Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was written in 2009 by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. The novel is the second mashup on the list, combining Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with zombie and ninja fiction. Minus the zombies, there are also some major plot adjustments in the story, such as Mr. Bennet being alive and well throughout the entire novel, which significantly detracts from the Bennet sisters from having to immediately find husbands to protect their lifestyle. Each of the Bennet sisters have been trained in martial arts and weapons training to combat the zombies.

The sisters still travel the countryside by carriage to go to fancy balls and visit friends, though in their travels they often encounter zombies. Jane and Elizabeth take pleasure in crushing in the skulls of the undead, though their talents for zombie slaying are often judged by high society. Even though there is a terrifying undead invasion, it is still very unladylike for women to be self-sufficient in destroying the undead. The girls must still find suitable husbands, since they will eventually have to face the fact that their father will not be around forever, causing their home to transfer hands to his cousin, Mr. Collins. At one point, Mrs. Bennet even contemplates having him marry one of her daughters, which apparently was a common practice during this time period.

The novel plays out similar to the original, with the zombie action sporadically tossed in, such as the occasional zombie attack during a ball. Instead of being engrossed in a zombie horror novel, I felt once again engrossed in a Victorian novel with a few zombie attacks thrown in for fun. The zombies don't really change the novel, instead they provide comic relief to get through the overall dreadfulness of Darcy pursuing Elizabeth, the strange flirtation Mr. Collins has with the Bennet sisters, and the numerous engagements the girls attend.

I was extremely disappointed by the writing of the novel, especially after reading Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It becomes very apparent that Grahame-Smith had some heavy limitations with this novel, in attempt to commit as much as the original story to the mashup novel, Grahame-Smith was not able to properly infuse the zombies into the literature. While there many points in the history of Lincoln were there is uncertainty, Pride and Prejudice lacks these moments. 

Though this novel wasn't what I was expecting, I am interested in reading the prequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls and the sequel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After, since both novels were written by Steve Hockensmith. Additionally, the prequel and sequel are loosely based on the characters and time period of the original novel, without the limitations of having to stick with the original story. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Pride and Prejudice and a fan of zombies, all others should read this novel without having great expectations.