Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
| Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Steve Hockensmith |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Comic novel, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Comedy |
| Publisher | Quirk Books, Philadelphia |
| Publication date | March 23, 2010 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 287 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-59474-454-9 |
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (2010) is a parody novel by Steve Hockensmith.[1][2] It is a prequel to Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, focusing on "the early life and training of Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of the earlier Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as she strove to become a gifted zombie hunter, with some mishaps in her early romantic encounters also included."[3] It was first published by Quirk Books on March 23, 2010.
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Contents
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Plot summary
Set five years before the events described in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the novel takes place in an alternative universe version of Regency-era England where zombies are a well-known menace spawned by an event known as The Troubles.
After attending a funeral in which a zombie rises from his coffin, Mr. Bennet decides that he must finally keep an old promise to train his five daughters in the art of zombie-killing. To this end, he turns the family's greenhouse into a dojo and hires young martial-arts expert Master Hawksworth to teach the girls. Meanwhile, a scientist named Dr. Keckilpenny arrives in the area with the dream of domesticating the zombies. As the zombie plague continues to spread across England, Hawksworth and Keckilpenny vie for Elizabeth's affections while Mrs. Bennet plots to find suitably wealthy suitors for both Elizabeth and her older sister Jane. In a bid to get reinforcements against the plague, Jane becomes the bodyguard of Lord Lumpley, a fat nobleman with low moral standards. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Keckilpenny capture a zombie for further research.
Eventually, Hawksworth's incompetence as a warrior becomes obvious, as he never fights any zombies. When the zombies besiege Lord Lumpley's estate, Hawksworth feigns an injured knee, leaving the fighting to everyone else present. Soon, Master Hawksworth escapes the zombies by himself (with his usual grace, and without even drawing his katana), even leaving a young officer to be ripped to shreds. Keckilpenny gets bitten by his research subject, "Mr. Smith", and Elizabeth is forced to behead him. In the end, Captain Cannon, Lieutenant Tindall, Dr. Keckilpenny, and Ensign Pratt are all dead, but the others are saved by the reinforcements that Hawksworth managed to summon, despite his cowardice.
It is heavily implied at the end that Hawksworth was a student of Lady Catherine, an extremely powerful warrior who retired decades ago when the zombies were seemingly eradicated. Hawksworth, having suffered many zombie bites, is relieved of his limbs and put into a box by Lady Catherine in order to stem the infection.
Reception
Booklist gave the novella a favorable review, calling it "a must-read for the growing legion of alternate-Austen fans (including, naturally, everyone who has read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)."[4]
The A.V. Club gave the novel a grade of "B-," stating that the novel "often succeeds on its own terms" while noting that author Hockensmith "makes no attempt at Jane Austen’s style, either for replication or parody," and that the story is "nothing more or less than an adventure story that happens to be set in Regency England."[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Writing the Prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". Time. 19 April 2010. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1982782,00.html. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "Those Bennet girls have zombies on the brain". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 26 March 2010. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PD&s_site=twincities&p_multi=SP&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=12EB6E0893D12690&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ New Book Trailer: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
- ^ Moyer, Jessica (2010-03-01). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls". http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=4058903/. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ Bowman, Donna (2010-04-01). "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls". http://www.avclub.com/articles/steve-hockensmith-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies,39731/. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
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