Sometimes you have to tell one story to get to another, and that is certainly the case with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls. This prequel to Quirk Classic’s initial pillaging of the public domain is the sort of zombie story which does the genre proud. I found the original book somewhat short of its undead quota, but this latest installment more than makes up for that lack.
Set four years prior to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, readers find the Bennets doing largely what is expected of them. Jane is already out in society, with Elizabeth soon to follow, but before the second page has ended, there are zombies to be had. The novel tells the story of England’s undead scourge and how the Bennet sisters begin their training to become Hertfordshire’s last line of defense. The pacing of the story is much more along the lines of what I expected from the first PPZ book, to say nothing of the vastly improved zombie count. Hockensmith’s novel does a nice job of working both as a prequel and as a self-contained story. Indeed, it’s so satisfying that it almost eliminates the need to read the book Dawn of the Dreadfuls is meant to lead into.
Once zombies start roaming the countryside, Mr. Bennet takes it upon himself to train his daughters in the deadly arts, and much of the book revolves around their education. This serves the dual purpose of filling in back-story discussed in the first book and increasing the number of action-centered scenes. Mr. Bennet’s “Order” sends Master Hawksworth, a young English gentleman, to become the family instructor. The idea of a traveling tutor/school master smacks of a Regency novel, save that this instructor has his pupils cutting the wings from flies and learning the all too familiar “Fulcrum of Doom.” I was a bit disappointed to see this teacher, rather than the Master Liu so often referenced in PPZ, but the time line does allow for the Bennets to travel to China and back between novels. That aside, Hawksworth still has plenty to do, including playing the role of love interest.
Much like Pride and Prejudice, Jane and Elizabeth are the focal points of amorous activity in Hertfordshire. For Jane, it is again the owner of Netherfield who takes an interest in a girl socially beneath him. The Baron of Lumpley is not nearly so sympathetic a character as Bingley, however, and the Baron’s exit at novel’s end conveniently clears a path for the future lovers. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is again dealing with two suitors: Master Hawksworth and the intellectual Dr. Keckilpenny. Both are interesting and entertaining characters who add something unique to the story, but I found their pursuits of Lizzy somewhat forced. Neither have the intrigue or passion of Darcy, and I think the resolution is meant to account for Elizabeth’s coldness in Pride and Prejudice, but it simply doesn’t come off that way. Fortunately, there are enough other redeeming factors about the novel to make my complaint over romance a small one.
Dawn of the Dreadfuls is the mirror image of its predecessor, and that’s what makes it so much more entertaining. Rather than be a manners novel with a side of zombies, this book is a zombie novel with a side of England. Right from the very beginning, the unmentionables are more active and threatening, driving the plot instead of simply garnishing it. As a result, the Bennet sisters are forced into action and the reader finally gets to see the fatal skill which was so hotly advertised in PPZ. There are daggers flying into zombie skulls, undead heads falling to not one but two katanas, and hacked off limbs of every kind. All of it, thanks to the deadly ministrations of the Bennet girls.
Let’s be honest. This is not great literature. It is, however, great literature which has been stolen by gypsies and raised up in their strange and wonderful ways. The book stays true to the great tropes of zombie stories, including the desperate, just-hang-on-till morning last stand behind boarded-up windows. It also, I think, succeeds in fulfilling Quirk’s stated goal of mashing-up a classic story with “new scenes of horrific creatures and gruesome action.” The bottom line, though, is that it was just fun to read, and I hope this odd-ball publishing house takes this book as its model for future works.
So, do you find your appetite for blood, guts and a smattering of stiff moral values peaked? Then head over to Quirk’s website, leave a comment about this review, and you’ll be entered to win a prize pack which includes an advanced copy of Dawn of the Dreadfuls, audio book versions of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, along with some other PPZ goodies. Dawn of the Dreadfuls releases March 24th.
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