Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New Today: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

A full year into the phenomena some would say ripped the heart out of Jane Austen forever, a part of all of us would just like to see it disappear. And with a flotilla of also-rans and wannabes floating out into the wake of 2009’s surprise mega-hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, there’s an awful lot of crap competing with a standard that, despite its glaring schlock qualities, nonetheless set the bar pretty high.

And then along comes Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (Quirk Books), a prequel both hideous and hilarious, to explain what was missed in the original Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: just where the heck did all those zombies come from and how did Elizabeth Bennet gain her zombie-slaying skills? Dawn of the Dreadfuls takes a stab at explaining both, while wrapping it all up in an engaging (though certainly not believable!) plot.

If the book is successful -- and I think that it is -- it’s due to author Steve Hockensmith’s quirky and humorous eye. We already loved his Holmes on the Range mystery series. It really can’t have been such a leap to add zombies and an Elizabethan beat.

A part of me wonders where all of this might be leading us. But another -- and very real -- part does not care. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is not high art, nor does it pretend to be, but it’s silly, well conceived and brilliantly executed fun. Sometimes, that’s enough.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Corey said...

As soon as I read that Hockensmith was writing this, my interest level skyrocketed,

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7:20:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Steve Hockensmith said...

Not high art? Dude, my bags are already packed for the trip to Sweden. Nobel, here I come!

But hey -- if I *don't* get a call from the Nobel folks, "well conceived and brilliantly executed fun" is a great consolation prize. Hell, I think I prefer it.

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

-Steve

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 8:17:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Ruth Seeley said...

I liked P&P&Z:DotD (that's ppppzzzz dotted if you're trying to pronounce the acronymn) for its grrrrl power alone. But now I'm all upset Steve didn't visit *MY* blog to leave me a comment. ;)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 11:04:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Steve Hockensmith said...

You want a comment on your blog? Done!

-Steve

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 11:44:00 AM PDT  

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