Books for Grown-Ups Who Like Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

Jane Austen’s Bennet family has a lot more to worry about than matchmaking and avoiding scandal when the dead start clawing their way from their graves. It’s time for Elizabeth and her sisters to set aside their ladylike ways and take up “the Deadly Arts.” But can they master zombie-slaying before the brains-craving unmentionables overrun all England? And will Elizabeth lose her heart to her stern new instructor, the mysterious Geoffrey Hawksworth, or the eccentric (and perhaps even mad) Dr. Keckilpenny? And will Jane resist the amorous advances of the libidinous Lord Lumpley — perhaps with the help of the dashing Lt. Tindall? And just what is that awful howling sound coming from the attic? Dawn of the Dreadfuls, the prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, has all the answers.

“Hockensmith takes a concept that could have been terrible — the backstory of the Bennet girls learning to fight the undead, setting the stage for ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ — and turns it into a gory and gross, wonderful and clever tale. He nails Austen’s beloved characters and will have you cringing and giggling right through the blood-soaked end. A true delight, really.” —Romantic Times

“With a sure grasp of Austen's characters and the social structures of the times, Hockensmith is loyal to the material's roots but, divorced from any particular text, he's able to take [Seth] Grahame-Smith's silly, raunchy, violent tone much farther than in the first volume. Mixing taut 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.” —Publishers Weekly

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, were both New York Times best sellers, with a combined 1.3 million copies in print. Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After. The story opens with our 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 rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the proper course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote under development in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love — and for everyone to live happily ever after.

“‘Dreadfully Ever After’ is a masterpiece of parody and wit. The parlance is brilliant; Austen’s framework is a perfect foil for Hockensmith’s sharp, clever vernacular. The humor is subtle at times, and rollicking at others, especially if you find humor in graphic mutilation, tastefully accomplished. Not a page passes without an ingenious phrase, insight or creative decapitation. Possibly an improvement over the original, ‘Dreadfully Ever After’ is not a superficial reworking of a classic for easy laughs; the entire novel is rich in social, racial and gender commentary, as well as a genuine page-turner.” —Fangoria

“This is a very sharp, very fun book, and it's a very well-paced, quick read. That's a testament to Hockensmith's skills as a writer, as well as a testament to the strong characters created by Jane Austen. Even in this bizarro-Regency, the characters continue to shine, but these aren't Jane Austen's characters anymore. Nor is this the universe created by either Austen or Seth Grahame-Smith. This is Hockensmith's world now.” —Ron Hogan, Den of Geek!

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Cadaver in Chief: A Special Report from the Dawn of the Zombie Apocalypse

The undead have risen from their graves, and society hangs by a thread. But America’s political parties aren’t going to let a little thing like the zombie apocalypse get in the way of a presidential election. There are nasty whispers about the incumbent, though, and they have nothing to do with where he was born. The rumor: He's dead. Could a zombie be running for President? It’s up to ace Washington Tribune reporter Jan Woods to find out. Woods’ search for the truth puts her up against the most dangerous ghouls in Washington. Oh, and zombies, too.

“...a funny, thrilling, satirical, not-too-gross work of slightly disturbed genius.” —In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel

“...genuinely, wickedly, intelligently funny...a textbook example of how to use zombies effectively in comedy.” —Jess d'Arbonne, Denver Zombie Examiner

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