This post is part of the 2016 April A to Z Challenge.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith may be called blasphemy by Austen purists. I call it a brilliant and exciting update of a classic.

Because let’s face it: what’s been missing from Pride and Prejudice were zombies!

The undead are mostly viewed as a troublesome nuisance. Letters get lost when the mail couriers are caught and eaten. That sort of thing.

Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are trained in martial arts and really know their weapons. As does Mr Darcy, who is a monster hunter in this reincarnation. And to be honest, I find him much improved with a sword and a musket.

The author, who credits Jane Austen as co-author, kept mainly to Austen’s writing style. But the dialogue got more hilarious, and the scenes a lot gorier. There are blood and innards and talk of brains being eaten everywhere. Elizabeth is a proper heroine, there are fights to the death, exhumations, and beloved characters who get infected with the “mysterious plague”.

It does help to have read Pride & Prejudice before, to compare the two stories. You’ll find that you’ll want to go back to the original again and again to see the two versions side by side. It’s laugh out loud funny when you picture all these well-loved and well-established characters with their noble attitudes facing a zombie apocalypse head-on. Yes, it’s silly and it’s not meant to be taken seriously. After all, it is a parody and having a bit of fun with classic literature.

But how could you pass up something like this?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

Oh, and by the way: there are ninjas, too!

 

My Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: May 1, 2009
Pages: 319
ISBN:  978-1594743344