"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Published by Raincoast Books.

This is the classic novel by Jane Austen (which I'd never had the urge to read), now with zombies. The story revolves around the Bennetts, specifically Elizabeth Bennett and her four sisters, all zombie fighting machines of the highest class, trained by Master Liu at a Shaolin Temple in China. We follow Elizabeth, whose prejudice against Mr. Darcy compels her to at first reject his advances; Mr. Darcy learns a thing or two about having too much pride, and redeems himself.

Longbourn and the surrounding area (I'm not sure how far this extends) has been infested with zombies (referred to as "unmentionables"). Where any traveling takes place in the novel, we can be assured there will be a zombie fight scene. The zombies, while adding action and excitement, don't seem to play too much of a role in altering the general progression of the book. At most times, the zombie addition fits in well with the novel. The only point where zombie-ism was infused to greater effect was with regard to the plight of poor Charlotte, Elizabeth's best friend, who became infected and strove to marry quickly so as to spend her last months in relative comfort. Many references to "the bride's condition" would lead me to assume that in the original work, she was pregnant rather than a zombie. In this version, however, other characters (besides Charlotte, whose training allows her to recognize the signs quite early on) barely notice that by the time Elizabeth goes to visit her in her new home, Charlotte is at least three quarters dead and conducts herself in an odd, zombie-ish manner. This by no means detracts from the story; rather, it's a very funny situation indeed.

My only complaint towards this version is that Grahame-Smith's commitment toward the zombie plot seems to wane toward the end. The last hundred pages contain very few zombies. Since the zombies are the point of buying this version, I'd have to say this is a problem that should have been addressed. Nevertheless, the previous zombie plot provides the necessary backing for a final battle between Elizabeth and Darcy's aunt. I would have enjoyed more explicit alterations directly related to zombies, comparable to earlier scenes, such as when a ball the sisters are attending is overrun with unmentionables, or the scene describing the demise of Bingley's kitchen staff.

Still, if you've never read "Pride and Prejudice", this book will provide you with what seem to be the most important elements of the original (the plight of a bunch of sisters who just want to get married to any male who makes an appearance), along with some zombies. Both authors' contributions are entertaining, if not (for reasons cited earlier) completely balanced.