Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (The Novel)
Author(s): Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books,US
Publication Date: 1 st April 2009
Name of Reviewer: Mark ‘Wally' Wall
Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is just as the tagline suggests “The classic regency romance – now with ultraviolent Zombie mayhem!” It's near enough the whole writings of Jane Austen, with Seth Graham-Smith's ideas crow-barred between one of the most well known love stories in the world.
The Bennet sisters are trained ninja warriors, whose father is determined to wed them off before they all get eaten by the increasing zombie plague, growing in the village of Meryton. One by one, the sisters forget about killing and slowly get bitten by the love bug instead of a zombie. That's not quite the synopsis on the back, but a shortened version in my own words. I'd say one of the best sentences in the whole book is the very first one: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
What a clever idea for a novel! With the original book being in the public domain, it was only a matter of time before someone picked this up and mixed it up a little. And what better way to do this than re-release it with zombies? I just wish I'd have thought of it first! I've never read the original Pride and Prejudice, but I did know the gist of the story before I started. I'm not sure if I'd have read the original previously, whether or not it would have added to my enjoyment, or dislike for that matter. Now, before I get down to the main part of the review, I have to say that I actually gave up reading the book and listened to the audio book instead. Some of you may think this is cheating, but it was a hell of a tough read and far more enjoyable to have someone else read it to me. I think many people may feel the same way once they get about a quarter of the way into the book.
Zombie Fear Factor: 3 Brains out of 5
For the whole of Britain to be supposedly ‘overrun' with zombies, the fear factor wasn't played on enough for my liking. The fear was there, but very much took a back seat to the main love story. There was more of a fear for the poor and servants within the household, as they were not like the rich, who had enough money to train as ninjas in the Orient. There seemed to be more of a fear of fellow man, than that of the zombies, as betrayal and back-stabbing seemed to be rife in those days.
Zombie Behaviour: 4 Brains out of 5
The zombies are shambling and stupid and seem to only pose any danger when in large groups. They are so dense, that they actually confuse cauliflowers for stray brains! They can only be killed by a head shot with a rifle, or a swift chop to the skull with a Katana sword. They spread around their plague like, well, the plague. Anyone they bite eventually turns into one of the ranks of the undead. Although, in poor Charlotte's case, she has her transformation time prolonged by Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is working on an antidote to the great zombie plague.
Zombie Threat: 3 Brains out of 5
The threat created by the zombies is talked about a lot between the characters, but it only seems to be encountered a few times throughout the book. The main times they come across zombie hordes are whilst travelling between mansions, but the family are usually contained within the relative safety of a carriage and the poor coach driver gets eaten first. There are only a couple of times when the ‘unmentionables' actually breach the comfort and protection of the mansions and this ends up with the servants being eaten. I love that the zombies are referred to as the ‘unmentionables' and on a couple of occasions, the ‘manky dreadfuls'. They are both funny and inventive ways to describe them.
Gore Content: 4 stars
Gore Content: 4 Brains out of 5
When the encounter of zombies pops up in between the original story line, the gore is quite gruesome and descriptive. There are arms being lopped off, heads exploding and most important of all, brains being munched! Although Britain was overrun with zombies, there seemed to be a lot more fighting going on between the characters, rather than against the hordes. Lizzy fights ninjas, Lady Catherine fights Lizzy, Lizzy fights Darcy and so on. It was mainly Elizabeth taking on a lot of people with her hot eadedness. Most notable, was Elizabeth Bennet's fight with the Lady Catherine de Bourgh's ninjas. She was blindfolded and still managed to eliminate and disembowel three of Lady Catherine's best ninjas in a matter of seconds. She even took the time to take a bite out of one of their still-beating hearts. Nice!
Overall Quality: 3 Brains out of 5
Now, reading other reviews of this book, people seem to be split down the middle slightly. Some Jane Austen lovers love it and some hate it for ruining the original. It's a marmite book of huge proportions. I have very much mixed views on it. I found it more of a chore than an enjoyable read, which is why I switched over to the audio book. From listening to it, I seemed to enjoy it more and appreciate the idea, because as far as I know, it was something that had never been done before with the horror genre.
Sometimes the additions didn't quite slot in with the original writing and it just didn't really flow too well. Grahame-Smith did not seem like an accomplished enough author to pull this off, without some slight jarring between the two stories. Because of this, the zombies took a back seat in the novel, instead of expanding that area to make it more of a horror. I fully respect Seth Grahame-Smith's idea and congratulate him on starting a whole new genre of books, with such titles as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, so I would recommend this book to fellow zombie lovers, as an introduction into this new style of ‘hijack-a-classic' writing.
I will read the prequel to this, called ‘Dawn of the Dreadfuls', but I don't think I'd venture any further into this new literature mash-up genre. I would also, possibly, give the graphic novel of this a go, as some of the drawings in the book were great, but too sparse for my liking. In summary: Hard to read, easier to listen to, not the most well written book, but fun all the same.
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