Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

By: Jane Austen, Steve Hockensmith

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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)

This Was SO Much More Fun than the Original!

This is Jane Austin that even a guy could love. It's fun and funny and I think without being disrespectful to the original. Sharp wit, sharp weapons, and even a few blunt instruments don't slow the pace. Victorian proprieties and niceties turned on end as the proper young ladies of the Bennett household become trained in the martial arts and become deadly zombie hunters, all with nary a word more foul than "damn", "hell" or "bloody". There are some razor sharp lines of wit enjoyable on their own but the whole book is an unexpectedly amusing listen of good pace, propelled by an excellent narration throughout, though I did increase narrator's speed to 1.25x - and all that wordy Victorian propriety-babble sped through just a bit more quickly, a bonus of the Android Audible app on phone. An unexpectedly truly fun read.

It's okay if you're into zombies

I will start by saying that I am a big fan of Steve Hockensmith's Holmes on the Range series, and I love Katherine Kellgren's narrating style. So when I saw that this production was written by the first and performed by the second, I rejoiced.

Having said that, Dawn of the Dreadfuls turned up to be a mildly amusing book, with none of the suspense and charm of the Holmes of the Range series. It was still fun, as it's still a Hockensmith book, and Kellgren is an excellent narrator, but the story just kept going on and on with no end in sight. It was sort of cute, but it did get predictable.

Or maybe I am more into mysteries and not into zombies.

Who knows.

I have read the book Pride and Prejudice 3 times..

....now....watched the PBS movie twice......and read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.....I really wanted this book to be a bit different from the others for I was getting a bit burned out on the story with or without zombies.


I was THRILLED to find there was not one mention of Mr. Darby thru the entire book (not that I don't LOVE Mr. Darby) which meant this had all the same beloved characters of the Bennett family BUT it was while the girls were all younger and had yet to fall in love for the first time.


This book was hilarious and gruesome and just plain ole fun to read.....zombie literature is just funny for the most part and the combination of Bennett's and Zombies made for quite a treat! The ending prologue is especially rewarding since one of the main characters really shows his true colors and you really hope karma gets him in the end.....


I had a great time with this book and would suggest if you enjoy a little dark humor mixed with a great classic......this would be a good one to read.

Perfect writing ans marvekous listen

Would you listen to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls again? Why?

The COMBINATION of ninjas, shaolin warriors, zombies and the Pride ans Prejudice milieu is so surprising, refreshing, and humorous. I laughed out loud and really marvelled at the talent of the authors in this series who stay true to the spirit of Pride and Prejudice structure. I will definitely give these three books another listen, especially when I need something completely different and humorous.

What other book might you compare Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls to and why?

I like books that draw me in and keep me engrossed. I enjoy all of Molly Harper's books. For engrossing, it has to be The Ladies # Detective Agency series set in Botswana. Ender's Game. by Scott Card. The whole Dune series.

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

Katherine Kellgren is a marvel! She brings each of the characters to life. In this volume I loved watching Kitty coming in to her own.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh-definitely!

Any additional comments?

Give yourself a gift of humor and a complete break from your normal routine.

Not as good as the first, but still great

I loved the first instalment of Pride & Prejudice and Zombies so much that I was sad when it finished. So, I was super excited to discover there was another one!

My only complaint is that it felt a bit inconsistent with some of the details in the first. For example, in the first book Elizabeth tells how her sister received some daggers for Christmas that she had wanted since she was 5 years old... In this book we discover that the girls were in their early-mid teens before they even thought about fighting vampires. I found a couple of things like that a bit irksome, but otherwise an excellent book with great character development.

Dreadfully Wonderful!

I LOVED every minute of this book! Katherine Kellgren performed it brilliantly! I couldn't have been more entertained!

This got me hooked on the series!

Would you consider the audio edition of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls to be better than the print version?

When I ride the bus in the morning I am way to groggy to read so it is nice to have this audio book pack filled with action.

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

Elizabeth going from a little dainty girl to a savage killer well a savage killer of the undead!

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

Elizabeth

Who was the most memorable character of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls and why?

The master because he seemed so tough and yet cowardly when faced with the zombies only to come out rather heroic at the end.

A wonderful but not exacting PreQuel

It is not often that I listen to a sample to be smitten enough to immediately download and continue. This is one such book.

I wished to convey to others what to expect and the differences between this and the subsequent title Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.

First I want to emphasize that although written after Grahame-Smith's book, this is a PREQUEL. It is set in Jane Austen's countryside together with the stuffy English society of the time and the Bingley family are the main characters. However, it does not follow the plot of any of Austen's books; unlike Grahame-Smith's book which followed the plot of the original Austen book quite faithfully... with the exception of the Zombies and humorous modifications.

In my opinion this allowed the author of this book the freedom to craft a much more more adventurous and fast paced tale. This is done with exquisite mastery of Austen like prose which adds much to the hilarity and enjoyment. He does a good job of attempting to match the Zombie elements of this book with the Grahame-Smith version although the discerning reader will catch several discontinuities. There are also some elements that may be more unbelievable than the existence of Zombies. These include the ability of the Bingley girls to become extremely proficient at the Deadly Arts including the use of Ninja Throwing Stars and Katana in mere days.

Listen to this book expecting to suspend disbelief and it will be extremely enjoyable. The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book.

Great. . . exceeded expectations!

I was very skeptical that Pride and Prejudice and zombies could possibly be mixed with any coherent style, but the author pulled it off. Great narration too. Very entertaining, would recommend.

Exceptional storytelling

I loved this! Can't wait to listen to its sequels! A must listen! Buy it