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It retains the quirkiness of the original, and most of Austen's characters and settings, but it blasts the whole genre out of the water most efficiently, and it's wonderful. All the work that Grahame-Smith did with Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is carried further forward here, in the all-new prequel. --austen world dot com, FeB 2009
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet s part in The Troubles and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters. Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth s training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the strange plague and its resulting offspring. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen s writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen s voice is not as loud as it was before. On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed. From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel s climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead. --The Eloquent Page, March, 2011
Fortunately, Steve Hockensmith's prequel is freed from that requirement to be Austen-y and is worlds better for it. It retains the quirkiness of the original, and most of Austen's characters and settings, but it blasts the whole genre out of the water most efficiently, and it's wonderful. All the work that Grahame-Smith did with Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is carried further forward here, in the all-new prequel.The various Bennet sisters are still themselves, but the readership witnesses how they progress from the delicate flowers of womanhood they are in the original book to the combination of meek womanhood and warrior steel they are in the mash-up version. While it doesn't quite patch over the unevenness of the first, it helps quite a bit on rer --austen world dot com, FeB 2009
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet s part in The Troubles and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters. Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth s training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the strange plague and its resulting offspring. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen s writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen s voice is not as loud as it was before. On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed. From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel s climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead. --The Eloquent Page, March, 2011
Fortunately, Steve Hockensmith's prequel is freed from that requirement to be Austen-y and is worlds better for it. It retains the quirkiness of the original, and most of Austen's characters and settings, but it blasts the whole genre out of the water most efficiently, and it's wonderful. All the work that Grahame-Smith did with Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is carried further forward here, in the all-new prequel.The various Bennet sisters are still themselves, but the readership witnesses how they progress from the delicate flowers of womanhood they are in the original book to the combination of meek womanhood and warrior steel they are in the mash-up version. While it doesn't quite patch over the unevenness of the first, it helps quite a bit on rereading the original mash-up.Although, to be honest, the book needs no background in Austen to be enjoyable. It might be better without the Austen, actually. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, as characters, are strong enough to stand on their own no matter where you might place them. The same goes for fussy Prudence and pragmatic Oscar Bennet. The new characters, from Dr. Keckilpenny and Master Hawksworth on down to Baron Lumpley himself, serve both as romantic foils for the more mannerly portions, but also as zombie movie archetypes recast for the 19th Century. (The Bennets serve as archetypes as well, of a more timeless and less zombie-centric sort.)Hockensmith's blending of aristocracy and hungry hordes is more even than the original book, because Hockensmith has no Austen to be faithful to. He's free to simply write a book and the end result flows better than the precursor and is much more consistent. Also, it's wickedly funny in several parts, while staying mostly true to the concepts of womanhood and a place in the world that Austen explored.The 287 pages of the book flew by. When I picked it up and started reading, I didn't want to put it down. I went from the title page to halfway through the book in one sitting at the coffee shop, stifling chuckles with my cup the entire time. The fun Hockensmith is having with Austen is second only to the fun he seems to be having with the unmentionables. The innate comedy of the concept of regency period zombies soars once unshackled from the rotting corpse of Jane Austen....Den of Geek, Feb, 2010...Set four years before Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Dawn of the Dreadfuls finds the Bennet siblings four years younger though already set in their ways: Jane is naively willing to see the best in everyone, Mary is sententious, Kitty a tagalong, and Lydia more lustily flirtatious than any eleven-year-old has a right to be. Elizabeth, however, finds herself at a crossroads when the long dormant undead choose to rise again only weeks before her coming out. Should she trade in her katana for an invitation to Mrs. Goswick s ball? Should she content herself as the disciple of the handsome Master Hawksworth, her instructor in the deadly arts? Should she exercise her intellect by joining the Dr. Keckilpenny on his quest to re-educate the undead?The Austen fan will be able to guess Lizzie s decision long before the gathering zombies (that is to say, the unfortunate encroachments of certain unmentionables) make its outcome a matter of life and death.Though Steve Hockensmith s novel boasts only a dozen illustrations (illuminating such heartwarming scenes as an unmentionable 'hump[ing] its way toward Mary like a massive, rabid inchworm'), the book is in many ways a cartoon. There s a bumbling villain in the person of the portly and lascivious Lord Lumpley, who owns Netherfield Hall and fancies himself Hertfordshire s version of the Prince Regent. (He also fancies Jane Bennet.) There s a plenitude of martial arts as Mr. Bennet shares his past as a student of Shaolin and reveals that Mrs. Bennet s flower shed was alwayas intended to be the dojo... --austen world dot com, FeB 2009
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet s part in The Troubles and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters. Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth s training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the strange plague and its resulting offspring. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen s writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen s voice is not as loud as it was before. On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed. From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel s climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead. --The Eloquent Page, March, 2011
Fortunately, Steve Hockensmith's prequel is freed from that requirement to be Austen-y and is worlds better for it. It retains the quirkiness of the original, and most of Austen's characters and settings, but it blasts the whole genre out of the water most efficiently, and it's wonderful. All the work that Grahame-Smith did with Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is carried further forward here, in the all-new prequel.The various Bennet sisters are still themselves, but the readership witnesses how they progress from the delicate flowers of womanhood they are in the original book to the combination of meek womanhood and warrior steel they are in the mash-up version. While it doesn't quite patch over the unevenness of the first, it helps quite a bit on rer --austen world dot com, FeB 2009
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet s part in The Troubles and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters. Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth s training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the strange plague and its resulting offspring. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen s writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen s voice is not as loud as it was before. On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed. From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel s climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead. --The Eloquent Page, March, 2011
Fortunately, Steve Hockensmith's prequel is freed from that requirement to be Austen-y and is worlds better for it. It retains the quirkiness of the original, and most of Austen's characters and settings, but it blasts the whole genre out of the water most efficiently, and it's wonderful. All the work that Grahame-Smith did with Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is carried further forward here, in the all-new prequel.The various Bennet sisters are still themselves, but the readership witnesses how they progress from the delicate flowers of womanhood they are in the original book to the combination of meek womanhood and warrior steel they are in the mash-up version. While it doesn't quite patch over the unevenness of the first, it helps quite a bit on rereading the original mash-up.Although, to be honest, the book needs no background in Austen to be enjoyable. It might be better without the Austen, actually. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, as characters, are strong enough to stand on their own no matter where you might place them. The same goes for fussy Prudence and pragmatic Oscar Bennet. The new characters, from Dr. Keckilpenny and Master Hawksworth on down to Baron Lumpley himself, serve both as romantic foils for the more mannerly portions, but also as zombie movie archetypes recast for the 19th Century. (The Bennets serve as archetypes as well, of a more timeless and less zombie-centric sort.)Hockensmith's blending of aristocracy and hungry hordes is more even than the original book, because Hockensmith has no Austen to be faithful to. He's free to simply write a book and the end result flows better than the precursor and is much more consistent. Also, it's wickedly funny in several parts, while staying mostly true to the concepts of womanhood and a place in the world that Austen explored.The 287 pages of the book flew by. When I picked it up and started reading, I didn't want to put it down. I went from the title page to halfway through the book in one sitting at the coffee shop, stifling chuckles with my cup the entire time. The fun Hockensmith is having with Austen is second only to the fun he seems to be having with the unmentionables. The innate comedy of the concept of regency period zombies soars once unshackled from the rotting corpse of Jane Austen....Den of Geek, Feb, 2010...Set four years before Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Dawn of the Dreadfuls finds the Bennet siblings four years younger though already set in their ways: Jane is naively willing to see the best in everyone, Mary is sententious, Kitty a tagalong, and Lydia more lustily flirtatious than any eleven-year-old has a right to be. Elizabeth, however, finds herself at a crossroads when the long dormant undead choose to rise again only weeks before her coming out. Should she trade in her katana for an invitation to Mrs. Goswick s ball? Should she content herself as the disciple of the handsome Master Hawksworth, her instructor in the deadly arts? Should she exercise her intellect by joining the Dr. Keckilpenny on his quest to re-educate the undead?The Austen fan will be able to guess Lizzie s decision long before the gathering zombies (that is to say, the unfortunate encroachments of certain unmentionables) make its outcome a matter of life and death.Though Steve Hockensmith s novel boasts only a dozen illustrations (illuminating such heartwarming scenes as an unmentionable 'hump[ing] its way toward Mary like a massive, rabid inchworm'), the book is in many ways a cartoon. There s a bumbling villain in the person of the portly and lascivious Lord Lumpley, who owns Netherfield Hall and fancies himself Hertfordshire s version of the Prince Regent. (He also fancies Jane Bennet.) There s a plenitude of martial arts as Mr. Bennet shares his past as a student of Shaolin and reveals that Mrs. Bennet s flower shed was alwayas intended to be the dojo... --austen world dot com, FeB 2009
Product Description
At the opening of the international bestseller "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", Elizabeth Bennet is already a seasoned warrior-trained in the martial arts, skeptical of romance, and determined to wipe out the deadly dreadfuls. But how did Elizabeth get that way? And where did all of the zombies come from? Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls - a thrilling prequel set three years before the horrific events of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". This comic-horror novel is an all-new work of fiction from acclaimed novelist, Steve Hockensmith. As our story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside. They idle away the days reading, gardening, practicing instruments, and daydreaming about future husbands-until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry. Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth-and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords, and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry. Through it all, of course, readers will be treated to scene after scene of absurd zombie carnage. Complete with 15 dazzling illustrations, "Dawn of the Dreadfuls" invites readers to step back into Regency England-Land of the Undead.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This prequel immediately opens with zombie action at a funeral. The late Mr. Ford reanimates; while Mrs. Ford believes he must have been alive all along, most of the congregation flees the church in absolute hysteria. Luckily, Mr. Bennett has prior experience dispatching zombies. This time, however, he decides to test his daughters' reactions to the "dreadful" (use of the Zed word is not appropriate behavior back then). He is disappointed when he realizes that the five sisters are not at all prepared for the inevitable outbreak.
Mr. Bennett contacts his Order, and Master Hawksworth shows up to train the Bennett sisters, as well as put Mr. Bennett through a refresher course. In addition to the training, Mr. Bennett tries to persuade Lord Lumpley to help him convince the military to send soldiers to pre-empt the outbreak. Believing that the zombie plague was behind them, for the previous five years, the deceased were allowed to keep their heads attached to their bodies, so the plan is to remove the problem before they crawl out of the graves.
When the soldiers do arrive, Dr. Keckilpenny is among them. He believes science holds the key to solving the problem with dreadfuls. His character reminded me of the doctor in Romero's Day of the Dead. For some reason, Elizabeth Bennett finds his unique way of reasoning very interesting, and there is some attraction between the two. However, there is also some attraction between herself and Master Hawksworth, which is beginning to derail the training of the Bennett sisters.
In addition to Elizabeth's mixed emotions, Jane is facing her own dilemna with the lecherous attention from Lord Lumpley. Of course, the Bennett sisters have their mother's "help." (If not for the rest of the family, Mrs. Bennett would have no chance of surviving much of anything.) The problem with this being a prequel to a parody of a well-known novel is that there are obvious spoilers concerning the futures of the five Bennett sisters, but the outcomes concerning the other characters are still somewhat unpredictable.
While the book maintains a mix of zombie gore and Jane Austen propriety, there are moments of humor that made me laugh so hard, I could barely breathe. I will never forget the image of Lord Lumpley and his slice of fruit, or Belgrave calmly offering to get another slice.
The writing style is more relaxed than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but Steve Hockensmith didn't have to contend with Jane Austen's style as Seth Grahame-Smith did. Also, the POV is not exclusive to Elizabeth Bennett in the prequel, as Mr. Bennett and Jane have their moments as well. I also liked the way chapters were not limited to the thoughts of just one character at a time, which made made the story flow quickly from one action scene to another.
If you like historical zombie fiction, I highly recommend Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter.
Mr. Bennett contacts his Order, and Master Hawksworth shows up to train the Bennett sisters, as well as put Mr. Bennett through a refresher course. In addition to the training, Mr. Bennett tries to persuade Lord Lumpley to help him convince the military to send soldiers to pre-empt the outbreak. Believing that the zombie plague was behind them, for the previous five years, the deceased were allowed to keep their heads attached to their bodies, so the plan is to remove the problem before they crawl out of the graves.
When the soldiers do arrive, Dr. Keckilpenny is among them. He believes science holds the key to solving the problem with dreadfuls. His character reminded me of the doctor in Romero's Day of the Dead. For some reason, Elizabeth Bennett finds his unique way of reasoning very interesting, and there is some attraction between the two. However, there is also some attraction between herself and Master Hawksworth, which is beginning to derail the training of the Bennett sisters.
In addition to Elizabeth's mixed emotions, Jane is facing her own dilemna with the lecherous attention from Lord Lumpley. Of course, the Bennett sisters have their mother's "help." (If not for the rest of the family, Mrs. Bennett would have no chance of surviving much of anything.) The problem with this being a prequel to a parody of a well-known novel is that there are obvious spoilers concerning the futures of the five Bennett sisters, but the outcomes concerning the other characters are still somewhat unpredictable.
While the book maintains a mix of zombie gore and Jane Austen propriety, there are moments of humor that made me laugh so hard, I could barely breathe. I will never forget the image of Lord Lumpley and his slice of fruit, or Belgrave calmly offering to get another slice.
The writing style is more relaxed than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but Steve Hockensmith didn't have to contend with Jane Austen's style as Seth Grahame-Smith did. Also, the POV is not exclusive to Elizabeth Bennett in the prequel, as Mr. Bennett and Jane have their moments as well. I also liked the way chapters were not limited to the thoughts of just one character at a time, which made made the story flow quickly from one action scene to another.
If you like historical zombie fiction, I highly recommend Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Journey back to Regency England - Land of the Undead
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England.
The reader learns of Oscar Bennet's part in 'The Troubles' and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters.
Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth's training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the `strange plague' and its resulting offspring.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen's writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen's voice is not as loud as it was before.
On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed.
From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel's climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England.
The reader learns of Oscar Bennet's part in 'The Troubles' and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters.
Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of science, Dr Keckilpenny. Both men offer Elizabeth a glimpse of something different and what is missing from her staid country life. Hawksworth is Elizabeth's training master while Dr Keckilpenny is attempting to study the `strange plague' and its resulting offspring.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is distinctly different in tone than its predecessor. There has been a change of author for the prequel and the attempts to emulate Austen's writing style feels somewhat lacking. This had been one of the highlights of the previous novel and I felt a little disappointed by this change. Austen's voice is not as loud as it was before.
On a more positive note, there is a definite ramping up in the action stakes. There are more zombie encounters than before. Each of the Bennet girls need to find it within themselves to embrace their training as they learn how to dispatch the undead. There are some very inventive methods used to dispatch the zombies and these became more and more outlandish as the novel progressed.
From a horror standpoint, I felt that this novel was actually an improvement over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The author has revisited some traditional zombie narrative staples and these work well. The novel's climax has a marvelously claustrophobic feeling as the Bennet family and their neighbors are trapped in the local manor house awaiting an incoming zombie attack.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fun read and, if anything, it is more accessible than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. There is valuable insight into the history of the Bennet family as well as the zombie hordes. Overall, I continue to be entertained by the juxtaposition of regency manners versus the ravaging undead.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just finished reading and now cannot wait for the 3rd to arrive, have pre-ordered so not long now to wait, this was as i thought a really good read, some nights two or three chapters as it keep you wanting to carry on reading, very good well worth it if your into your period dramas as the author refers to all the proper words and dress sense for the time it was written for.Great ending and i love the reference's to Mrs Bennet she is as batty in this as Pride & Prejudice, great fun
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very good prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Very pleased with this prequel having read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Written by a different author who has very sensibly taken all the feedback from its predecessor and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Terror Byte
Good Not As Good As First
This appears to get higher reviews that the first book in the series although I dont know why. I really felt it was cashing in a bit, the characters seemed to be lost from the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Zombie Fan
another tedious mashup
Ok we have here another tedious mashup. If people are going to write mashups they should put some work into integrating the mashup elements into the plot in a more seamless manner,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by w james
Loved it
I bought the paperback version of Pride Prejudice & Zombies a few years ago and I always wondered what the story before and after would be like. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Katz
A Well Written Book with some Original Ideas
A very brave attempt to follow up on the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but Steve Hockensmith achieves this admirably and closes some obvious gaps in the original mash... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sean T. Page
Overall, I love this book
The book was very well written, the plot flowed well and did not stop. The humor was in the right places at the right times so reading this book was enjoyable and fun. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rebecca
classic
I love Pride and prejudice and I love zombies so when I saw this I had to have it. Both lose a bit when mixed. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lithium
not as good as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
enjoyable read, but not as good as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, i guess you can relate more in the first book with the characters, when you know the original.
Published 22 months ago by Al
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