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!

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… 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.