I read and enjoyed both "Pride and Prejudice" and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (PPZ). So when I heard that a prequel to PPZ was being released I was excited. I mean, finally, we get to learn all about how Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters got their awesome fighting skills. I got a copy of Dawn of the Dreadfuls through Quirk Books. I actually enjoyed this book more than PPZ; Hockensmith has created some great tongue-in-cheek characters and the book was very well done!
This book follows the Bennet family as they discover the first dreadful rising (out of a coffin at a funeral), through training the Bennet girls receive, to the inevitable massive zombie attack.
Hockensmith did a great job in keeping the tone of the story similar to PPZ. Mrs. Bennet was definitely the Mrs. Bennet from PPZ and Jane and Elizabeth also maintained their character very well. I thought the story actually flowed much better than PPZ; probably because Hockensmith got to control the storyline this time and could match it to the characters better. Hockensmith has created some fabulous character additions. Master Hawksworh (the Bennet's instructor in the deadly arts) and Dr. Keckilpenny (a doctor who seeks to cure the dreadful affliction) are a lot of fun.
The fighting scenes are well done and more inclusive than in PPZ, again I think that being able to incorporate the action scenes fully into his own story helped Hockingsmith out on this one. The plot takes some interesting twists and turns towards the end of the story which I really enjoyed.
My only complaint would be at times the characters are a little bit over the top. This is a small complaint. I know these over-the-top characters are there for humor, and many times, they are very funny. At times though it goes a bit over-board and feels forced. The dialogue is witty and entertaining enough all on its own; it didn't need any more than that to be funny.
Overall I liked this book even better than PPZ. It was entertaining, engaging, and had me chuckling a number of times. Hockensmith did a good job staying true to the main characters nature, even if the additional characters sometimes went a bit over-the-top with their actions.
For more information on this book please visit Quirk's site at: http://quirkclassics.com/index.php?q=dawnofthedreadfuls
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
Giveaway Details:
To enter the giveaway please follow the below link.
http://quirkclassics.com/index.php?q=QuirkClassicsContest_DOD_Reviews
You just need to enter in the blog that you saw the giveaway details on and you will be automatically entered to win one of 50 Quirk Classics Prize Packs.
Each Prize Pack has a retail value of more than $100 and will include:
- An advanced copy of PPZ: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
- Audio Books of PPZ and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
- A password redeemable online for sample audio chapter of Dawn of the Dreadfuls
- An awesome Dawn of the Dreadfuls poster
- A PPZ Journal
- Box set of PPZ Postcards
Best of luck to you all! I hope you all get a chance to read this book, it was a lot of fun :-)
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