In addition to killing zombies in P&P&Z, Johansson might soon be playing a zombie on screen. The actress is also rumored to be attached to the film adaptation of Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament. In the film, Johansson would presumably play Rita, the main character’s zombie love interest and attendee of Undead Anonymous. Killer!

To celebrate these awesome occurrences, we share with you this video of Scarlett being photoshopped into a zombie:

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Of course there isn’t. This is a prequel set before the characters are introduced to Mr. Favorite Literary Crush. But when I figured out he wasn’t in this book, I put it down and cried for a few months. Then took a deep breath, brought the book to the beach and loved it.

Of course I loved it. It’s funny zombie fiction. And it’s set in Regency England, where zombies aren’t just deadly, they’re an insult to good manners. The tight-lipped repulsion just leaps off the page.

Although it carries the same branding, P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a very different sort of book from P&P&Z. Rather than a literary mash-up of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s zombies and Jane Austen‘s prose, the book is original fiction by Steve Hockensmith. I had never read his other books and, although it appears that he’s a newcomer to zombie-fic, his humorous historical fiction has received much praise. Hockensmith’s writing is accessible and engaging, bringing a lightness to the P&P&Z franchise that should make it attractive to those turned off by Jane Austen’s profuse punctuation and pontification.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls begins at a funeral, when the body rudely awakens and reminds Hertfordshire of the dormant zombie plague it ought not to mention. As the undead continue to stumble from their graves, Mr. Bennet is forced to train his five daughters to be ninja warriors like himself — with the help of the handsome, strapping Master Hawksworth. Despite the dearth of Mr. Darcy, Hockensmith creates plenty of male characters to match up with Austen’s swarm of females, each of them flawed in ways that thankfully allow the ladies to kick lots of zombie butt.

Unlike in P&P&Z, the zombies are not an after-thought — or perhaps a never-thought on the part of co-author Austen (a point that I suppose is debatable). The zombies in Dawn of the Dreadfuls are plentiful and, as in most zombie books, the horde size increases with the page number. The black and white engravings also help to bump up the zombie-quotient, although I would rate the gore in this book as slightly less than in P&P&Z.

Overall, P&P&Z: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a fresh, fun zombie book: a historical rom-zom-com with ninjas too. I give it 4.5 brains out of 5.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that iPhone users must be in search of zombie games. This game looks like a fun zombie killing side scroller with a little Regency era eye candy. I haven’t played it yet, but it’s available in the App store for $2.99.

Check out the gameplay in this IGN video:

Video from IGN

Read the IGN Review for more info about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for iPhone — or if you’re into it, here’s a link to buy the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies game right in the iTunes App Store.

One of the semifinalists this year: “Peeps and Prejudice and Zombies” (no. 18) — awesome!

No zombies were found in this year’s winner. However, I might be willing to consider the main character in semifinalist “A Peep into Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab: Master It Lives!” (no. 27) undead.

EW.com has a great interview with Dawn of the Dreadfuls author Steve Hockensmith, who discusses the mixed critical reaction to the first Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith):

You see the lovahs and you see the hatahs. And yeah, there were definitely some haters out there, and I’m sure they’re still there. It’s something that I can totally understand, it’s not something I look askance at, at all. Somebody having a cynical reaction when they find out that something that really means a lot to them, their beloved ex, is about to be lovingly satirized. I can understand how people can be a little defensive about things that they feel are near and dear to their hearts, but I would say, having thrown all that out there, that I think a lot of those people were actually won over when they read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Not all of them. I would hope, actually, that some of the folks that weren’t won over, would actually respond better to my book, because it isn’t a mash-up. [From EW.com]

Hockensmith makes an excellent point: Most of the hatas were not fans of Jane Austen, and therefore hated the prose. Or, they were huge Austen fans, and hated zombies. If someone isn’t open to both aspects of the mash-up, it’s lost. Dawn of the Dreadfuls is a new thing entirely: Historical zombie fiction. Oh yes.

Here’s a quick Six-Degrees to Jane Austen: Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala in Star Wars, Episode I, in which Kiera Knightly played Sabe, who dressed as the queen. Kiera Knighly also played Elizabeth Bennet (the lead character) in the 2005 movie version of Pride and Prejudice. Not to mention, Natalie Portman totally kicks ass. Perfect casting, right?

According to reports based on the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Twitter feed, the zombie-romance-classic mashup will be adapted into a 6-part miniseries. As P&P&Z fans, we can’t wait to see this Regency-ninja-zombie thing done right!

The miniseries will evidently be produced by Deadline Productions, which seems relatively legit. We are, however, calling the report unconfirmed, since we’re unsure of the Twitter page‘s authenticity. But IMDB and P&P&Z author Seth Grahame-Smith have mentioned a P&P&Z adaptation, and the Twitter page does have some pretty great concept art (as seen on the left of this post) — so, we’re going to go ahead and celebrate.

Anyone who is a fan of P+P-Z (i.e., the original Pride and Prejudice) knows that the most beloved adaptation is the 6-part 1995 Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

This begs the question of whether the miniseries will be produced as a parody of the much-loved BBC miniseries. We say, bring on the critical disdain!

Related: Check out our review of P&P&Z and our other P&P&Z-related posts.

The deluxe edition will be hardcover, with 15 color prints of oil paintings commissioned for the book. Not only that, but it will have 30% MORE ZOMBIES, with new zombie mayhem added by author Seth Grahame-Smith.

As a preview of what’s coming, Irreference has released two prints, which you can print and use as you please.

We’re preordering now. Expect Regency England-themed zombie Halloween costumes.

The problem is that I might just be too big a fan of Austen and too big a fan of zombies to fully appreciate the combination. It’s like making a sandwich with peanut butter and bacon. They’re both delicious on their own, but together?

I know people were saying all this before the book came out, but I didn’t believe them. Because, you know, everything is better with zombies. And the zombies in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies are great. There just aren’t enough of them. But, to make room for the zombies, there is also less of Darcy and Elizabeth, the characters that make Pride and Prejudice so lovable. As a result, romance and mayhem are in competition.

That said, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was thoroughly enjoyable. It was funny and gruesome and had lots of ninja vs. zombie action. Grahame-Smith’s interpretation of Regency England included ongoing humor about vomit and balls. (Historical note: “Balls” once referred to social gatherings at which guests danced, rather than, “heheh, balls.”) Really, I couldn’t put the book down.

Grahame-Smith’s literary mashup, though not wholly seamless, is a fun and fantastical take on the Austen’s classic novel. Austen was a progressive woman with a sense of humor, but she feared that Pride and Prejudice was “rather too light, and bright, and sparkling.” Had she lived in modern times, maybe she would have realized that zombies were exactly the soiling the novel needed. Maybe.

I’m giving the book four brains out of five.

I am personally thrilled with P&P&Z‘s accidental pre-release — it means I got my copy last night!! I’ll post a review here once I’m done, and hell, I’m so psyched, I’m even posting pictures of my book after the jump.

For those stuck waiting till the official release, the publisher has released the first three chapters online for free, and more reviews are pouring in. Boing Boing recently gave the book a mixed review, but this is mostly because Cory Doctorow doesn’t like Jane Austen. I am an Austen fan and am loving the book so far.

My copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (click to enlarge).