Jane Austen is either spinning in her grave, or laughing her ass off from heaven over this book. I’m sure many purists are full of righteous indignation over it, and I wouldn’t recommend it to my co-worker that reads Jane Austen, because I know the zombies aren’t her cup of tea, but this is a must read for any Jane Austen fan that also appreciates a good genre book.
What I enjoyed most is that author kept the original flavor of P&P quite well, even using a great deal of the original dialogue. When things deviate, they make sense. I was quite happy to read of the escapades of the Bennett sisters, defenders of Hertfordshire in the fight against the undead. I won’t go too much into the story, because it’s the differences from the original book here that make it fun. I will only say that it was a really great read (causing me to stay up way past my bedtime, in fact), perhaps best encapsulated by the last of the “Reader’s Discussion Guide” questions from the back of the book:
“10. Some scholars believe that the zombies were a last minute addition to the novel, requested by the publisher in a shameless attempt to boost sales. Others argue that the hordes of living dead are integral to Jane Austen’s plot and social commentary. What do you think? Can you imagine what this novel might be like without the violent zombie mayhem?” Read the book in the spirit of this, and you’ll enjoy it immensely.
My one small quibble with the book is the illustrations. After retaining the flavor of the original so well, having illustrations done with the characters in a later style of clothing than the proper Regency dress was a bit disappointing. I’m not saying it killed my enjoyment of the book, but everything else was done so well, I’m surprised that this wasn’t.