Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

This is a delightful parody of a classic that will appeal to both die hard Austen fans with a sense of humor and those who like their zombies meandering and mindless. I laughed so hard in parts that I had to take deep breaths to regain my senses. I am an Austen fan so I felt that the liberties taken by Grahame-Smith by inserting the zombies into the text was artful and well-considered. The violence is actually quite civilized–there is brain-chomping and limb-rending but also Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters as Buffy-like zombie-slayers. For more than 50 years, we learn, England has been overrun by zombies, prompting people like the Bennets to send their daughters away to China for training in the art of deadly combat, and prompting others, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to employ armies of ninjas. This gives the Elizabeth/Lady de Bourgh conversation a whole different “spin.” Hilarious! Does the book still have the happy-ever-after-ending–you bet–and then some, because now Bennet & Darcy fight back-to-back as well as mind-to-mind. Yee-Haw!

This is sure to be one of my favorite zombie books as well as my favorite Austen.

Leane Ellis

Categories: Book Buzz,Book Reviews,Horror,Literary Fiction,Romance,Women's Lives & Relationships