PPZ:Dawn of the Dreadfuls: A Review
The dedication of the hilarious prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sets the stage for every page to follow. “For Jane. We kid because we love.” Steve Hockensmith’s tale begins four years prior, and as a tale of Regency England and zombies, appropriately begins with a funeral. From the first line of the novel all of the characteristic quirks of Austen’s creations are alive and well within the pages of the tome – in spite of their being continually surrounded by the Undead. Mr. Bennet’s sly smiles and knowing looks are put to the test as his wife’s unending quest to marry out her five daughters will be stopped for no man – living or undead. The dread Zed word Troubles have faced England before – and Oscar Bennet is determined his daughters shall not fall prey to any brain hungry, shambling corpses and sets to work training them in the deadly arts. Jane is ever the serene beauty, even when forced to keep watch for both the undead and a lecherous not-so nobleman with far from honorable designs upon her. Lizzy must face finding her inner warrior while her father and martial arts master, Geoffrey Hawksworth decry the need for warfare and weaponry – and her new friend, Dr. Keckilpenny, a man of science hopes to reverse the zombie curse without removing all those zombie heads. Middle daughter Mary, now fourteen, continues to struggle with finding her place both as a warrior and within her own family. Mary is forever reminding Kitty and Lydia of the ever so improper use of the Zed word, while continually attempting to better herself as a Zom- unmentionable killer. Lydia and Kitty are as hysterical as their mother when the idea that they should never have coming out balls of their own begins to sink in, but the constant tittering of the two youngest Bennets forever leads them from one moment to the next, and has them forever running laps around the grounds of Longbourn as Master Hawksworth has no time for such things, although Lydia and Kitty are certain he has eyes only for Lizzy.
Will Jane defeat the unmentionables and the unquestionably lecherous Lord Lumpley? Will Lizzy have to chose between the attentions of Master Hawksworth and Dr. Keckilpenny, or will the dreadfuls make that choice for her? Will Mary Bennet ever overcome middle child syndrome? Will Kitty and Lydia ever stop their ceaseless tittering? Will Mrs. Bennet ever stop comparing stations and decrying spinsterhood as a fate worse than death? And will poor Oscar Bennet ever get a moment’s peace?
Find out in Quirk Classics’ newest novel by Steve Hockensmith:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
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Enter Quirk Classics PPZ:DOD Contest here!
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