it just as well.
Plot: when we last left what remained of our ragtag band of survivors in Drop Dead Gorgeous, they were stuck in a town square surrounded by the ravenous—and totally freakin' hot—undead. As is often the case with cliffhangers along these lines, the first question is how they're going to get out of this situation. (One of the reasons I am most looking forward to 28 Months Later..., assuming we ever get it, is because Danny Boyle gave his survivors a pretty impossible taks in that regard at the end of Weeks.) Suffice to say they do; if they didn't, this would be a short novel indeed. They get wind of another band of survivors who have set up a well-defended position at the city's airport, on the outskirts of town, and head there, finding other bands of survivors and battling the undead along the way. But, as you are well aware if you've consumed any half-dozen random pieces of zombie media, the undead are far from the only predators roaming any given post-apocalyptic world...
If you liked DDG for its realistic, complex characters who reacted in ways that made sense to situations that didn't, then you can expect more of the same here, and that is a welcome thing indeed in a genre rife with characters who exist solely to advance plots and make incredibly stupid decisions time after time. And if you enjoy well-written genre survival-horror/survival-thriller novels, you will find a great deal here to love. In fact, I'm trying to come up with someone who likes zombie fiction who would not like this book (it could probably work as a stand-alone, but of course I'm going to tell you to read Drop Dead Gorgeous first because it's lovely), and I'm coming up empty. You like zombies? You need this. ****
June 18, 2012
With this being sequel to the amazing Drop Dead Gorgeous DOLL PARTS had a lot to live up to how would Wayne Simmons continue the story of Star and her friends well the answer to that is simple. He continues it with talent. From the moment you open the first page until you close the last you are pulled along at break neck speed. One character that stood out about this book for me was Cole, this man is unusual and probably someone many of us would cross the street to avoid but he is presented with a warmth of character that makes you root for him throughout the book. as for the DOLLS yup you hate them and love it when they get a shot to the head that is until your view are change with a few twists and turns in the book. In conclusion I ask when do we get the next Wayne Simmons masterpiece as I've read them all now and need a new one please.
July 19, 2016
I love zombies i really do. But for me, this book was just a meh. okay, i haven't read the one before, i don't think I'll bother. The style just wasnn't for me. It's too rushed, this happebns, then thism then that, there's no real characterisation. People say things, but they don't think anything, don't seem to really feel anything, so i don't care what happens to any of them. And seruously, zombies everywhere and she opens a tatoo parlour? and people want tattoos? just weird.
it was just too much of nothing. i read it fast, because it was written fast, there was nothing to sink into, nothing to enjoy, nothing to it. just nothing. it won't stick with me in my mind as any sort of book. totally forgetable.
it was just too much of nothing. i read it fast, because it was written fast, there was nothing to sink into, nothing to enjoy, nothing to it. just nothing. it won't stick with me in my mind as any sort of book. totally forgetable.
May 19, 2012
Received a copy from the author to review through the First Reads giveaway. This book delivers punch after blood soaked punch to the gut. A fantastic sequel to Drop Dead Gorgeous. Jumps straight into the action, grabs you by the throat and never lets go! U love apocalypse novels especially zombie type ones and to have the end if the world occurring on our shores is brilliant! This book is definitely a keeper and a worthy shelfmate to my collection. If you enjoyed Survivors or any other classic 70's British horror, I can highly recommend this .
January 25, 2014
Following on. from Drop Dead Gorgeous, the survivorsale their way to Belfast airport where others are gathering. But why does the nightly rain stop the 'dolls' and how do some survivors, who were apparently killed, seem to miraculously be healed? Great story telling and an interesting twist on a zombie tale.
September 28, 2012
Fabtastic book! Takes you deeper into the story of Drop Dead Gorgeous and leaves you wanting more.
Each new book from Wayne is better than the last and when you consider his very first book was excellent, that's some achievement.
Each new book from Wayne is better than the last and when you consider his very first book was excellent, that's some achievement.
March 5, 2015
Wayne Simmons cranks up the nasty for this follow up to 'Drop Dead Gorgeous'.
The damaged characters remain crisp and intriguing while the overwhelming gloom is relentless.
A very tidy twist in the zombie genre with the emphasis on the survivors and their inner demons.
Well worth a read.
The damaged characters remain crisp and intriguing while the overwhelming gloom is relentless.
A very tidy twist in the zombie genre with the emphasis on the survivors and their inner demons.
Well worth a read.
January 4, 2016
loved cole!!! definitely the best character. i liked the whole idea of the "dolls". however,i want more information about them and how the whole redemption thing worked. i wanted more from the ending!! would of loved the book to be longer to develop parts more.
July 17, 2013
This totalloy not the kind of book i usually read bur i thourly enjoed it
Belfast has lost 98% of the population, surviors take over belfast airport but struggle to keep it secure
Belfast has lost 98% of the population, surviors take over belfast airport but struggle to keep it secure
August 24, 2014
I absolutely loved this! Gory, funny and thrilling, highly recommended!
August 3, 2015
I have a feeling that Simmons thinks this is what "girl power" looks like. And that's not good.
August 31, 2016
I found that the book was incredibly prolonged and caused it to be boring. Also the book seemed to depend on swear words which was a lot down - not recommended
September 9, 2013
weird zombie book
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews