Journey Back to Regency England --- Land of the Undead!
Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls - a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As our story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside. They idle away the days reading, gardening and daydreaming about future husbands - until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry.
Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth - abd only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her attentions: Master Hawksworth is the powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength. Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth's heart? Or wll their hearts be feasted upon by hordes of marauding zombies? Complete with romance, action, comedy and an army of shambling corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave - and just might inspire her to crawl out of it!
Pre Read Thoughts
I can't start a series without finishing it and this is a policy that has my mum wanting to tear my hair out because if I don't like a book I complain about it bitterly until I read a book I do like. So with that policy in mind I am now looking at the prequel to the distinctly average Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now I won't lie to you, I managed to get this book as part of a 'buy one get one half price' offer at WHSmith. Don't ask me what the other book was, I don't have a clue. But that offer means I'm not sure how much I paid for it. Once again the price is in dollars and I'm beginning to wonder if I should Tweet Quirk Classics and inform them that there is more than one currency in the world, for example in the UK we have the pound. I once again dislike the cover but I do like the synopsis so I'm going to spend my time looking at the back cover.
Post Read Thoughts
I started this book with a sense of trepidation, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies wasn't a good book and I feared that this was going to be the same but it wasn't. Freed from the constraints of Jane Austen's classic story, this book proved that my suspicions that P&P&Z had a solid premise that was do-able, were correct. This book was delightfully funny and a joy to read. Although I did have trouble getting into the story at the beginng, I soon found myself in my own little zombie slaying world. I really enjoyed the author's writing style it was easy to follow and extremely entertaining.
Unlike last time the characters are filled with life as the Bennet sisters learn about becoming warriors. I was disappointed by Jane initially but she came into her own at the end of the book. Elizabeth turned into an awesome heroine before my very eyes, there were many scenes were I was laughing in delight at the way she handled herself. Not all the characters were likeable though, Kitty, Lydia and Mrs Bennet are as annoying in this book as the are in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. but I think that's due to the flaws of the characters as opposed to bad character development.
Overall this prequel is superior in every way. I loved the story and the opprtunity to see the Bennet sisters learn their ninja skills was priceless. I am so happy that this book was created as it proves the potential that sat hidden in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Although I feel that this does contradict some of what's insinuated in P&P&Z I don't think it matters they were hardly true facts set down by the other author. The final pages were filled with tension and an army of shambling corpses, comedy gold that had me on the edge of my seat.
My Rating
3.5 Stars - I enjoyed this book. I didn't realise just how much though until I wrote this review. This is so going on my guilty pleasures shelf though because I wasn't expecting to like and I was decided that I was going to hate it. The most disappointing thing about this is that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is so disappointing that most people will probably run away from this book screaming. Please don't! This is good!
A Final Note
I have just started a Twitter account for the blog so I can keep you all up to date on what I'm reading and when I've written a new review, and also because I want to get to know you all. You'll find me here: @ShadowsIReview on Twitter. I hope that you'll follow me.
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