Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

If you look at all the reviews, you'll see that this monster mash-up of the beloved novel has totally split opinions of those who have read it. I'll tell you mine after a bit of explanation.

Zombies have been plaguing the English countryside for years. It's no longer safe to venture out alone; you need to be either armed to the teeth, or have safety in numbers. The Bennets are well equipped to deal with the undead, for Mr Bennet and his daughters have been trained in the deadly arts in China and are warriors all with swords and feet alike, having their own dojo at home to keep their skills honed.

The Zombies and martial arts are all shoe-horned into Austen's novel, most of which is left in tact - it's usually pretty obvious which are the additions and adaptations, although not having read the original for many years, I kept it by me so I could compare and contrast if needed. I am also an expert in the BBC's wonderful P&P series from 1995, which enriched this reading immensely - imagining Colin Firth as Darcy swashing and buckling against zombies...
... Sorry, where was I? The novel starts off really well, it had me chortling loud enough to have to read the first few lines out to my other half:-

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains. Never was this truth more plain than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead.
"My dear Mr Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is occupied again?"
Mr Bennet replied that he had not and went about his morning business of dagger sharpening and musket polishing - for attacks bt the unmentionables had grown alarmingly frequent in recent weeks."

Even from just this small quote you can see already that it mixes the new and old and rewrites other sentences to fit. Some of the adaptations are witty, and there is the added frisson of a little double-entendre introduced between Lizzie and Darcy. There's nothing like a little smut to remind you that this mash-up is intended to entertain - some of the other write-ups I've read seem to have expected a more serious shock-horror treatment, but the comedy approach was fine by me.

The only problem is, that with one notably sad exception, the zombies are a mere nuisance, seemingly there to prevent travel and explain the high turnover in servants - there are missed opportunities for more zombie mayhem in more elevated circles. It's mostly a class thing - the rich can afford warrior training and/or servants to do the zombie killing for them, unlike the working class who get devoured with relentless monotony. There is one real highlight though, appended at the end of the novel which, if you decide to read it, you too must save for the end - in which the author's comedic credentials are exploited to the full. A neat finish, but I can't tell you more.

So what did I make of it all? It was a great concept, (with a fantastic cover). It was fun, but not sustained all the way through. Did I enjoy it enough to read the next title from Quirk Books - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters - well maybe! (6 .5 out of 10)

Like Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, this is Austen's original text with some excisions and a zombie plot-line inserted: so if you hate Austen's measured and leisurely style this might not be the book for you. I think this is a really clever idea which both subverts the genteel world that Austen creates and, yet, exploits the potential which already exists in the text.

Elizabeth's 'wildness' which Miss Bingley attributes to her after she struggles through the rain to see Jane is here turned into a ninja warrior's skill; and Charlotte's decision to settle for domestic un-bliss with Mr Collins becomes something both darker and funnier. Austen nearly always keeps the darker side of her historical world hidden (although it sometimes seeps through with the number of militia men around, and the battles at sea that enable Captain Wentworth in Persuasion to be promoted) and the zombie theme reinserts this sense of a society at war back into the main story, albeit in a humourous manner.

Plenty of reviewers have pronounced that Austen fans will hate this - well, I'm a fan and I love it. It's certainly possible to read this as a straightforward parody/burlesque/spoof, but actually it also reveals interesting things about genre and the way the Austen text is able to blend with something very different and yet still maintain its core values.

Recently I wrote the following statement while reviewing a book - I have often suspected any novel can only be enhanced by the addition of rampaging hordes of undead. The publisher Quirk Books, originators of the mash-up novel, were obviously listening and sent me some books that would allow me to test that theory. Over the next few days I'll be posting reviews of a few of them.

The first novel I read is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith. Before I begin, I have an admission to make, I have to be honest and admit that I have never read any of Jane Austen's work.

After discussing the book at length with my wife, who has read Austen, I am assured that the majority of the plot remains the same as the original text. The five Bennet sisters are all of marriageable age and their mother is keen to ensure that they all marry well into wealthy, well to-do families. The second eldest daughter, Elizabeth, is headstrong and independent. She refuses to bow to convention and very much knows her own mind. Enter a darkly brooding Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. Initially he appears prideful and standoffish but as the novel develops Darcy and Elizabeth realise their feelings for one another. The additional plots strands regarding Elizabeth's other sisters and her friend Charlotte Lucas also remain largely intact.

Lots of stiff upper lips and starched collars are still in evidence here but tempering that with horror works well. In typically British fashion most characters consider the zombie menace little more than an inconvenience. This is where the Regency setting really works. It's clear that Grahame-Smith has made a supreme effort to blend his text with Austen's original. The best example of this is in the terms used to describe the undead. Zombie is considered a decidedly uncouth phrase when describing the unfortunate deceased so many different names are used. My personal favourite being `manky dreadful`.

The addition of action scenes don't feel forced. They are peppered throughout the novel at sensible points. The Bennet sisters have been trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, and are as comfortable dispatching Satan's servants as being demure and lady like. The darkly comic descriptions of ladies attacking zombies with katanas and flintlock pistols while in full evening dress will certainly stay with me.

My main concern, before reading the book, was always that I would get bogged down in flowery, difficult to read language and be ultimately bored by the experience. I'm glad to say that this was not the case. The witticisms and verbal sparring between the characters, seen by many as an Austen hallmark, are still present but I was able to follow these vocal gymnastics without much difficulty.

So does the inclusion of zombies enhance this particular novel? In my opinion the answer is a firm yes. The motivations of characters like Darcy and Elizabeth are only strengthened by having an additional, and in this case undead, burden to bear. I felt that the amendments made by Grahame-Smith have been handled in as a respectful manner as is possible.

I have heard talk of a movie version of this novel in the offing. I hope this happens as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a fun re-invention of an extremely popular story and would be great to see on the big screen.