Submitted by Gerti
I’ve
read Steve Hockensmith’s “Dawn of the Dreadfuls” twice now, but
it has enough witty language and raunchy humor in it to make for an
entertaining trip even the second time through. While there are some
parts I find annoying (mostly the training with the Master and his
dand-baithaks),
the characters remain so true to the Jane Austen original (“Pride
and Prejudice”) that it is a delight to revisit them even under
these unfortunate, near-apocalyptic circumstances.
The
protagonist in this book, like in the classic English novel “Pride
and Prejudice”, is Elizabeth Bennet, the 2nd
oldest daughter of a man who, we learn here, is skilled in the art of
killing zombies. Only a polite person does not use the “zed word”
in at this time period, so they are called dreadfuls or
unmentionables. Except they need to be mentioned frequently, as even
the quiet countryside of Meryton is being overrun by the undead.
Because of Mr. Bennet’s connection to the previous war against
zombies, he is able to send to the war office for help for his small
community after a man cut is half by a carriage refuses to remain
dead, shocking the mourners during his funeral. Mr. Bennet is also
forced to begin training his 5 daughters in some Oriental arts in
order to defend their home and neighbors against the zombie hordes to
come, even if it does get them uninvited to parties.
Like
in Austen’s original, the eldest daughter Jane is beautiful and
sensitive. Her younger sisters, Mary, Lydia and Kitty, retain their
quiet and boy-crazy personalities, respectively. It is delightful to
see how each girl reacts to the zombies… and though nothing in
Austen’s time could have prepared that author for such a situation,
Hockensmith handles the girls antics and dialogue how Austen would
have. Master Hawksworth comes from the east to help training the
Bennet girls, but when he develops a crush on Elizabeth, his true
cowardly nature comes to the fore. She finds a second suitor when
crazed scientist Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to end the zombie scourge
through research, with her help.
Even
Mrs. Bennet, remembered for her match-making blather which caused so
much embarrassment in “Pride and Prejudice,” has a romance here
in “Dawn of the Dreadfuls” when her old beau Captain Cannon comes
to town. He has lost all his arms and legs in the previous zombie
war, but is wheeled around by 2 fellows he calls his limbs. Yes, much
of this book is wildly funny and crazy, but it retains some of the
wit of the original, and in that, it is miles above many of the
Austen retakes I’ve read. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is
brilliant because it uses mostly Austen’s text, with the word
“zombie” added to each page. Hockensmith’s sendup is a
devilishly clever prequel to that book, and well worth you reading it
too!
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