Jane Austen, Hollywood Stars, and Zombies Oh My!

Todd Jepperson

(KEVIN WINTER/GETTY)

The undead horde grew to record breaking numbers last weekend when they invaded Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Bringing with them the brightest stars from the upcoming film adaptation of Jane Austen/Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, they packed the theatre to the walls and grabbed the Guinness World record for most zombies reading Jane Austen at the same time. 

The A-listers showed up in their trendy best, but the zombies were clad in the disastrous ruins of once magnificent Romanticist gowns and Dapper period suits. By all accounts, everyone had a shambling good time. The stars aligned to present attendees with photo opportunities and even prizes for best makeup and costume. 

Interestingly enough though, everyone’s got a copy of the 1813 Jane Austen book and not the 2009 Seth Grahame-Smith adaptation that the upcoming movie is actually based on. In case you have forgotten, or haven’t read the book, here’s the blurb from the back:

“So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton--and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers--and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to [see].”

To read more, hop on over to People.com. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is slated to infect theaters nation-wide on February 4th.

Pride and Prejudice turns 200!

Todd Jepperson

The Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice, is turning 200; but, you’re the one getting gifts!

That’s right, to celebrate the bicentennial of one of English Literature's most beloved classics, Quirk Books is giving away two copies of their Deluxe Heirloom hardback editions of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the Seth Grahame-Smith infected version of the tale, to our lucky ZOMBIES&Toys readers!

Winning is very easy. Email your name and mailing address to me, todd@zombiesandtoys.com, and we’ll pick a winner at the end of January. For a little more of a taste of what’s on the line here, head over to the P&P&Z page over at Quirk Books.

So, here's a big happy birthday to Pride and Prejudice, and to all of you, from Quirk Books and all of us here at ZOMBIES&Toys!

Dreadfully Ever After

Quirk Books is back this month offering Zombies & Toys' readers the opportunity to win some free books!  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has spawned a sequel and a prequal and you have the opportunity to win them both!  Below, you can read our review of Dredfully Ever After and follow the directions to win a copy. 
A little over two years ago Seth Grahame-Smith took a piece of literary history and put his own spin on it by taking the common themes of the original and the story and adding a healthy dose of ninjas, guns and of course zombies. It was a smash hit, to put it lightly, with releases worldwide. Grahame-Smith did Pride and Prejudice proper justice with the inclusion of the things listed above. It was a great book that only had the downfall of conserving a lot of the old English that is sometimes off-putting to the casual reader.

A year later Steve Hockensmith took over the reins with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, a prequel to the smash hit that looked at the upbringing of the sisters and the origins of many events and characters. Hockensmith has a bigger sense of freedom, but was still confined by the story arcs that he had to write into for the proper story arcs to be maintained. Now one year later, Hockensmith is back with a sequel to the original Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in the form of Dreadfully Ever After.

Dreadfully Ever After picks once again with our main characters Elizabeth Darcy and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth is markedly reserved and quite docile in married life as she is no longer allowed to carry a weapon openly or fight zombies. With a marriage that seems to have fallen into a state of settling, Darcy asks Elizabeth to take a stroll so they can reclaim the old feelings they once shared. On the stroll however, Darcy is bitten by a dreadful and infected. This is where our story begins.

From here the story reintroduces Darcy’s Aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who holds a serum that will help slow the infection slowly spreading within Darcy. The serum will give Elizabeth valuable time to find a rumored cure in London as per Lady Catherine’s instructions. On her journey, Elizabeth is joined by her father and sister Kitty, along with another sister Mary Bennet.

Our story revolves around the concept of stories within stories as we switch between the views of Darcy as he struggles to survive at his Aunt’s estate and Elizabeth as she makes her journey into and through London. The backdrop of Regency England continues to preserve an interesting backdrop for a surprising quick read. The book as stated earlier switches between two views that are seemingly different in their style. The Darcy scenes seem a bit slow paced while the Elizabeth scenes in London seem much livelier. The best part about a lot of this, especially in the London scenes is that we don’t just focus on one character. In many parts we are also focusing on Darcy’s cousin Anne and Elizabeth’s sisters Kitty and Mary.

The book maintains a great deal of humor and romance along with a nice touch of action to help move the story along. Along with all of this, there are some interesting new characters that you will find being introduced. As stated before, nothing ever feels too slow as the pacing in this book is surprising fact. There are even some loose ends that are wrapped up from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies series. If you are a fan of the original books then by all means pick this book up, as it is an interesting swan song for the series. If you are looking for a fun read and haven’t read the other books I would still recommend this as Hockensmith does a great job helping this story stand out on its own by providing enough back information.

If you are still on the fence then Quirk Books has created a great trailer for the book.  Do yourself a favor and make sure you go to the Dreadfully Ever After Facebook page as well for more information and some very special contests and giveaways that are open to you if you like the page. Speaking of... email your name and address to dea@zombiesandtoys.com for your chance to win a copy.  Winners will be selected May 31st.
 

 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After - Review

David Brown


A little over two years ago Seth Grahame-Smith took a piece of literary history and put his own spin on it by taking the common themes of the original and the story and adding a healthy dose of ninjas, guns and of course zombies. It was a smash hit, to put it lightly, with releases worldwide. Grahame-Smith did Pride and Prejudice proper justice with the inclusion of the things listed above. It was a great book that only had the downfall of conserving a lot of the old English that is sometimes off-putting to the casual reader.

A year later Steve Hockensmith took over the reins with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, a prequel to the smash hit that looked at the upbringing of the sisters and the origins of many events and characters. Hockensmith has a bigger sense of freedom, but was still confined by the story arcs that he had to write into for the proper story arcs to be maintained. Now one year later, Hockensmith is back with a sequel to the original Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in the form of Dreadfully Ever After.

Dreadfully Ever After picks once again with our main characters Elizabeth Darcy and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth is markedly reserved and quite docile in married life as she is no longer allowed to carry a weapon openly or fight zombies. With a marriage that seems to have fallen into a state of settling, Darcy asks Elizabeth to take a stroll so they can reclaim the old feelings they once shared. On the stroll however, Darcy is bitten by a dreadful and infected. This is where our story begins.

From here the story reintroduces Darcy’s Aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who holds a serum that will help slow the infection slowly spreading within Darcy. The serum will give Elizabeth valuable time to find a rumored cure in London as per Lady Catherine’s instructions. On her journey, Elizabeth is joined by her father and sister Kitty, along with another sister Mary Bennet.

Our story revolves around the concept of stories within stories as we switch between the views of Darcy as he struggles to survive at his Aunt’s estate and Elizabeth as she makes her journey into and through London. The backdrop of Regency England continues to preserve an interesting backdrop for a surprising quick read. The book as stated earlier switches between two views that are seemingly different in their style. The Darcy scenes seem a bit slow paced while the Elizabeth scenes in London seem much livelier. The best part about a lot of this, especially in the London scenes is that we don’t just focus on one character. In many parts we are also focusing on Darcy’s cousin Anne and Elizabeth’s sisters Kitty and Mary.

The book maintains a great deal of humor and romance along with a nice touch of action to help move the story along. Along with all of this, there are some interesting new characters that you will find being introduced. As stated before, nothing ever feels too slow as the pacing in this book is surprising fact. There are even some loose ends that are wrapped up from the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies series. If you are a fan of the original books then by all means pick this book up, as it is an interesting swan song for the series. If you are looking for a fun read and haven’t read the other books I would still recommend this as Hockensmith does a great job helping this story stand out on its own by providing enough back information.

If you are still on the fence then Quirk Books has created a great trailer for the book.  Do yourself a favor and make sure you go to the Dreadfully Ever After Facebook page as well for more information and some very special contests and giveaways that are open to you if you like the page.
 

 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - book review

David Brown

What do you get when you take a literary classic and add a spattering of zombies?  What if we add a dash of ninjas and ancient martial arts? You get a re-imagining of the classic, Pride and Prejudice, written by Seth Grahame-Smith.  Only now we have zombies, or “unmentionables” as they are very frequently called, take over the quaint countrysides of Regency-era England. For anybody who has read the original, you will find many similarities between this re-imaging and Jane Austin’s original.


This is a novel that essentially follows the four Bennet sisters, now trained in the ancient martial arts, and their trials and tribulations. Essentially the story begins with the sisters’ mother searching for wealthy suitors to marry her daughters. Mr. Bennet, on the other hand, spends his days training the girls to be a fearsome zombie-fighting army proficient in martial arts as well as a weapons use.


The girls are by no means tomboys either.  They are civilized ladies who maintain their proper social standing who happened to be trained in zombie fighting techniques. In fact, there are even parts where the girls debate carrying a musket for defense because even though it brings safety, it is considered unladylike. This is definitely a novel where civility versus defense is a common debate.


With everything being said thus far, it is important to note that this novel's biggest downfall is that is not lite reading.  PPZ still maintains the classic reading of the original and demands a lot of patience to get through. Not that this is a bad thing, but definitely worth mentioning. Grahame-Smith is definitely doing justice to the source material here and there are few disappointments. There are also some wonderfully morbid illustrations scattered throughout this great novel.


If you have the time and an interest in Victorian zombie stories that include ninjas and martial arts, then you are definitely in for a treat. There is enough presented here that truly sets this as a novel of its own and not just a rewrite of the original with the word "zombie" thrown in where necessary. This is a book that begs to be read, especially with the announcements that casting for the movie adaptation has begun. Quirk Books and Grahame-Smith have truly captured lightning in a bottle with a novel that is so well-written that many English teachers are even introducing this story into their materials. Find this book and read it when you get the chance, you will not regret it.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies without a Director Again

David Brown

Fans of the Pride Prejudice and Zombies story might have to wait a little longer to see the novel come to the big screen. The drawback, it seems, is Mike White will no longer be directing. White, the man who wrote and starred in School of Rock and directed Year of the Dog, signed on to director Pride and Prejudice and Zombies last November. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop out due to preexisting commitments to HBO and scheduling that would prevent him from doing both projects.

This is not the first time that the project has been without a director. Previously, David O Russell exited due to reported scheduling conflicts. If there is good news in all of this it is the fact that Lionsgate views this film as top priority. They are looking to find a replacement to direct as soon as possible. With all of these delays we can only hope that the next director that comes along suffers no scheduling conflicts. So who do you, fellow readers, think should direct Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

Scarlett Johansson vs. the Undead

Todd Jepperson


Update: We first reported the news Natalie Portman had stepped up to not only star in, but also to produce the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2011 Lionsgate) on December 19th of 2009 (link.) Well, now we’re hearing Natalie is out, and Scarlett Johansson’s name is being brought up as a possible star, Elizabeth Bennett. Read about it here.

For all of you who are like me, and haven’t gotten the P&P bug; Pride and Prejudice is the Jane Austin classic which was adapted by Seth Grahame – Smith and infected with Zombies. Goodreads.com gives the book a decent 3.28 stars. The film adaptation will have Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters introducing their restless co-stars to Kung-Fu, which they learned on a trip to china.


Victorian eloquence meets Rotting indifference with a little Karate kid twist? It sounds like it might be one to bring home to the family.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies… and 15% off!

Todd Jepperson


It’s that time. Time to sit back and take stock of the things in your life you’re thankful for; food, friends, and family... food, food and more food. We here at Zombies & Toys are thankful for friends of our site, friends such as Quirk Classics.  We received an email from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies this week letting us know of some great savings they want to pass along to ZT readers.


From Quirk Classics:

“As a thank you for your ongoing support for Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Quirk Classics, and our quirky publishing house in general, we'd like to offer you and your blog's readers 15% off all products purchased through our Quirk Classics Zazzle store (www.zazzle.com/quirkclassics) between now and Christmas. From tote bags to coffee mugs, t-shirts to posters... there's a little something for everyone in the Zazzle shop. Even skateboards.”


Head on over and snag something like an Elizabeth Bennett Kicks Ass sticker, or maybe a Zombie Mouse Pad. You might even wanna check out those skateboards they mentioned up there. There really is something for everyone.


To hack your price down, use the code "QLAUNCHPROMO” at check out.

Now the legal stuff:

“15% of the net sale price for http://www.zazzle.com/quirkclassics products will be deducted when the coupon code QLAUNCHPROMO is applied at checkout. The net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid through December 31, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers. If a volume discount applies to your order, you will receive either the discount set forth in this offer or the standard volume discount, whichever is greater. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.”

Night of the Living Trekkies

Night of the Living Trekkies is a tale of heroism, sci-fi fandom, and flesh-eating Vulcans by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall.  The official release date is Sept 1st and the same publisher who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Quirk Books, is going to give Zombies & Toys readers an opportunity to win a free copy of their book! 

Jim Pike was the world’s biggest Star Trek fan—until two tours of duty in Afghanistan destroyed his faith in the human race. Now he sleepwalks through life as the assistant manager of a small hotel in downtown Houston. But when hundreds of Trekkies arrive in his lobby for a science fiction convention, Jim finds himself surrounded by costumed Klingons, Vulcans, and Ferengi—plus a strange virus that transforms its carriers into savage, flesh-eating zombies!

I've decided to do this contest a bit differently than previous ones.  I have committed myself to reading and reviewing two other books and have realistically come to the conclusion that I will not have the time to read and review Night of the Living Trekkies in a timely fashion.  I am doing the publisher a disservice by not reviewing the book they have generously decided to send me.  I am doing the author a disservice by not reviewing a novel that undoubtedly took much time and effort.  Most importantly, I am doing Zombies & Toys readers a disservice by not providing you some additional information about some zombie goodness.

As a result, I would like to give my copy away to a reader who would like to submit and have featured their review.  If you are interested in contributing to the ZT community while snagging a free copy of a zombie-filled book, email your name and address to trekkies@zombiesandtoys.com.  One winner will be selected next Friday, Sept 3rd.  I will have the book in the mail the next day on Saturday and would like your review on or by October 15th.  Along with the featured review, we will also be giving away a second copy of Night of the Living Trekkies as part of our normal contest feature.

Also worth mentioning is the Night of the Living Trekkies Facebook page is giving away some nice prizes as well.  Grand prize will be some Troublesome Tribbles (they move and everything!), an unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt, and a signed copy of the book.  Two runners-up will receive an Unofficial Trekkies T-Shirt and a copy of the book.  All you have to do to be eligible is join the Facebook page!

I will be testing some new ideas over the coming months.  Based on YOUR feedback, we will be replicating and/or moving forward with the new ideas or learning from my mistake and ditching them.

Interview With Seth Grahame-Smith

Author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Graham-Smith, was recently interviewed by USA Today. The interview is mostly about his latest novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. But for those die-hard PPZ fans, you may want to head over to see what he has to say.

Find the interview here.

Natalie Portman, Zombie Slayer

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. We all know the drill... Seth Grahame-Smith added zombies to the Jane Austen novel. I still can't bring myself to read it but reviews I've seen are split down the middle. I posted earlier about the news of turning this book into a television mini series. Now the latest news (or latest news about a week or two ago, sorry) is that Lionsgate gave the thumbs up to turn the story into a movie. Oh yeah, and Natalie Portman is going to star in and produce the film.

"The original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead."

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Television

I keep hearing mixed reviews about Seth Graham-Smith's redux of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. Personally, I've been holding off. BUT... turn it into a six-part television mini-series and you have my attention.

It has been reported by @PrideandZombies that Deadline Productions is turning the novel into a six-part television series. They have also included the below picture to go along with the news. Am I going to rush out and read the book? Probably not. Am I excited about the idea of watching a six part series on television about it? Absolutely.

More news as I come across it!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, now with 30% more zombies!

Yup. The title is no joke. Just in time for Halloween, Quirk Books is releasing a "Deluxe Heirloom" edition of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This version will be printed as a hardback for the first time with a faux-leather foil-stamped cover. There will also be 15 new full-color illustrations.

...Oh, yeah. AND the book will contain 30% more zombies.