Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreafuls Review

Author: Steve Hockensmith

Release Date: March 23, 2010

Pages: 287 (Paperback)

Publisher: Quirk Classics

Most Appropriate For Ages: Adult
Where I Got It: From publisher in exchange for my honest review
Other titles in series: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (sequel)

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 horrible awry.

Suddenly corpses are springing up from the soft earth--and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: 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 will 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!
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Before I start this review, let me clarify something: I've never read Pride and Prejudice, or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now, with that being said:

It took some wading through, but I did enjoy PPZ:DotD.

The plot was interesting. It never fully grabbed me, though. I would've liked more background on Mr. Bennet's previous experience with the dreadfuls (or unmentionables, as they're called through most of the book) or why the dead are coming out of their grave, but neither of those wishes were granted. But, I was entertained by the action and romance that the description on the back cover promises.

Elizabeth was such an outspoken, loyal, lovable heroine. I really liked her. The story was told from her perspective for most of the book, and I enjoyed it much more than any of the other character's perspectives. As for her love interests, I thought that I had a major character crush on Master Hawksworth for most of the book, until the ending when I was as devastated as Elizabeth herself. Then I read the epilogue, and I liked him more after that, but I still don't like him like I thought I did. Dr. Keckilpenny was funny, but I never loved him.

I was worried about having trouble with the writing, but I understood it easily. Whether this is a good or bad thing for Steve Hockensmith's writing, I'm not sure. But I did feel like the action could've been more descriptive and possibly even dragged out longer.

I'll be brutally honest-I hated the few illustrations that there were. That's all I'll say about them since I don't want to sound too mean.

The ending was climactic and wrapped it up nicely. Overall, a good book. It's definitely gotten me more interested to read Pride and Prejudice.

This book is technically adult, but could a teen read it? I would say so. There's hardly any language, and the violence and sexual references are no worse than what I've read it YA books.