In Austen, etiquette and manners take precedence. What makes an accomplished young lady? Good husband material? When does one go to London for the Season? In adding Zombies and kung-fu or submarines and seamonsters, Winters and Grahame-Smith are changing the very setting of Austen's novels. Therefore, before writing, they should have answered these questions for themselves: what makes an accomplished young woman in a place overrun with zombies? If everyone of high society goes to Submarine Station Beta for the season, what has become of London?
This is not to dismiss the idea of playing with Austen's classics, the idea is very much in vogue with Mr. Darcey: Vampyre coming out August 31st, Vampire Darcey's Desire on December 1st, and P&P&Zombies deluxe edition October 21st (with much better illustrations- see the samples on amazon). However, Austen's writing needs to be complimented by strong ideas and writing, otherwise it will fall into the category of has-been spin-offs. Therefore, I urge Quirk Classics and others to consider what is lacking: editing. S&S&Sea Monsters and P&P&Zombies have the potential to be enjoyable reads, they simply need a good editor to get them there. So, ask those questions, resolve your worlds, and then come back to me- I'll give you another chance.
I tried reading P&P&Zombies. I did, I really, truly did.
ReplyDeleteI could not. I mean, I thought "Hey, Austen and Zombies? This will be great!"
And it wasn't. It read like bad fan fiction. I found the girl's interactions with other members of society to be completely unbelievable for a regency era book. And I was so sad.