What do you think?
Rate this book
Drop Dead Gorgeous
As tattoo artist Star begins to ink her first client on a spring Sunday morning, something goes horribly wrong with the world... Belfast's hungover lapse into a deeper sleep than normal, their sudden deaths causing an unholy mess of crashing cars, smoldering televisions and falling aircraft. In the chaotic aftermath a group of post-apocalyptic survivors search for purpose in a devastated city. Ageing DJ Sean Magee and shifty-eyed Barry Rogan find drunken solace in a hotel bar. Ex-IRA operative Mairead Burns and RIR soldier Roy Beggs form an uneasy alliance to rebuild community life. Elsewhere, a mysterious Preacher Man lures shivering survivors out of the shadows with a promise of redemption. Choked by the smell of death, Ireland’s remaining few begin the journey toward a new life, fear and desperation giving rise to new tensions and dark old habits. But a new threat--as gorgeous as it is deadly--creeps slowly out of life’s wreckage. Fueled by feral hunger and a thirst for chaos, the corpses of the beautiful are rising…
260 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2008
4 people are currently reading
543 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 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 21, 2013
”Mere moments after ninety-nine percent of Belfast’s population stopped dead, like wound-down clocks, THE SILENCE descended. Nothing moved. Small, isolated pockets of carnage gave a sombre accompaniment to an otherwise dead city. Flames flickered here; a soft (almost mourning) wind whistled there...
But nothing moved.
Nothing.
Was.
The.
New.
Something.”
Occasionally I just have to throw an apocalyptic novel into the reading mixer. I can only assume that it stems from a period in my life when I was routinely bullied by my classmates for wearing glasses, being undersized, being nerdy, and reading too many damn books. Which the more they bullied me the more I wanted to disappear into a book. Little did they all know that once a few of my most ardent wishes were answered that I would grow into a 6’4” 208 pound, lucky for them not revengeful, guy. While praying for size I also prayed for the end of the world. I was the perfect miniature terrorist with no skin in the game yet and seeing no end to the pushing, shoving, and occasional breaking of my glasses. I wanted them all to have really horrible things happen to them.
I didn’t know about zombies or I would have wished for zombies.
Of course in my fantasy fueled apocalyptic dreams my family, myself, and the nice little old lady who babysit me from time to time would be fine. My Dad after all was a GOD walking the earth and he would keep us all safe from whatever plague my feverish wishes would bring down on those classmates of mine, those bastards.
Some of the residual torments of that 5-7 year old child must still be simmering in a pot back in the deep depths of my psyche otherwise I can’t account for my desire to read such books.
Mother Nature doesn’t always look so DIVINE.
”On the whole, it seemed, the human race died without caring. After a post-millenium sway away from devil-may-care diets, towards a more holistic way of life, after an almost feverish obsession with all things environmental, all things organic, the human race had finally thrown in the towel. Mother Nature like the Great Divine Whore She is, had simply fucked humanity without rhyme or reason.”
Whoa! hold up... wait...do over. It reminds of the X-Files episode "Je Souhaite" when Mulder meets this indifferent genie who grants him wishes. His first wish, Mulder was always a bit naive, was for PEACE ON EARTH. Genie’s are tricky. You really need a good lawyer and any wish needs to be several pages long to make sure you get exactly what you wish for. Of course the only way that PEACE ON EARTH is achieved is if humanity no longer exists...just a bit of social commentary there.
Scully is consoling Mulder after he totally screws humanity with his genie wishes. Most of us would settle for a hug, but David Duchovny has special requests.
Wayne Simmons does not explain why one percent of humans survives whatever plague has hit the Earth or why some survived while others perished. Our long fought for genetic diversity is supposed to protect us from just about any nasty microbe that wishes to raise it’s ugly head. Even the baddest leather clad, sunglass wearing, spiked, tattooed, motorcycling riding plague of the apocalypse can’t take us all down.
Speaking of tattoos:
Star is a tattoo artist and she is a survivor.
I’m going to prepare you ahead of time the survivors in Belfast are not the cream of the crop. In fact you will find it difficult to identify with or feel sympathy for any of them. It is just like Saturday afternoon when the SyFy channel puts on marathons of the worst possible scripted movies they can find in their archives and you put it on with the sound off so that you don’t have to listen to the horrible dialogue and you just gleefully watch most of the characters get eviscerated or eaten by some mutant (fill in the blank). NOT that I do that...much.
Star is only slightly taken aback when the goth chick she is needling falls over dead.
Fuckin’ weird...
And she was dead, all right.
Perhaps it was the shape of the body on the floor almost hog-tied, arms and legs somehow having crossed behind her back and curvaceous ass (yes, Star had noticed; yes, she had leered) as she fell. Perhaps it as the stillness, not just a lack of movement, but an almost statuesque stiffness, no rhythmic whisper of breathing--all things a tattooist, like Star, would be working closely with, and against every day. Either way, Star was quite sure this bitch was dead.
After going outside and realizing that the whole world had turned upside down Star sits down and finished the pentagram tattoo on the dead skin of her client. After all she is a professional.
Simmons brings in a whole host of characters: a preacher, a radio jockey, a retired professor with anxiety problems, an ex-IRA supporter, a ex-British soldier, a guy who drugged women to sleep with them, a pair of teenagers with a whole host of issues, and a ragtag gang of punks who believe the brakes are off and they can perpetrate whatever crimes their little black hearts desire.
Okay so one odd thing about this plague is that bodies are rotting, but not all bodies. In fact the women seem to be actually glowing with health.
How odd...
Most of the survivors are too stoned or drunk or catatonically scared to really give it much thought until the women start...well...reanimating. There is something REALLY WRONG with their eyes.
”Her eyes, wide and jet black, seemed to suddenly flick between various different colours. It was like a slot machine spinning, flipping from black to red, to white, then back to black again. As they changed, a rough papery sound could be heard, as if someone was flicking through a book.”
Despite these women being Drop Dead Gorgeous they are not exactly friendly, especially to guys that have wronged women. They do have some residual memories from their past, but most of that is overrode by their powerful need to feed.
”The inhuman-looking women filled the room quickly and quietly. Their mouths remained incredibly expressionless. Their faces seemed almost radiant. Apart from their eyes, they were the picture of health and catwalk-quality beauty. Sean’s eyes fell on one in the middle of the crowd as they approached. She was naked, and one of her breasts was so stained with blood that it looked as if someone had thrown a tin of paint around her. Sean couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was beautiful and repulsive all at once, like some kind of fetish. She led the slow, calm charge towards him.”
Wayne Simmons
Okay Simmons lost me with the plot. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around a plague that mutates women into vengeful man hating zombies. (Quentin Tarantino should option it for a movie.) I do want plausibility in my implausible reading. Simmons has written a second book in the series called Doll Parts and I am...probably...going to read it. I’ve got to see how he is going to explain all this. I’m glad that I read his book Flu first which is a marvelous pulp horror novel and much more plausible. He also has a sequel to that called Fever so I’ll probably mosey over to read that one before I return to the land of Drop Dead Gorgeous Women.
I’m loving humanity more today (apocalyptic plagues on hold)...so far.
But nothing moved.
Nothing.
Was.
The.
New.
Something.”
Occasionally I just have to throw an apocalyptic novel into the reading mixer. I can only assume that it stems from a period in my life when I was routinely bullied by my classmates for wearing glasses, being undersized, being nerdy, and reading too many damn books. Which the more they bullied me the more I wanted to disappear into a book. Little did they all know that once a few of my most ardent wishes were answered that I would grow into a 6’4” 208 pound, lucky for them not revengeful, guy. While praying for size I also prayed for the end of the world. I was the perfect miniature terrorist with no skin in the game yet and seeing no end to the pushing, shoving, and occasional breaking of my glasses. I wanted them all to have really horrible things happen to them.
I didn’t know about zombies or I would have wished for zombies.
Of course in my fantasy fueled apocalyptic dreams my family, myself, and the nice little old lady who babysit me from time to time would be fine. My Dad after all was a GOD walking the earth and he would keep us all safe from whatever plague my feverish wishes would bring down on those classmates of mine, those bastards.
Some of the residual torments of that 5-7 year old child must still be simmering in a pot back in the deep depths of my psyche otherwise I can’t account for my desire to read such books.
Mother Nature doesn’t always look so DIVINE.
”On the whole, it seemed, the human race died without caring. After a post-millenium sway away from devil-may-care diets, towards a more holistic way of life, after an almost feverish obsession with all things environmental, all things organic, the human race had finally thrown in the towel. Mother Nature like the Great Divine Whore She is, had simply fucked humanity without rhyme or reason.”
Whoa! hold up... wait...do over. It reminds of the X-Files episode "Je Souhaite" when Mulder meets this indifferent genie who grants him wishes. His first wish, Mulder was always a bit naive, was for PEACE ON EARTH. Genie’s are tricky. You really need a good lawyer and any wish needs to be several pages long to make sure you get exactly what you wish for. Of course the only way that PEACE ON EARTH is achieved is if humanity no longer exists...just a bit of social commentary there.
Scully is consoling Mulder after he totally screws humanity with his genie wishes. Most of us would settle for a hug, but David Duchovny has special requests.
Wayne Simmons does not explain why one percent of humans survives whatever plague has hit the Earth or why some survived while others perished. Our long fought for genetic diversity is supposed to protect us from just about any nasty microbe that wishes to raise it’s ugly head. Even the baddest leather clad, sunglass wearing, spiked, tattooed, motorcycling riding plague of the apocalypse can’t take us all down.
Speaking of tattoos:
Star is a tattoo artist and she is a survivor.
I’m going to prepare you ahead of time the survivors in Belfast are not the cream of the crop. In fact you will find it difficult to identify with or feel sympathy for any of them. It is just like Saturday afternoon when the SyFy channel puts on marathons of the worst possible scripted movies they can find in their archives and you put it on with the sound off so that you don’t have to listen to the horrible dialogue and you just gleefully watch most of the characters get eviscerated or eaten by some mutant (fill in the blank). NOT that I do that...much.
Star is only slightly taken aback when the goth chick she is needling falls over dead.
Fuckin’ weird...
And she was dead, all right.
Perhaps it was the shape of the body on the floor almost hog-tied, arms and legs somehow having crossed behind her back and curvaceous ass (yes, Star had noticed; yes, she had leered) as she fell. Perhaps it as the stillness, not just a lack of movement, but an almost statuesque stiffness, no rhythmic whisper of breathing--all things a tattooist, like Star, would be working closely with, and against every day. Either way, Star was quite sure this bitch was dead.
After going outside and realizing that the whole world had turned upside down Star sits down and finished the pentagram tattoo on the dead skin of her client. After all she is a professional.
Simmons brings in a whole host of characters: a preacher, a radio jockey, a retired professor with anxiety problems, an ex-IRA supporter, a ex-British soldier, a guy who drugged women to sleep with them, a pair of teenagers with a whole host of issues, and a ragtag gang of punks who believe the brakes are off and they can perpetrate whatever crimes their little black hearts desire.
Okay so one odd thing about this plague is that bodies are rotting, but not all bodies. In fact the women seem to be actually glowing with health.
How odd...
Most of the survivors are too stoned or drunk or catatonically scared to really give it much thought until the women start...well...reanimating. There is something REALLY WRONG with their eyes.
”Her eyes, wide and jet black, seemed to suddenly flick between various different colours. It was like a slot machine spinning, flipping from black to red, to white, then back to black again. As they changed, a rough papery sound could be heard, as if someone was flicking through a book.”
Despite these women being Drop Dead Gorgeous they are not exactly friendly, especially to guys that have wronged women. They do have some residual memories from their past, but most of that is overrode by their powerful need to feed.
”The inhuman-looking women filled the room quickly and quietly. Their mouths remained incredibly expressionless. Their faces seemed almost radiant. Apart from their eyes, they were the picture of health and catwalk-quality beauty. Sean’s eyes fell on one in the middle of the crowd as they approached. She was naked, and one of her breasts was so stained with blood that it looked as if someone had thrown a tin of paint around her. Sean couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was beautiful and repulsive all at once, like some kind of fetish. She led the slow, calm charge towards him.”
Wayne Simmons
Okay Simmons lost me with the plot. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around a plague that mutates women into vengeful man hating zombies. (Quentin Tarantino should option it for a movie.) I do want plausibility in my implausible reading. Simmons has written a second book in the series called Doll Parts and I am...probably...going to read it. I’ve got to see how he is going to explain all this. I’m glad that I read his book Flu first which is a marvelous pulp horror novel and much more plausible. He also has a sequel to that called Fever so I’ll probably mosey over to read that one before I return to the land of Drop Dead Gorgeous Women.
I’m loving humanity more today (apocalyptic plagues on hold)...so far.
March 7, 2016
I really liked “Part 1” of Drop Dead Gorgeous and it’s worth 4 stars as the reader is introduced to several random people on any ole Sunday morning in Belfast. Something goes wrong with the world though and a lot of the hungover masses don’t wake up. We follow several others as they witness crashing cars, falling planes and survive train derailments. It seems that 99% of Belfast’s population has just dropped dead.
The set up was really good as we introduced to a bunch of intriguing characters (Star the tattoo artist, an alcoholic stuck in the 70’s radio DJ, Professor Herbert the agoraphobic, teenager Caroline and her crush on a soon to be derailed train and Siobhan shopping with her asshat boyfriend.)
I was initially invested in all these characters unfortunately though as soon as the masses finished dropping dead and the “end of the world” arrived for the survivors the story took on a completely different tone and things got pretty dull.
This never did become the zombie story I had naively been expecting, the dead don’t rise, they just stay where they dropped but they don’t decay either, they are preserved and waiting… We instead follow the politics of “preacher man” and a group of survivors barricaded in a school being governed in military fashion by an ex IRA operative and an RIR soldier. So yeah no problems with them getting along. Star and several others hunker down in the train station and just continue to party.
I did enjoy that this took place in Ireland, nice to read an end of the world scenario that doesn’t take place in America but ultimately there ended up being too many characters and none of them were at all likeable. The violence factor amps up towards the end and there is some “rising” but not what I expected and by then I just wanted it to be over. ~2.5~
418jb2.5
The set up was really good as we introduced to a bunch of intriguing characters (Star the tattoo artist, an alcoholic stuck in the 70’s radio DJ, Professor Herbert the agoraphobic, teenager Caroline and her crush on a soon to be derailed train and Siobhan shopping with her asshat boyfriend.)
I was initially invested in all these characters unfortunately though as soon as the masses finished dropping dead and the “end of the world” arrived for the survivors the story took on a completely different tone and things got pretty dull.
This never did become the zombie story I had naively been expecting, the dead don’t rise, they just stay where they dropped but they don’t decay either, they are preserved and waiting… We instead follow the politics of “preacher man” and a group of survivors barricaded in a school being governed in military fashion by an ex IRA operative and an RIR soldier. So yeah no problems with them getting along. Star and several others hunker down in the train station and just continue to party.
I did enjoy that this took place in Ireland, nice to read an end of the world scenario that doesn’t take place in America but ultimately there ended up being too many characters and none of them were at all likeable. The violence factor amps up towards the end and there is some “rising” but not what I expected and by then I just wanted it to be over. ~2.5~
418jb2.5
October 18, 2012
From the moment I started listening to Drop Dead Gorgeous, I was hooked. Apart from the fact that the story moves along at a good pace, the narration was so good AND with an Irish accent (despite intensive Googling and stalking I cannot find out if the narrator actually is Irish) the scene was perfectly set for an intense post-apocalyptic zombie story.
There is a large cast of characters, some of which don't make it to the end of the book, plus flashes of characters that don't play a pivotal part of the story. One that particularly sticks in my mind is the man who was in hospital at the time of the event - with no one to care for him, and being unable to move he slowly, and very painfully dies in his bed.
Of the characters that do play a big part in the book, the star of the show, tattoo artist Star is fantastically hard-core - with a murky past, a passion for tattooing and an up-yours kind of attitude, I thought she was an awesome main character.
But Drop Dead Gorgeous is more than just a blood-bathed zombie story - there's also two characters who should, and mostly do, hate each other with a burning passion - Mairead and Roy. I loved their dynamic, and their ability to come together and almost put their differences on the back-burner made for a unique twist.
Drop Dead Gorgeous moves at a fast pace, even during 'down periods' of establishing survivor communities and the flashes between one group and another are done well for the most part, although at times it was a little jolting. It's always harder to tell in an audiobook when the scene is going to switch, so I would think in the print version this isn't so much of an issue.
The ending did feel a little bit rushed after the long build up, but it was exactly what I want in a zombie novel - gory, gritty and more than a little bit shocking.
Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie
There is a large cast of characters, some of which don't make it to the end of the book, plus flashes of characters that don't play a pivotal part of the story. One that particularly sticks in my mind is the man who was in hospital at the time of the event - with no one to care for him, and being unable to move he slowly, and very painfully dies in his bed.
Of the characters that do play a big part in the book, the star of the show, tattoo artist Star is fantastically hard-core - with a murky past, a passion for tattooing and an up-yours kind of attitude, I thought she was an awesome main character.
But Drop Dead Gorgeous is more than just a blood-bathed zombie story - there's also two characters who should, and mostly do, hate each other with a burning passion - Mairead and Roy. I loved their dynamic, and their ability to come together and almost put their differences on the back-burner made for a unique twist.
Drop Dead Gorgeous moves at a fast pace, even during 'down periods' of establishing survivor communities and the flashes between one group and another are done well for the most part, although at times it was a little jolting. It's always harder to tell in an audiobook when the scene is going to switch, so I would think in the print version this isn't so much of an issue.
The ending did feel a little bit rushed after the long build up, but it was exactly what I want in a zombie novel - gory, gritty and more than a little bit shocking.
Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie
June 4, 2017
I found it very hard to like this book. I didn't like any of the characters, finding them petty, small minded and mean spirited for the most part, and there were major gaps in what should have been important characterisations which had an impact on the plot. I found it hard to keep going and had to keep putting the book down, not because it was unpleasant, but because it was boring me even though at 288 pages it was a short book. The ending was a major turn off for me too - I mean, all the wronged women in Northern Ireland turn into zombies and eat the person that wronged them? Seriously?
Perhaps my problem is with the setting - Northern Ireland is just too real and not exotic enough for a zombie story to really come alive. I have had the same problem with some of Thomas Emson's books. Perhaps as a Brit I need a more outlandish setting such as the USA for a zombie story to feel "real" - after all, I am still reading and enjoying the Walking Dead graphic novels.
Perhaps my problem is with the setting - Northern Ireland is just too real and not exotic enough for a zombie story to really come alive. I have had the same problem with some of Thomas Emson's books. Perhaps as a Brit I need a more outlandish setting such as the USA for a zombie story to feel "real" - after all, I am still reading and enjoying the Walking Dead graphic novels.
August 22, 2019
Having come across Wayne Simmons in Year of the Zombie I decided to check out some of his other work, starting off with this one. Whilst I was enjoying the scene setting and the different characters who were wondering what was going on, it wasn't until the good looking dead came back to life that this novel really exploded into action. Not saying that nothing had happened before that, as there were incidents occurring, but it got wonderfully gory and very interesting from that moment on. Enough to find out what happens in the sequel which I received today in the post. Guess what I am reading next?
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
November 5, 2010
Wayne Simmons has created a story filled with "characters". By characters I mean quite a few folks residing in Northern Ireland when the end of the world comes that are quite a diverse lot. They definitely give us a flavor of that little piece of the world as the world comes to an end.
This story reminded me of David Moody's "Autumn" as far as how it begins. In an instant, more than 99% of the population of Belfast and Northern Ireland (and we are left to guess through most of the book whether the rest of the world is also a part of this) drop dead. Those few who remain end up stumbling around, sifting through the corpses and trying to figure out what the hell happened and why they heck they were spared.
The author gives us a flavorful does of Northern Ireland, presenting us mostly with every day people but also injecting a an Ex-IRA operative and RIR soldier into the mix, forcing them to get along to make a go of it...at least for a while.
The author knows how to create solid characters and there will be a sequel but I have to say that my criticism of this book lies in the fact that nearly 80% of it was done before we get to any part of it related to the title and premise presented to us as readers. Some of the corpses are not rotting...in fact, they are staying as warm and beautiful as they were the day they keeled over. It is the bodies of women. Gorgeous women. And after a time they are starting to get back up.
Certainly, the sequel will delve deeper into what the heck these women actually are. In their brief stint in this book they are feral creatures not only seeking out revenge against those who wronged them in life but they are drawn by emotions and faint memories of those they cared for. Their eyes flicker to different colors based on whatever emotions they are feeling but their response to the living tends to go the same way as other undead creatures-they feast.
I liked several of the characters in the story and certainly the author is not bashful about what he does with them. Any empathy or sympathy you may feel for any one of them does not shelter them from the brutality of this new form of creature.
I did enjoy this book though I would have prefered more with the Gorgeous and deadly women we only get to see for a short time near the end. So I am certainly interested in checking out the sequel when it comes out.
This story reminded me of David Moody's "Autumn" as far as how it begins. In an instant, more than 99% of the population of Belfast and Northern Ireland (and we are left to guess through most of the book whether the rest of the world is also a part of this) drop dead. Those few who remain end up stumbling around, sifting through the corpses and trying to figure out what the hell happened and why they heck they were spared.
The author gives us a flavorful does of Northern Ireland, presenting us mostly with every day people but also injecting a an Ex-IRA operative and RIR soldier into the mix, forcing them to get along to make a go of it...at least for a while.
The author knows how to create solid characters and there will be a sequel but I have to say that my criticism of this book lies in the fact that nearly 80% of it was done before we get to any part of it related to the title and premise presented to us as readers. Some of the corpses are not rotting...in fact, they are staying as warm and beautiful as they were the day they keeled over. It is the bodies of women. Gorgeous women. And after a time they are starting to get back up.
Certainly, the sequel will delve deeper into what the heck these women actually are. In their brief stint in this book they are feral creatures not only seeking out revenge against those who wronged them in life but they are drawn by emotions and faint memories of those they cared for. Their eyes flicker to different colors based on whatever emotions they are feeling but their response to the living tends to go the same way as other undead creatures-they feast.
I liked several of the characters in the story and certainly the author is not bashful about what he does with them. Any empathy or sympathy you may feel for any one of them does not shelter them from the brutality of this new form of creature.
I did enjoy this book though I would have prefered more with the Gorgeous and deadly women we only get to see for a short time near the end. So I am certainly interested in checking out the sequel when it comes out.
January 30, 2011
I don't often read books from smaller publishers. This isn't because I think that they're somehow lesser than others; it's because I don't think my bookstore carries them. So I got this as a present. I now am going to look for more novels printed by Permuted Press!
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a story about a group of people and how they survive the apocalypse. Now, don't think that apocalypse is a zombie one. I wouldn't call these creatures zombies, really. They thirst for human flesh, they kill plenty, but they're not really zombies, per se. I think they're better.
A brief summary: People in Belfast just drop dead. And some are decomposing in the streets, in their cars, in various other places. Some have survived, and are trying to find a way to cope with the sudden death of everyone around them. And some who have died don't seem to want to decompose like the others. Instead, they seem to grow younger, and more beautiful...
We start off with several different groups of people and watch as their story lines cross and meld and eventually become a cohesive whole. And even though the "zombies" don't really start coming in until the last fifty pages of the book, reading about the characters building up their lives and working on getting by (or having fun, in some cases) is just as interesting.
A very fun book!
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a story about a group of people and how they survive the apocalypse. Now, don't think that apocalypse is a zombie one. I wouldn't call these creatures zombies, really. They thirst for human flesh, they kill plenty, but they're not really zombies, per se. I think they're better.
A brief summary: People in Belfast just drop dead. And some are decomposing in the streets, in their cars, in various other places. Some have survived, and are trying to find a way to cope with the sudden death of everyone around them. And some who have died don't seem to want to decompose like the others. Instead, they seem to grow younger, and more beautiful...
We start off with several different groups of people and watch as their story lines cross and meld and eventually become a cohesive whole. And even though the "zombies" don't really start coming in until the last fifty pages of the book, reading about the characters building up their lives and working on getting by (or having fun, in some cases) is just as interesting.
A very fun book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2010
This started off quite nicely with people dropping dead all over Ireland. The first 2/3 is all about survival in the unknown world. Nothing is provided onto the why with regards to everyone (well nearly everyone, gotta have a some characters to tell a story) dying. I did like the character development as everyone started joining up and coming together. However once the "zombies" were animated I couldn't see where it fitted into the story I was already reading. I don't want to catagorize this as a zombie story, because it's not. It seemed to end abruptly and I left me feeling kind of duped into reading what is obviously a prequel.
June 4, 2017
This book is so bad, I don't know where to start. First off, it's so boring and nothing much happens the first 2/3 of the book. There are many main characters, none of them are interesting or likable, with very little character development. I started disliking them so much I was almost glad when they all got eaten. Nothing gets explained in this book, there doesn't seem any reason why...well, apart from all the women who were wronged by the evil men coming back as zombies to eat their predators. WTF? I don't get why anyone could enjoy this book let alone want to read the sequal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2017
Good read enjoyed the novel about the living and the dead.
December 5, 2019
A little slow to get going, but once the story builds it is breathtaking. A real good read.
December 25, 2023
This was not for me. Too many POVs.
February 17, 2024
Lol wtaf.
May 17, 2011
After reading and reviewing Flu, I wasn’t sure if Wayne Simmons could top that delightfully horrible book—horrible in all the good ways of zombie horror. Well, he has with Drop Dead Gorgeous. I didn’t understand the title really until near the end, and then you think: What a master he is!
Once again, Mr. Simmons has penned an un-put-downable book, where several characters are introduced and we get to follow their lives when disaster hits the world. People are dropping dead all over the place, and only a few remain. Why didn’t the survivors die? Who bloody cares, because you’re so wrapped up in their survival that the question just isn’t important. In Flu, I loved the way Mr. Simmons brought everyone together, so, with DDG, I knew I’d get more of the same deliciousness when the characters were introduced in their own sections from the start. There are just enough of them for you to keep track without thinking “WHO?” when they reappear—and that’s because they each have such a dramatic story, such strong characters, that you can’t forget them easily.
Here are some of my faves:
We have the treat of a female tattoo artist who you would possibly hate in real life because she’s a bit of a self-absorbed cow, but God, this is why I love Mr. Simmons’ books—he gives you real people. None of this “everyone has to be great despite their flaws” business going on here. No, what you see is what you get, the people just ARE as they are, and I find that bloody refreshing. I loved to hate Star, who is just sick enough in the head to border on her possibly being insane. I mean, who the hell would think it’s all right to tattoo dead people?
Then we have Roy and Mairead, brought together because of the circumstances, and my goodness do they hate one another due to The Troubles in the past, one Irish, one British, and watching them get on one another’s nerves is a massive treat. They mesmerised me. Mairead, despite seeming like a hard-nosed bitch, is actually lovely underneath, and this is shown wonderfully with her care of a young girl who’d lost her mother to the dreadful thing that had happened to the world.
There are so many people that if I wrote a little about each of them I’d be here a while, but rest assured, each character is richly developed—oh that poor sod who washed his dead wife and cleaned the house…broke my heart; and the guy who refused to accept his wife and child had died; and OMG, the man who did unspeakable acts to a female corpse… See? I need to be quiet, mustn’t gabble about them all. Each with their own story, their own past, and their own bleak-filled future, everyone starts coming together towards the middle of the book—and am I a geek for getting excited when this became evident?—and I waited, watching to see who met who and how.
The gore doesn’t come until near the end, but my God it’s worth the wait. The block of pages where descriptions of zombie women attacking people are fantastic—I especially liked the scene where they reach into the back window of a vehicle holding some of the characters. I saw it all, eyes wide, me full of glee—weirdly? Am I odd?—that these undead women were doing such hateful things. I’m probably supposed to have been appalled by their behaviour, especially since I’d invested so much caring for the characters, but a part of me couldn’t help but cheer on these newly risen women. And then I wondered if I’d have felt the same had it been the dead men coming back to life. I’ll admit that no, I wouldn’t have. There was an element of Girl Power going on for me, and despite the zombies acting badly, I kinda liked them. Mad.
Well, that’s the plot sorted, now for the prose. I loved the voice. It’s real, it’s dark and gritty, it’s so what I’m used to hearing in everyday life. The phrases, the way things are put—sold. I’m just sold on Mr. Simmons full stop. His style suits me, it’s something that is a joy to read and indulge in. A superb author penning a superb book.
Once again, Mr. Simmons has penned an un-put-downable book, where several characters are introduced and we get to follow their lives when disaster hits the world. People are dropping dead all over the place, and only a few remain. Why didn’t the survivors die? Who bloody cares, because you’re so wrapped up in their survival that the question just isn’t important. In Flu, I loved the way Mr. Simmons brought everyone together, so, with DDG, I knew I’d get more of the same deliciousness when the characters were introduced in their own sections from the start. There are just enough of them for you to keep track without thinking “WHO?” when they reappear—and that’s because they each have such a dramatic story, such strong characters, that you can’t forget them easily.
Here are some of my faves:
We have the treat of a female tattoo artist who you would possibly hate in real life because she’s a bit of a self-absorbed cow, but God, this is why I love Mr. Simmons’ books—he gives you real people. None of this “everyone has to be great despite their flaws” business going on here. No, what you see is what you get, the people just ARE as they are, and I find that bloody refreshing. I loved to hate Star, who is just sick enough in the head to border on her possibly being insane. I mean, who the hell would think it’s all right to tattoo dead people?
Then we have Roy and Mairead, brought together because of the circumstances, and my goodness do they hate one another due to The Troubles in the past, one Irish, one British, and watching them get on one another’s nerves is a massive treat. They mesmerised me. Mairead, despite seeming like a hard-nosed bitch, is actually lovely underneath, and this is shown wonderfully with her care of a young girl who’d lost her mother to the dreadful thing that had happened to the world.
There are so many people that if I wrote a little about each of them I’d be here a while, but rest assured, each character is richly developed—oh that poor sod who washed his dead wife and cleaned the house…broke my heart; and the guy who refused to accept his wife and child had died; and OMG, the man who did unspeakable acts to a female corpse… See? I need to be quiet, mustn’t gabble about them all. Each with their own story, their own past, and their own bleak-filled future, everyone starts coming together towards the middle of the book—and am I a geek for getting excited when this became evident?—and I waited, watching to see who met who and how.
The gore doesn’t come until near the end, but my God it’s worth the wait. The block of pages where descriptions of zombie women attacking people are fantastic—I especially liked the scene where they reach into the back window of a vehicle holding some of the characters. I saw it all, eyes wide, me full of glee—weirdly? Am I odd?—that these undead women were doing such hateful things. I’m probably supposed to have been appalled by their behaviour, especially since I’d invested so much caring for the characters, but a part of me couldn’t help but cheer on these newly risen women. And then I wondered if I’d have felt the same had it been the dead men coming back to life. I’ll admit that no, I wouldn’t have. There was an element of Girl Power going on for me, and despite the zombies acting badly, I kinda liked them. Mad.
Well, that’s the plot sorted, now for the prose. I loved the voice. It’s real, it’s dark and gritty, it’s so what I’m used to hearing in everyday life. The phrases, the way things are put—sold. I’m just sold on Mr. Simmons full stop. His style suits me, it’s something that is a joy to read and indulge in. A superb author penning a superb book.
June 23, 2010
Wayne Simmons, Drop Dead Gorgeous (Permuted Press, 2008)
My experience with Permuted Press up till now has been David Moody's Autumn Quartet and a slew of press releases about books that have made me say, every time, “man, I have got to read this.” Oddly, I never saw a single press release for Drop Dead Gorgeous, the first novel from Irish novelist Wayne Simmons; I stumbled across it in my local Half Price Books. (There is a small-press horror fan in my area who routinely sells stuff there. Whoever you are, bless you.) I actually found three Permuted titles the same day and snatched them all up. I knew the other two (D. L. Snell's Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines and Z. A. Recht's Thunder and Ashes) well by reputation, but this one I'd never heard of. So I cracked the cover on this one first. And after I'd finished it a couple of days later, the only word I could come up with was “DAY-um.” This is not at all what I expected from the original publisher of the Autumn books. This is bloody awesome.
First off: ignore the jacket copy, which makes it sound as if the story centers around Star, the tattoo artist who graces the wonderful (if amateurish) cover. Instead, like the Autumn books, Drop Dead Gorgeous is an ensemble drama rather along the lines of Autumn but somewhat better-structured. We start off with the sudden and unexplained death of billions (once again hearkening back to David Moody and the beginning of the small-press zombie revolution) and a handful of survivors, including Star, who eventually find one another. But we also have a second storyline that runs parallel involving a former Orangeman and a former IRA member who are forced together in leadership positions with another band of survivors in a smaller town a ways up the highway from the first band. The two don't cross until close to the end (though their proximity in the book tells you they eventually will), so essentially you've got two separate stories throughout. And they're both exceptionally well-written for this sort of thing.
Also, I did allude to Drop Dead Gorgeous as a zombie novel above. And it is, for about fifty pages, though the zombies are nothing at all like the ones you're used to. But the majority of Drop Dead Gorgeous contains not a single member of the walking dead. Simmons focuses on the survivors and nothing else for the first three-quarters of the book, and while hardcore zombie-heads will probably be disappointed by this, anyone else on the planet who picks this up will be very pleasantly surprised by how much care Simmons takes in drawing his characters. Yes, some of the coincidences are a little too neat, and there are some scenes that seem to exist solely to advance the plot, but Simmons weaves them in skillfully enough that if you're not paying attention, you may never notice.
Simply put: this is awesome. If you're at all a horror fan, you want to check this out. Simmons has dome something almost unheard-of in horror these days: he's actually written a novel that can be called “original”, and you can keep a straight face while saying it. I love this book. ****
My experience with Permuted Press up till now has been David Moody's Autumn Quartet and a slew of press releases about books that have made me say, every time, “man, I have got to read this.” Oddly, I never saw a single press release for Drop Dead Gorgeous, the first novel from Irish novelist Wayne Simmons; I stumbled across it in my local Half Price Books. (There is a small-press horror fan in my area who routinely sells stuff there. Whoever you are, bless you.) I actually found three Permuted titles the same day and snatched them all up. I knew the other two (D. L. Snell's Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines and Z. A. Recht's Thunder and Ashes) well by reputation, but this one I'd never heard of. So I cracked the cover on this one first. And after I'd finished it a couple of days later, the only word I could come up with was “DAY-um.” This is not at all what I expected from the original publisher of the Autumn books. This is bloody awesome.
First off: ignore the jacket copy, which makes it sound as if the story centers around Star, the tattoo artist who graces the wonderful (if amateurish) cover. Instead, like the Autumn books, Drop Dead Gorgeous is an ensemble drama rather along the lines of Autumn but somewhat better-structured. We start off with the sudden and unexplained death of billions (once again hearkening back to David Moody and the beginning of the small-press zombie revolution) and a handful of survivors, including Star, who eventually find one another. But we also have a second storyline that runs parallel involving a former Orangeman and a former IRA member who are forced together in leadership positions with another band of survivors in a smaller town a ways up the highway from the first band. The two don't cross until close to the end (though their proximity in the book tells you they eventually will), so essentially you've got two separate stories throughout. And they're both exceptionally well-written for this sort of thing.
Also, I did allude to Drop Dead Gorgeous as a zombie novel above. And it is, for about fifty pages, though the zombies are nothing at all like the ones you're used to. But the majority of Drop Dead Gorgeous contains not a single member of the walking dead. Simmons focuses on the survivors and nothing else for the first three-quarters of the book, and while hardcore zombie-heads will probably be disappointed by this, anyone else on the planet who picks this up will be very pleasantly surprised by how much care Simmons takes in drawing his characters. Yes, some of the coincidences are a little too neat, and there are some scenes that seem to exist solely to advance the plot, but Simmons weaves them in skillfully enough that if you're not paying attention, you may never notice.
Simply put: this is awesome. If you're at all a horror fan, you want to check this out. Simmons has dome something almost unheard-of in horror these days: he's actually written a novel that can be called “original”, and you can keep a straight face while saying it. I love this book. ****
September 15, 2013
Coming across something new or even refreshing is difficult within a genre such as horror. Many filmmakers and even novelists plump for tried and tested ideas and the major archetypes within the genre cover a multitude of storylines and subsequently, at least to my mind, very little material seems original; which is why I am so taken with Drop Dead Gorgeous by Wayne Simmons.
After a fairly pedestrian introduction and judging by the size of the paperback, I wasn't expecting great things from Drop Dead Gorgeous. I got quite a surprise once I got started...
Simmons creates a bleak post-apocalyptic Belfast that could well be any city in the UK and his set up for what appears to be the end of humanity reminded me of the BBC series Survivors, with the majority of mankind taken down by some unknown malady, leaving only a handful apparently immune to this unseen assault.
Similar to many post-apocalyptic novels, Simmons has his survivors start to band together in disparate groups with some distinct characters emerging. The setting of Belfast adds an interesting dynamic to the proceedings in the form of sectarianism, lending itself to the storyline the same way that racism did to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead; and perpetuating pre-existing divisions between some of the characters.
As for the characters, initially, I thought I was going to have the usual horror memes thrust upon me: the naïve teenager, ageing soldier, the family man, the fire and brimstone preacher, etc etc ad nauseum ad infinitum. This preconception couldn't have been more misplaced. Simmons develops his characters tremendously well; they come replete with all the fallacies of the human condition, dirty little habits and desires, rendering them painfully real.
Unlike other post-apocalyptic/ zombie tales which dive straight into the mayhem, Simmons takes his time in developing the plotline with all the patience of a chess player moving his pieces expertly around the board. In fact, much of the novel revolves around the plight of the survivors without the addition of the walking dead but I assure you, when Simmons moves to his endgame and the dead rise in Drop Dead Gorgeous, they do so with a vengeance... Those looking for an instant gore-fix will be left champing at the bit with this work by Simmons; but for me, that simply ramped up the tension since after reading the back cover of the book, you know it's coming...
The newly risen dead are distinctly different from Romero-esque zombies and perhaps more akin to the infected of 28 Days Later; but I think it is unfair to pigeonhole what Simmons has created here since this particular breed of walking dead I have never come across in all my horror fiction experience.
After reading Drop Dead Gorgeous, it dawned on me that the events of the book depict an almost biblical rising of the dead and a purging of the earth. However, I far prefer the explanation given near the closing of the book and choose not to reveal that, instead urging you to go and find out for yourself!
After a fairly pedestrian introduction and judging by the size of the paperback, I wasn't expecting great things from Drop Dead Gorgeous. I got quite a surprise once I got started...
Simmons creates a bleak post-apocalyptic Belfast that could well be any city in the UK and his set up for what appears to be the end of humanity reminded me of the BBC series Survivors, with the majority of mankind taken down by some unknown malady, leaving only a handful apparently immune to this unseen assault.
Similar to many post-apocalyptic novels, Simmons has his survivors start to band together in disparate groups with some distinct characters emerging. The setting of Belfast adds an interesting dynamic to the proceedings in the form of sectarianism, lending itself to the storyline the same way that racism did to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead; and perpetuating pre-existing divisions between some of the characters.
As for the characters, initially, I thought I was going to have the usual horror memes thrust upon me: the naïve teenager, ageing soldier, the family man, the fire and brimstone preacher, etc etc ad nauseum ad infinitum. This preconception couldn't have been more misplaced. Simmons develops his characters tremendously well; they come replete with all the fallacies of the human condition, dirty little habits and desires, rendering them painfully real.
Unlike other post-apocalyptic/ zombie tales which dive straight into the mayhem, Simmons takes his time in developing the plotline with all the patience of a chess player moving his pieces expertly around the board. In fact, much of the novel revolves around the plight of the survivors without the addition of the walking dead but I assure you, when Simmons moves to his endgame and the dead rise in Drop Dead Gorgeous, they do so with a vengeance... Those looking for an instant gore-fix will be left champing at the bit with this work by Simmons; but for me, that simply ramped up the tension since after reading the back cover of the book, you know it's coming...
The newly risen dead are distinctly different from Romero-esque zombies and perhaps more akin to the infected of 28 Days Later; but I think it is unfair to pigeonhole what Simmons has created here since this particular breed of walking dead I have never come across in all my horror fiction experience.
After reading Drop Dead Gorgeous, it dawned on me that the events of the book depict an almost biblical rising of the dead and a purging of the earth. However, I far prefer the explanation given near the closing of the book and choose not to reveal that, instead urging you to go and find out for yourself!
November 3, 2014
DDG starts in much the same manner as Simmons' other book, FLU, being set in modern-day Northern Ireland with a group of disparate characters who stories build and then, later, collide in various ways. I'd started the book assuming it was a straightforward zombie horror but after 150-odd pages and still no dead rising from the graves I realised this wasn't the case.
It's a testament to Simmons' skills with the storylines and characters that I didn't find myself becoming bored or itchy for the zombies to appear and, more so than FLU, I felt that he tapped into some of the aspects of his native country's culture and history which would give it more impact. Nowhere is this more felt than in the uneasy truce struck up between an RIR veteran and a Republican who are forced to come together to survive and yet struggle with their hatred for one another throughout. Despite the world changing for all of the characters involved, Simmons makes it clear that some things just run too deep to be washed away that easily.
The book starts with great little vignettes sprinkled amongst the main storylines, and there are a number of moments of genuine emotion as people come to terms with the loss of their loved ones which reminded me to an extent of John Ajvide Lindqvist's HANDLING THE UNDEAD.
It isn't until quite late on that the plot moves from the characters merely trying to survive to that of the dead rising. The book ends fairly quickly after that and although it leaves the reader wanting more it did make me wish that it had gotten moving a little sooner because there were so many questions - what was the nature of the event, why were the beautiful saved and what took the dead so long to rise? But with that said there was still enough to appeal to me - the implication that the survivors were those who were fucked up enough to have lacked the motions which whatever-it-was fed on and I loved the effect of the creatures' eyes changing colour. The creatures themselves put me in mind of the zombirds from the Dan Schaffer-scripted movie DOGHOUSE and I may have even viewed DDG as a similarly feminist tract if it hadn't been for the fact they were referred to as "bitches" by both characters and author.
Overall, a highly-enjoyable read and I, feel, a little more left-field than his previous book and there's easily enough in there to make me certain to read the sequel which I have no doubt will be in the works.
It's a testament to Simmons' skills with the storylines and characters that I didn't find myself becoming bored or itchy for the zombies to appear and, more so than FLU, I felt that he tapped into some of the aspects of his native country's culture and history which would give it more impact. Nowhere is this more felt than in the uneasy truce struck up between an RIR veteran and a Republican who are forced to come together to survive and yet struggle with their hatred for one another throughout. Despite the world changing for all of the characters involved, Simmons makes it clear that some things just run too deep to be washed away that easily.
The book starts with great little vignettes sprinkled amongst the main storylines, and there are a number of moments of genuine emotion as people come to terms with the loss of their loved ones which reminded me to an extent of John Ajvide Lindqvist's HANDLING THE UNDEAD.
It isn't until quite late on that the plot moves from the characters merely trying to survive to that of the dead rising. The book ends fairly quickly after that and although it leaves the reader wanting more it did make me wish that it had gotten moving a little sooner because there were so many questions - what was the nature of the event, why were the beautiful saved and what took the dead so long to rise? But with that said there was still enough to appeal to me - the implication that the survivors were those who were fucked up enough to have lacked the motions which whatever-it-was fed on and I loved the effect of the creatures' eyes changing colour. The creatures themselves put me in mind of the zombirds from the Dan Schaffer-scripted movie DOGHOUSE and I may have even viewed DDG as a similarly feminist tract if it hadn't been for the fact they were referred to as "bitches" by both characters and author.
Overall, a highly-enjoyable read and I, feel, a little more left-field than his previous book and there's easily enough in there to make me certain to read the sequel which I have no doubt will be in the works.
April 3, 2013
One Sunday morning, nearly everybody drops dead. Suddenly. In Northern Ireland, the few people that survived try to make sense of what's going on, and gradually join together into small groups, finding shelter in a school, or solace in the now free bar of a hotel, or... Until one day, dead women start coming back and taking revenge on people that wronged them while they were alive.
The good things:
It's fast paced. There's a good range of characters that are real "characters". Star, the tattooist has a murky past, Mairead is an ex-IRA terrorist, Roy an RIR soldier, and so on. Almost all the characters are bad or nasty to some extent, and their interaction as they cope -- or don't -- with the disaster is convincing and realistic. Naturally they don't all get along and there are casualties along the way.
Zombies in Belfast. Just that on its own is good. The Author, who is a Belfast native gives a good and authentic (to a Brit) voice to the region, through the use of dialect and local detail. It's very refreshing after so much American zombie fare. Norn Iron through and through.
The not so good things:
Many of the characters are truly nasty, and do some extremely unpleasant and nasty things. Simmons doesn't pull his punches here, but the downside to having so many nasty characters is that by and large they are not sympathetic and so we don't root for them or care about them. Consequently, when they get killed off (and they do - Simmons is not stingy with the blood and gore), we're not concerned. In fact, I found myself rooting for the flesh-eating zombies to a large extent.
And that's another thing. This is a zombie story, but the zombies don't appear until three quarters of the way through the book. Then they have a brief gore fest before a sudden and unsatisfying end.
The writing I found to be annoying. The author jumps about, hopping from head to head and POV to POV with dizzying rapidity. Consequently I found it bitty and sometimes I wasn't sure where I was or who I was with. For me that really didn't work.
The good things:
It's fast paced. There's a good range of characters that are real "characters". Star, the tattooist has a murky past, Mairead is an ex-IRA terrorist, Roy an RIR soldier, and so on. Almost all the characters are bad or nasty to some extent, and their interaction as they cope -- or don't -- with the disaster is convincing and realistic. Naturally they don't all get along and there are casualties along the way.
Zombies in Belfast. Just that on its own is good. The Author, who is a Belfast native gives a good and authentic (to a Brit) voice to the region, through the use of dialect and local detail. It's very refreshing after so much American zombie fare. Norn Iron through and through.
The not so good things:
Many of the characters are truly nasty, and do some extremely unpleasant and nasty things. Simmons doesn't pull his punches here, but the downside to having so many nasty characters is that by and large they are not sympathetic and so we don't root for them or care about them. Consequently, when they get killed off (and they do - Simmons is not stingy with the blood and gore), we're not concerned. In fact, I found myself rooting for the flesh-eating zombies to a large extent.
And that's another thing. This is a zombie story, but the zombies don't appear until three quarters of the way through the book. Then they have a brief gore fest before a sudden and unsatisfying end.
The writing I found to be annoying. The author jumps about, hopping from head to head and POV to POV with dizzying rapidity. Consequently I found it bitty and sometimes I wasn't sure where I was or who I was with. For me that really didn't work.
January 12, 2009
When I read the first page I got a little worried... Oh NO... It's in Irish Slang! But it turns out that it wasn't that bad (nothing like Irving Welsh or James Joyce!) Though there were a few sayings that I wasn't exactly sure what they were saying... I knew that they were profanities of some sort and that's enough.
Short Summary: One day most of the world drops dead... kaput! A small number of people are left standing among the corpses, absolutely befuddled and terrified. Several try to band together, some for support, others to try to rebuild some sort of society. Just when we think they may have a handle on it... some of the corpses aren't decomposing the way they should... and may not stay where they are for long.
First of all, this is not a complete novel, this is the beginning of a series, so don't go into this looking for a neat, tidy ending. To be honest this is one of the most well written zombie novels I've encountered. The characters are interesting, human and deeply flawed. There are some we like and some we detest, but they all evoke emotion of some sort or another. My only complaint about the whole novel is that the character that the author seems most infatuated with... is one of the ones I care the least about. Still, there are plenty of people in this novel for me to root for and against. This is also a very attractive novel, the cover art is great, the feel of the book is nice and weighty without the obnoxiousness of being a hardback.
This novel grabbed me from the beginning and pulled me along like a hooked fish through the bloody messy ending. Excellent novel. Blood, gore, zombies, psycho militants, alcoholics, rapists, crashing helicopters and dead people everywhere... what else could you ask for in a book?
Rated R for sure, with no doubt - for language, violence, sex and zombies.
Short Summary: One day most of the world drops dead... kaput! A small number of people are left standing among the corpses, absolutely befuddled and terrified. Several try to band together, some for support, others to try to rebuild some sort of society. Just when we think they may have a handle on it... some of the corpses aren't decomposing the way they should... and may not stay where they are for long.
First of all, this is not a complete novel, this is the beginning of a series, so don't go into this looking for a neat, tidy ending. To be honest this is one of the most well written zombie novels I've encountered. The characters are interesting, human and deeply flawed. There are some we like and some we detest, but they all evoke emotion of some sort or another. My only complaint about the whole novel is that the character that the author seems most infatuated with... is one of the ones I care the least about. Still, there are plenty of people in this novel for me to root for and against. This is also a very attractive novel, the cover art is great, the feel of the book is nice and weighty without the obnoxiousness of being a hardback.
This novel grabbed me from the beginning and pulled me along like a hooked fish through the bloody messy ending. Excellent novel. Blood, gore, zombies, psycho militants, alcoholics, rapists, crashing helicopters and dead people everywhere... what else could you ask for in a book?
Rated R for sure, with no doubt - for language, violence, sex and zombies.
January 13, 2013
Dieses Buch ist eher eine Endzeitgeschichte mit einem Hauch Zombie Horror. Mysteriöser Weise sterben plötzlich, bis auf ein paar Ausnahmen, alle Menschen. Die Überlebenden versuchen auf verschiedene Art ihre Welt wieder aufzubauen. Da gibt es eine Hierarchie, die vor Intrigen nur so wimmelt, oder auch ein religiöser Kult, in dem ein ziemlich irre gewordener Pfarrer das Zepter in der Hand hält. Doch bis fast zum Schluss hat das alles nichts mit Zombies zu tun.
Als diese dann auftauchen wird es erst richtig spannend. Denn das sind keine klassischen Zombies, wie man sie aus den typischen Filmen kennt, sondern „modifizierte“, die eine Gottähnliche Gabe haben und dich analysieren bevor sie dich angreifen. Sie entscheiden vor dem Angriff welche Gefühle sie für dich hegen, wie z. B. Wut oder Mitleid. Allerdings läuft es am Ende doch aufs gleiche raus: Die Zombies fressen dich wenn sie dich kriegen und diese Szenen sind immer besonders gruselig und manchmal eklig.
Das Buch ist in nummerierte Kapitel unterteilt, welche sich noch mal durch Sternchen teilen, sobald sich die Erzählperspektive ändert. Mir gefällt der Schreibstil von Wayne Simmons sehr gut, denn alles ist leicht verständlich und nachvollziehbar. Super finde ich auch, dass sich die Protagonisten drastisch voneinander unterscheiden und den Lesern es so einfacher gemacht wird, bei den vielen Namen den Überblick zu behalten.
Mir hat das Lesen sehr viel Spaß gemacht und ich konnte das Buch kaum mehr aus der Hand legen Ich hätte sehr gerne die volle Punktzahl vergeben, aber das Genre passt für mich nicht so ganz auf dieses Buch, daher leider nur vier von fünf mögliche Sterne.
Copyright © 2012 by Rebecca H.
Als diese dann auftauchen wird es erst richtig spannend. Denn das sind keine klassischen Zombies, wie man sie aus den typischen Filmen kennt, sondern „modifizierte“, die eine Gottähnliche Gabe haben und dich analysieren bevor sie dich angreifen. Sie entscheiden vor dem Angriff welche Gefühle sie für dich hegen, wie z. B. Wut oder Mitleid. Allerdings läuft es am Ende doch aufs gleiche raus: Die Zombies fressen dich wenn sie dich kriegen und diese Szenen sind immer besonders gruselig und manchmal eklig.
Das Buch ist in nummerierte Kapitel unterteilt, welche sich noch mal durch Sternchen teilen, sobald sich die Erzählperspektive ändert. Mir gefällt der Schreibstil von Wayne Simmons sehr gut, denn alles ist leicht verständlich und nachvollziehbar. Super finde ich auch, dass sich die Protagonisten drastisch voneinander unterscheiden und den Lesern es so einfacher gemacht wird, bei den vielen Namen den Überblick zu behalten.
Mir hat das Lesen sehr viel Spaß gemacht und ich konnte das Buch kaum mehr aus der Hand legen Ich hätte sehr gerne die volle Punktzahl vergeben, aber das Genre passt für mich nicht so ganz auf dieses Buch, daher leider nur vier von fünf mögliche Sterne.
Copyright © 2012 by Rebecca H.
August 30, 2020
Suffice to say I didn't enjoy the book.
Why do you ask?
Well probably because it has some deep flaws.
Our story begins with people dying as we follow a dozen characters lives and how they cope with it. Some were interesting and some were really flat - cardboard. Then some band together others stood alone. We follow every couple of pages about their daily lives (very succinct in my opinion) and how they develop.
There is no explanation on why people fell dead (only in the last two pages we learn of a theory), interesting people are rotting away (not all bodies, women are not - as I said we never learn why).
This book also has some commentary like the republican Irish gal and the British soldier type - of course they hate each other but then try to cope and so on.
The problem is that the book has only 290 pages and so with the setup we are left 50 or so pages to some action, explanation and conclusion - unfortunately it didn't satisfy me. I've seen and read better zombie flicks. I don't want to know why zombies appear (it really doesn't matter in most media) but why only women? He tries to give some explanation but its so far fetch it's really anticlimactic.
The ending is crap... yeah woman are sick of men so they turn into a zombie and kill people who wrong them - so why not the men? So why some women died and other no? Bah
Sorry...
I've heard there is a second book but I will not get it nor read it. Sorry.
Why do you ask?
Well probably because it has some deep flaws.
Our story begins with people dying as we follow a dozen characters lives and how they cope with it. Some were interesting and some were really flat - cardboard. Then some band together others stood alone. We follow every couple of pages about their daily lives (very succinct in my opinion) and how they develop.
There is no explanation on why people fell dead (only in the last two pages we learn of a theory), interesting people are rotting away (not all bodies, women are not - as I said we never learn why).
This book also has some commentary like the republican Irish gal and the British soldier type - of course they hate each other but then try to cope and so on.
The problem is that the book has only 290 pages and so with the setup we are left 50 or so pages to some action, explanation and conclusion - unfortunately it didn't satisfy me. I've seen and read better zombie flicks. I don't want to know why zombies appear (it really doesn't matter in most media) but why only women? He tries to give some explanation but its so far fetch it's really anticlimactic.
The ending is crap... yeah woman are sick of men so they turn into a zombie and kill people who wrong them - so why not the men? So why some women died and other no? Bah
Sorry...
I've heard there is a second book but I will not get it nor read it. Sorry.
April 7, 2010
I couldn't get into this at all and I barely got a quarter of the way in. Even though I am now able to quit a book I still don't like doing it and I do try not to.... when I can. I couldn't continue with this.
I'd be interested to know whether Simmons is Irish, has ever been to Ireland, if he knows anything about the dialect, slang, etc. Because it was far too over the top IMO. It was like someone like myself (not from Ireland and not a person who uses Irish slang) wrote a book and stuck in every single damn Irish slang word I could find. Far too much. Ciggie, trackie bottoms, take the Mickey, bloke, arse(s), footie, shite, etc. Good luck trying to find one page that doesn't have all of these terms and more. Horrible.
It was like work and I don't like to work when I read, I like to have fun. I really thought I'd like this because the cover art is pretty cool and the title interested me. This, however, is just NOT for me.
If the dialogue would have been smooth I maybe could have hung in there despite the overuse of the slang but that's not the case here - the conversations and thoughts and everything in between is anything but smooth.
I'd be interested to know whether Simmons is Irish, has ever been to Ireland, if he knows anything about the dialect, slang, etc. Because it was far too over the top IMO. It was like someone like myself (not from Ireland and not a person who uses Irish slang) wrote a book and stuck in every single damn Irish slang word I could find. Far too much. Ciggie, trackie bottoms, take the Mickey, bloke, arse(s), footie, shite, etc. Good luck trying to find one page that doesn't have all of these terms and more. Horrible.
It was like work and I don't like to work when I read, I like to have fun. I really thought I'd like this because the cover art is pretty cool and the title interested me. This, however, is just NOT for me.
If the dialogue would have been smooth I maybe could have hung in there despite the overuse of the slang but that's not the case here - the conversations and thoughts and everything in between is anything but smooth.
March 28, 2014
Technically a 2.5 star rating.
I'm not a huge lover of zombie media, and that which I do like is usually film because I feel that usually does it better justice. Simmons has a very cinematic way of writing as well as great use of language, which means it's very easy to read, but the book is a tad slow. The dead don't even reanimate until over 200 pages in. It's good news for people who like their books character-focused, but although I am usually one of those people most of the characters are pretty unpleasant, so it's practically a joy to see them get killed off. The zombie plague has rather unique twist, which I did enjoy for its novelty, and overall I was glad I stuck with it, but I won't bother with the sequel (the book ends rather abruptly, so those that do enjoy it will need to seek it out).
I'm not a huge lover of zombie media, and that which I do like is usually film because I feel that usually does it better justice. Simmons has a very cinematic way of writing as well as great use of language, which means it's very easy to read, but the book is a tad slow. The dead don't even reanimate until over 200 pages in. It's good news for people who like their books character-focused, but although I am usually one of those people most of the characters are pretty unpleasant, so it's practically a joy to see them get killed off. The zombie plague has rather unique twist, which I did enjoy for its novelty, and overall I was glad I stuck with it, but I won't bother with the sequel (the book ends rather abruptly, so those that do enjoy it will need to seek it out).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2012
Just finished the audio version. It was kind of boring. I bought it because I actually liked the idea of the focus being on the survivors, but their story was uninteresting. And at the end, when the zombies "arrived" they stretched my credulity way beyond breaking point.
This feels like the author just strained to find a new angle on zombies - he did, but it's an uninteresting angle and nothing else about the book stands out. And the occasional attempts to write lyrically fall very, very flat.
I bought the sequel (well, got it free - it was a three for two offer) so I guess I'll listen to that so as not to waste it, but I'm not eager to start.
If you're looking to first rate zombie novels try the Rhiannon Frater trilogy. It's worlds ahead of this.
This feels like the author just strained to find a new angle on zombies - he did, but it's an uninteresting angle and nothing else about the book stands out. And the occasional attempts to write lyrically fall very, very flat.
I bought the sequel (well, got it free - it was a three for two offer) so I guess I'll listen to that so as not to waste it, but I'm not eager to start.
If you're looking to first rate zombie novels try the Rhiannon Frater trilogy. It's worlds ahead of this.
January 25, 2010
Shades of Shymalan's "the happening" but it does goes left somewhere near the end.
it turns out a good and thoughtful book. a very weird ending and set of developments which i am not sure really works- i am not sure what was being said. but its a good read
funny though- if i was writing this and the conclusion i would have thought no one would publish it, but someone told a story worth reading in the end.
it turns out a good and thoughtful book. a very weird ending and set of developments which i am not sure really works- i am not sure what was being said. but its a good read
funny though- if i was writing this and the conclusion i would have thought no one would publish it, but someone told a story worth reading in the end.
September 26, 2010
"Drop Dead Gorgeous" was drop dead glorious.
Built up with a steady and very deliberate pace, the climax is even more than what you waited for the whole book. The ending was harsh, cruel, and bloody. Just what any book of the dead rising from the grave should be. And what a variation on a theme this story was.
Loved the regional/national aspects of the story, the use of music to accentuate the mood, and the finish was outstanding.
Grab it...
Built up with a steady and very deliberate pace, the climax is even more than what you waited for the whole book. The ending was harsh, cruel, and bloody. Just what any book of the dead rising from the grave should be. And what a variation on a theme this story was.
Loved the regional/national aspects of the story, the use of music to accentuate the mood, and the finish was outstanding.
Grab it...
January 27, 2010
I love zombies (sorry Mr. Revert) and found the book very entertaining. This was read at a time when I had to stop and start too many times for my liking and the countless characters became a bit of a blur. I thoroughly loved the writing and always get a kick out of reading derivatives of English vulgarities. This is one I need to give a second chance , and I promise I will.
July 9, 2012
I'm not sure what I think about this book. Some of the characters were interesting but there was too much jumping around to get a feel for them. It was an interesting premise but it seemed rushed. I think part of it might have been too many characters for such a short book. I liked Flu much better.
January 19, 2014
One Sunday morning in Northern Ireland, almost everyone drops dead. The survivors gather in groups to pool resources. The trials and tribulations of this life start to take their toll, especially after several weeks when the beautiful woman start to come back to life to reek revenge on men who had done them wrong... A really interesting concept and fast moving story.
December 28, 2014
Fast moving with crisp characters that jump out of the page. I presume this book is the calm before the storm of its sequel but despite this, the sheer style and readability of Wayne's smooth writing make this an extremely enjoyable read. This is good work and a realistic and lucid voice that deserves to be read by horror fans... I'll definitely be back for more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews