We have a new contender for best first line of literature in the English language: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."
The line comes from Quirk's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, written by the apparently tireless Seth Grahame-Smith, who has managed to retain Jane Austen's language in his tale of the Bennet sisters and their tireless battle to protect Hertfordshire from the vast forces of the undead.
Elizabeth delivers karate kicks to Darcy the first time he proposes. ("You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared the slightest grief which I might have felt in beheading you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.") Charlotte Lucas gets infected. Lady Catherine employs ninjas.
I don't suppose there's really anything else you need to know to run, not walk, to your nearest book store and snatch a copy. If you're still skeptical, know this: The book comes with a version of one of those tiresome Reader's Discussion Guides, but its questions are a bit more intriguing: "Some critics have suggested that the zombies represent the authors' views toward marriage - an endless curse that sucks the life out of you and just won't die. Do you agree?"
I really need to read this.
Posted by: patrick | April 03, 2009 at 03:59 PM