Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls Audiobook By Jane Austen, Steve Hockensmith cover art

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

By: Jane Austen, Steve Hockensmith
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
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With more than one million copies in print, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was the surprise publishing phenomenon of 2009. A best seller on three continents, PPZ has been translated into 21 languages and optioned to become a major motion picture.

In this terrifying and hilarious prequel, we witness the genesis of the zombie plague in early 19th-century England. We watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry.

Written by acclaimed novelist (and Edgar Award nominee) Steve Hockensmith, Dawn of the Dreadfuls invites Austen fans to step back into Regency England, Land of the Undead!

©2010 Steve Hockensmith (P)2010 Audible, Inc. Fantasy Historical Historical Fiction Horror Literature & Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Regency Romantic Comedy Science Fiction Funny Witty

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Nominee - Best Fiction Audiobook, 2011

"Hockensmith does not abandon Austen’s original characters. Mrs. Bennett is the most true to the original, and even silly Kitty and Lydia are the same, only they fight instead of fuss over men. Elizabeth, from whose point of view significant elements of the story are told, is the most fully developed, and while she departs a little from the original, it’s not so far as to make Austen fans cringe (given that they’re OK with zombies, of course). This is a must-read for the growing legion of alternate-Austen fans (including, naturally, everyone who has read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)." (Booklist)
"Narrator Katherine Kellgren sells the unlikely combination of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet and zombie invasions with wholehearted glee. As the Bennet sisters train with a fighting master for their do-or-die zombie battle, the story moves from scenes of proper conversation to scenes of proper attack stance. Kellgren expresses the British fighting spirit with abandon. She’s smart, funny, and unrestrainedly dramatic, everything that a book chronicling Regency maidens meting out murderous zombie vengeance needs. Kellgren’s voices are thoughtfully chosen, especially Mrs. Bennet’s shrieks over propriety. Listeners can’t help but be drawn into the riotous action even as they realize the story is ludicrous. For sheer audacity of spirit, Kellgren deserves acclaim." ( AudioFile)
“Mixing taught horror-movie action with neo-Austen meditation on identity, society, and romance, this happy sacrilege is sure to please fans of Grahame-Smith's original mash-up.” ( Publisher’s Weekly)

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Witty Dialogue • Engaging Characters • Clever Premise • Humorous Twist • Fast-paced Action • Perfect Performance Style
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Ok.. I love Zombies. The fact that someone has taken a classic story and added in zombies has made my day. The premise behind the story and the writing are both excellent. The narrator is beyond excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance. That being said, there is a saccharine quality to this book that makes me take it in smaller doses. I loved the book, but could only listen in smaller chunks - to and from work. This is not the fault of the author or the narrator, it's the fault of the original genre of the book. I'm quite sure that if I were to purchase the original Pride and Prejudice, I would run into the same problem. There's only so much demure female I can take.

This is a great book, however, and I will be listening, eventually, to the others. Just not right away.

Enjoyable.. but only a little at a time

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Any additional comments?

This book got my husband to consider reading and watching the real Pride & Prejudice, so I'm a fan for that reason alone. We enjoyed it together on a family car trip. The characters were perfectly aligned with my memory of Jane Austen's characterizations, except that Mary was a bit more likable, which was fine with me.

More enjoyable than I anticipated

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If you could sum up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls in three words, what would they be?

Luckily, I accidently listened to this before I listened to the first book in the series. Before listening to this one, I did not realize that the series had different authors. I am a huge Jane Austen fan and was hesitant to read this series. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls was wonderfully funny. I loved it until I began listening to the first book. The two books do NOT go together at all, other than the fact that they both contain the zombie-slayiing Bennet girls, zombies, and oriental fighting. It made listening to the first book a bit frustrating. I think I would have been even MORE frustrated if I had read them in order.

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?

Lizzie, of course, was my favorite character.

Great Read but Could Be Better

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What was one of the most memorable moments of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls?

This change, introduction of zombies, has added so much to the original that I endured at high school. Not my preferred reading at the age of 16. I loved it!!

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was the book that initiated the pleasure of hearing somebody else narrate a book. Beautifully read adding humour I would not have experienced had I read it. Katherine I love you ;p

If you could rename Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, what would you call it?

Don't bother renaming the book There is nothing else that would have initiated my interest or curiosity

Fantastic story plus Katherine I love you

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How the Bennet girls become warriors is interesting. Their hesitancy is natural because of their ages and upbringing. The complicated relationships Jane and Lizzie have with men and the girls' attitudes towards them is natural. The biggest surprise is Mr. Bennet because he is more present and tougher than in PP&Z. He is definitely the patriarch, and his daughters respect and follow him. This story is humorous and well-paced as well. It's a fun romp!

Fun prequel

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Okay, it's not literature, but it's very, very funny. Like the first book, it does reference both Austenian language and plot structure heavily and so the result is a kind of absurd romp through a zombie-ridden history with a little light tip of the hat towards feminism as it goes along.

Very amusing. Exceedingly well read by the narrator.

Hysterical

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This was a fantastic book! The narrator is superb, and the storyline is funny and completely ejoyable. I got a kick out of the author's melding of the Bennets' ladylike gentility with the katana-wielding violence. Well worth the credit used; in fact, I would have paid full price for this one. :)

So much fun!

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I enjoyed this book, which allowed the writer freedom to explore the "mash up" aspects established in PaPaZ. It ties in especially well with Dreadfully Ever After (the best of the series). The characters have more depth, and there's enough of Austen's spirit in them to create winking portraits of Regency-era England, the Bennett family, and social foibles.

Superior to the original mash-up

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What did you love best about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls?

I love the fact the narrator is speaking in such a prim and proper manner, and yet, the subject matter is supposed to be horrific. I want more!!

What did you like best about this story?

The way in which the 'Dreadfuls' are described. The disgust in the narrator's voice is priceless. Katherine Kellgren does a FANTASTIC job.

This cracks me up!!

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I love this book! So much so in fact, I've added it to my library (A real library with these things called books, with paper pages and such - revolutionary!). The narration was excellent the story was fast paced and exciting but the most amazing thing is that it still kept the Jane Austen style which only added to the wit, humor and charm of this delightful read. I cheated on book club with this one, in fact. They wanted to read the new JK Rowling book for the October book. I needed something more festive and I'm so glad I went with this. I highly, highly recommend it! If you want to be captivated, love the Zombie theme and like to get a good giggle from a read, this is the one for you!

Sensational!

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