Dreadfully Ever After - Steve Hockensmith

Book details:

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Quirk Books (1 April 2011)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1594745021

ISBN-13: 978-1594745027

Summary:

The story opens with newly married protagonists, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, defending their village from an army of flesh-eating unmentionables. But the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a raging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the only acceptable course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she hears rumours of a miracle antidote being developed in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love - and for everyone to live happily ever after.

Links to buy:

Buy on Amazon. 

Buy it at Waterstones. 

Rating:

My review:

Thanks to Quirk books again for sending me this amongst other books! *smiles* .As I came to realise, Quirk books have a knack for taking traditional classics and adding a humorous twist to the tale to spice things up – and this book is no different. Taking the classic story of Elizabeth and Darcy and their married life, Steve Hockensmith creates a tale that involves zombies, love, bravery and hope. Be sure to take a healthy bite out of this book ;)

Analysis of plot & characters:

The book is the third in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies instalment and despite not having read the other 2 previous books, the background of what happens in them is filled in sensibly in this without rattling readers who’ve read the old ones, yet still providing enough to inform new readers. For which I give a thumbs up. Given the context of the book, you’d think that it was only for lovers of Pride and Prejudice, yet despite the fact that I’m not a total fanatic of the classics, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. I smiled while reading the at time humorous rendition of the two lovers as they fight with the peril of the undead.

The character of Elizabeth is still traditionally the same and despite the twist on the novel, that doesn’t prevent her from being constrained by society’s requirements – which shows that Hockensmith has kept the essentials regarding her character which adds to the novel.

Yet her character isn’t weighed down by chores or boredom as after a light stroll in the park, during which her husband Darcy is bitten on by a random and undead child (which should always be feared!). Readers may come to expect the worse as after this they see Elizabeth constrained to widowhood, a stigma of being a lonely women, yet her character strength inspired me as she rises to the occasion in order to save her husband and not letting death take him.

Despite that, my only criticism that I have to voice is how quickly the end was tied up. I’m not a fan of quick ends, and much rather have a cliff hanger that keeps me thinking “what happens next” and dying of curiosity even if there’s no next book, and not a fan of things being rushed. Sadly to say, it felt like Hockensmith, having finished writing the essentials to the book decided to quickly finish it off.

Overall:

While it was still a tidy and neat ending, I’m never satisfied when I feel it’s just rushed to finish the book. However, even then, the logic hung together to the end and, bizarre as this episode of the life story was, I was glad to have read it (: