Reader's Annotation: Jane Austen's beloved classic Pride and Prejudice now has zombies! After coming out of copyright, Graham-Smith brilliantly adds his own twist by transforming this literary classic with a few choice words here and there (and what a difference)!
Synopsis & Review: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins the literary transformation of the famous first line of one of the worlds most beloved works of fiction of all time. But if you are like me and so many others, you wouldn’t read Austen to save your life. Unless of course, your life was being threatened by Zombies! I adore a great deal of classics, but in the case of Austen I was particularly inclined to stay away. Now, with open arms, I am taking in my Austen as I never thought I could. Seth Grahame-Smith delivers a hilarious mash-up of Austen romance, Austen dresses, & Austen manners, and now Austen style zombies. (Note the zombie woman who wastes such a fine wedding gown while praying on brains. ‘Tis a shame.) Readers with a taste for Austen, a taste for zombies, or any variation of the two will revel in the satiric re-telling that aptly plays on the original heroine (Elizabeth Bennet) by keeping her as the spirited and determined central character she always was, but now she carries a Katana and martial arts training! Ms. Bennet, who holds a singular talent to slice and dice the demon dead that has been unleashed upon English countryside. Enter Mr. Darcy an arrogant zombie fighter who is drawn to Ms. Bennet and her skill to kill. Their love affaire de couer takes them through all the woes and wins of the original work but turns them into a cutting edge dance with “unmentionables” (a more Austen-esque term then undead I think) at the core. For those of you who abhor romance this is the romance for you. And for those of you who abhor violence, well, dare I say: this is the horror story for you! On a personal Level, I could not recommend a book more! IN fact, this is a Darcy that I can really sink my teeth into! Or shall I say in spirit, I am in want of more! It must be noted that Grahame-Smith does an excellent job at seamless transitions from Austen to zombie moments. Fans of Austen will get a kick out of it!
Notes: Obviously violence should be taken into parental consideration for younger readers, however comedy and romance tempers the real threat of offensive material (I often laughed at loud). A great choice for reluctant readers of classical literature.
How did the book come about? SETH GRAHAME-SMITH: I'm an aspiring screenwriter living in L.A. At the moment, I'm executive producing a pilot for MTV that I wrote which is a sort of updatedWonder Years-meets-Superbad. But I also wrote a book called How to Survive a Horror Movie and another called Pardon My President, which was letters of apology from George Bush to all the people that he had wronged. My editor at Quirk had wanted to do a mash-up of some type for a long time. He had all these lists of public domain titles and lists of modern literary devices. The robot phenomenon. The vampire phenomenon. And zombies. And we arrived at Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because, when you take a look at the original book, it's almost as if, subconsciously, Jane Austen is laying out the perfect groundwork for an ultraviolent bone-crushing zombie massacre to take place. For instance, there's a regiment of soldiers camped out near the Bennett household. In the book, they're just there for characters to flirt with. But it's not that big a leap to say, Okay, they're there because the countryside has been overrun with what they call the "unmentionable menace."
The what, now?
SETH GRAHAME-SMITH:"The unmentionable menace." They call zombies "unmentionables" because it's a very polite society and the word "zombie" is kind of like a curse word. These aristocrats are trying to get on with their lives as best they can, despite the fact that the country is being devoured around them. They still have their balls and their teas and their manners. It was terrific fun to write, in the style of Jane Austen, describing horrific deaths and entire villages being slaughtered and burned to the ground.
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld's yet to be released new steampunk novel has had a visit to "New Pretty Town" for a jacket make-over!
Check out the new Cover. I hate to say it but THIS makes me feel Bubbly. Click here to see the definition of Bubbly & some free Uglies related stuff online. Leviathan before turning 16 (seconds old) and after the Specials had their way with it...I apologize for the Uglies references, but can you blame me? It's an awesome remake!
Notes:
Can't wait for Fall 2009?
There is a Sneak Peak in the new paperback version of the Extras. And yes, it is a different one that was in From Bogus to Bubbly.
Mind-Rain:Your Favorite Authors on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series
By: Scott Westerfeld
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Benbella Books (June 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933771348
Reader's Annotation: A collection of essays about Scott Westerfeld's amazing Uglies Series.
Notes: Due Out June 2, 2009
With essays by Lili Wilkinson, Robin Wasserman, Diana Peterfreund, Sarah Beth Durst, Gail Sidonie Sobat, Rosemary Clement-Moore, J. Fitzgerald McCurdy, Janette Rallison, Linda Gerber, Charles Beaumont, Ted Chiang, Will Shetterly, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Delia Sherman.
Reader's Annotation: S. Darkofollows the Youngest Darko sister 7 years after her brother Donnie Darko meets his fate in the original Richard Kelly masterpiece film. Samantha Darko & her wild best friend flee the mess left behind only to find their own bizarre Darko-esque reality.
Courtney's Opinion:I am going to try to be kind here. Oh, who am I kidding. No, I am not. Here's the deal. Girls: Yes, Jackson Rathbone a.k.a. Jasper "Twilight" Cullen and Ed Westwick a.k.a. Charles Bartholomew "Chuck" Bass of Gossip Girl are in this film. Breathe. Release. Guys: Yes, Daveigh Chase (apparently the Gyllenhaal are capable of morphing into child model hotness) & Elizabeth Berkley of Showgirls and Saved by the Bell (Well, some of us remember this one...) are indeed in this film. So, what do you get when you combine a Vampire who can crack a ball like a god, an upper east side brat you love to hate, a mother-i'd-like-to-hug stripper, & model girl-child? Um, nothing. No nothing is a compliment. It's in the negative. And here is why.We've seen these guys and gals doing fine work here and there. We even LOVE some of them. And we all loved Donnie Darko (for me, it's one of my favorite films of all time). Sadly, something happened to all of the above and it goes by the name of Chris Fisher. (I Don't wanna leave out the writer, Nathan Atkins for writing such stunning, dialogue as: Corey: Only two more good mornings. Sam: Only one more day. Corey: We're so perfect. Sam: Immaculate. Yea...well, you get the idea...) So here's the thing. If you haven't seen Donnie Darko, please do. And if I were you I would see it in place of this. But, if you must get your Rathbone-Daveigh-Westwick-Berkley fix so be it. But don't say I didn't warn you. This is by far the worst film. Ever. I think I brushed my teeth 8 times just to kill the time until it was over.
Stars: 1 (And only for two reasons. 25% goes to Rathbone for being pretty, 25% goes to Westwick for rolling cigarettes in his sleeve and keeping a straight face, 25% goes to the zexy guy i watched it with just for being hot and distracting me from the atrocity in front of me (yea, j...your quarter surely spillz into another star; but alas, i just couldn't give it to the film), and the last 25% goes to the sheer laughs we got from watching it. Minus 4 stars for sullying the perfection of Donnie Darko-Which I refuse to acknowledge ever happened as I plan to travel back in time to retrieve every minute I wasted watching this thus making things as they should be.
Notes: This movie is rated R.Parental supervision is strongly suggested. Artistically inclined parents & their multi-talented children may want to consider discussing artistic integrity and other issues with their children after or before viewing this film. Or throughout the entire film as a means of drowning out the dialogue.
An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.
My Guilty Pleasure is a new series in which writers talk about the books they've loved only secretly — until now. There are — news flash here — true differences between men and women.
A friend who has twins (one boy, one girl) told me the story of when they were down at a pond, and the young twins spotted a cute little duck. The little girl said, "I want to pet the duck." The little boy said, "I want to kill the duck."
I rest my case.
And with that gender gauntlet thrown, let me say to you as a meat-eating, Entourage-watching, sports-loving (OK, I really don't love sports, or actually understand sports) — heterosexual man who can't sit through a single show onLifetime television, let me loudly proclaim: I, Brad Meltzer, love the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.
Now this is the part where I'm supposed to make an intellectual disclaimer like: I don't really love it, but I appreciate it for what it is.
But let me be clear here. I love it. I love Twilight. I love Bella, and I love Edward.
I'm not alone. Since it debuted in 2005, the Twilight series has sold over 53 million copies, making it the hottest thing in bookshops since that nerdy kid with the lightning-bolt scar.
But back to what's really important: Me.
I love this story of the gawky, awkward girl who falls in love with the brooding vampire. And I love that she can't get sexual with said vampire because when her blood gets pumping, it'll send him into a frenzy and he'll kill her. (How's that for a prophylactic?)
I love hearing the dark secret histories of how the other vampires were turned into vampires. And I love when Edward gets all huffy with Jacob the werewolf — oh my God, I'm on the verge of writing fan-fic here — but again, in case you missed it, I love this story.
But for the most part, I've told almost no one.
Y'know why?
Because as a man, this book is not supposed to be for me.
I realized this when I went to see the Twilight movie. Yes, I was there. Opening weekend. We got a babysitter for it. And I sat there in the dark with my wife and a roomful of suburban mothers and a smattering of teenage daughters. I counted. There were four other men (all teenagers) besides me. Me. Four dragged-along boyfriends. And the rest women.
But you know who I blame for this?
I blame my fellow men. That's right. I blame all the men out there who point fingers and call things "girlie" and run like spineless cowards whenever something gets embraced by the opposite sex.
It happens all the time. Remember when men were named Terry and Robin and Leslie? And then a few cool girls were named Teri and Robin and Leslie. And what happened? The men ran. Those names were ceded to the women.
To be honest, I can handle that for Leslie. Leslie is just not a cool name (no offense to Leslie Sydelman, who came to my bar mitzvah). But I will not let this stand for Twilight. We'd never dismiss Romeo and Juliet as "just for women." (Yes, I know — I'm not saying it's Shakespeare, and I still think Harry Potter is better — but don't mess up my analogy.) I won't cede Twilight.
And so I challenge — not the men out there; the men are clearly wusses — I challenge the women. Give Twilight to your teenage sons. Give it to your nephews and husbands and other guy types. Tell them it's cool. Tell them they'll like it. Tell them that it'll help them understand women and therefore help them get dates (c'mon, why else do you think I spent so much time with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret)
And I issue this challenge — not for sexual equality, not to break down gender barriers. I issue it for the most vital reason of all: The sequel is coming, and I'm tired of being the only guy in the movie theater.
"My Guilty Pleasure" is produced and edited by Ellen Silva.
TO THE GUYS, You’ve seen it before. Maybe you’ve stumbled upon your girlfriend penciling portraits of some guy who is Certainly Not You, while she swears it’s ‘just Edward’. Or perhaps you’ve tried to call a girl on the phone only to have her mom say she’s busy reading a book whose title has something to do with moons or various stages of light. Or maybe you overheard a chattering, giggling crowd talking about some new guy named Jacob Black, and thought it must be a rockstar or actor; and then you hear them say how much they would love to have their boyfriend bite them, and you run from the room as fast as you can, only to find that you are completely wrong, in the dark, and very behind on the times.
For, fellows, the thing the girls are all talking about is a book.
Once you found out about all this frenzy, you may or may not have cracked open a copy of Twilight (in secret, of course). Either you wanted to know what they were crazy about, or you wanted to know How To Become The Living Edward Cullen. No matter why you got to it, somehow Stephenie Meyer has cast a spell over this planet, and now us guys are starting to feel the bite as well.
If you have experienced this strange phenomenon in any way (as I have on many occasions), I really would like to hear from you about your experiences of reading Twilight. You could win some prizes and get a mention on the site (anonymously, if need be):
Subjects: Cheerleading, Family, Fathers-Daughters, Fitting-In, High School, Popularity, Zombies
Reader's Annotation: Ever felt like the popular girls in your high school are all the same? In Hannah's new neighborhood everything is deathly quiet and strange but she is so desperate to fit in that she decides to ignore the scary truth.
Synopsis: Hannah has moved to a new town with her father. The first thing she notices when she moves in is the strange quiet on the streets. When she goes to her new school, she notices that things are weird there too. The popular girls, the cheerleaders that is, are all scarily the same. They are beautiful but stark white, dead white actually, and Hannah notices their oddness. Dealing with her father who is on the run (due to personal problems ratting out a cop) moves her around constantly, so when she arrives to this town she accepts her fate as the unpopular girl. When the "cheerleaders" offer her a chance on the squad, she is faced with the hope of fitting in and being popular. The problem is, it's hard to ignore the horrible truths unraveling around her, not to mention the fact that her friend Lucas is telling her the cheerleaders are ZOMBIES!
Notes: Zombie Blondes raises some good metaphors about high school life, fitting-in, parental relations, and communities (much like the general zombie metaphors in films since the 1960s). However it is important to note that this book is an interesting mix of predictable characters juxtaposed with some exciting twists that save the book from predictability. Zombie Blondes is a fun read that although not perfect, worth your while!
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