3 stars

I am still really unsure how I feel about this book, but a 3-star rating seems fair.Cool idea to add zombies to a classic, although I completely disagree with the intention of “transform[ing] a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.” I think to actually enjoy this book you have to have read the original. This is a good book for people who were forced to read Pride and Prejudice for school and feel some negative feelings toward it because of their lack of choice in reading. Or if you’re like me and love Pride and Prejudice as well as zombies, this is a pretty good pick.Overall, I liked the book. At first I was worried that the zombie aspect of the book mostly consisted of one-liners thrown in, but as I got going, completely new scenes would appear centering around the zombie plot. By the end, it seemed to revolve mostly around Austen’s original work (again with a few zombie scenes). For the most part Grahame-Smith did well matching Austen’s tone (Let’s face it, no one can perfectly compare with her classic writing style) and adding some witty, if gruesome, additions.As far as zombie descriptions, they were pretty tame. Not too much gore. For the most part, the zombies didn’t even seem like much of a threat, but merely background inconveniences.For those who have read Pride and Prejudice, any reference to class is pretty much replaced by some zombie-related feature of a character (Miss Bingley disapproves of Jane’s until-ladylike habit of smithing zombies). There were a few disconnects in this, which were confusing (Miss Bingley disapproves of zombie slaying vs. Lady Catherine disapproves of the Bennet sisters having studied in China rather than her beloved Japan, but thinks women slaying zombies is perfectly reasonable).There were also a few instances where the additions didn’t mesh with the time period (besides the idea of women fighting zombies, it’s suggested that it’s okay if the sisters do not find suitors because they can just be bodyguards, whereas during the time they would be looked down upon for having to actually have a job). But overall, an interesting idea. I’d liked to read the prequel and sequel in the series to get background on the conception of the world. It is an interesting feat to rework a classical novel, but this one made a good go of it.