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Reviews tagging 'Gore'
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith
10 reviews
max_pink's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Absolutely putrid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Vomit, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Gore, Cultural appropriation, Terminal illness, Body horror, and Ableism
bookwormcat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Body horror
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Vomit, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism
fifix's review
The author had no consideration for the original setting of the book. I was obviously not expecting historical accuracy, because the book is about zombies, but I can only suspend my disbelief for the paranormal, not the blatantly ignorant. This not normally a problem for me, but Grahame-Smith chose to keep the English setting, but wrote about wooden churches (not a thing), and the final straw for me was when a chipmunk ran across the road. Strange, I know, but I just lost the will to keep reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
ameliegrech's review
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A great, fun read if you're a fan of Austen (and zombies of course).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
bluejay21's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide
elsary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Make no mistake: the two stars are here only for the original work. This book - if it deserves to be called such - is a blasphemous caricature of the original masterpiece, yet I am physically incapable of giving it less than two stars for Jane's original beautiful words. For everything that has been added and changed and taken away, I have nothing but the question why. Spoilers ahead.
Why do the sisters fight zombies with daggers?!? Isn't the point of a zombie fight to keep the monster as far away from you as possible? As if this wasn't enough, they also engage in hand-to-hand combat with the zombies. Why??
Why did they do away with Volumes? Storytelling-wise, they add the excitement, the power of the twists - why were they taken away?
Why is Miss King not mentioned by name in the first instance she appears but only later - and then, without any explanation? This is a small thing, but it annoyed me to no end.
Why is Mr. Collins so fat? Fatphobia isn't funny.
Why were the characters' personalities so altered? Everyone in this novel is either a semi-stupid or fully-stupid side character incapable of fighting, or a martial arts expert who's lusting for blood and vengeance and fantasising about murder. I admit they bear some resemblance to the original characters in how they act, but their thoughts seem not be much different form the zombies they slaughter.
And on that note, the ableism in relation to Mr. Wickham is not simply "why" - it's gross and disgusting. Why did anyone think it was okay?
Why does Mr. Collins kill himself? That just makes no snese whatsoever to his original charcter, or the society they are living in, and it doesn't really do much for the plot either. He could've been killed by Charlotte, that would've been funnier and more suitable.
And maybe the biggest why: the orientalism, racism, cultural appropriation. Just... No. Emma Coffin (2016) has done a great job in analysing the orientalism in the book, and I wholeheartedly recommend her essay. It's more in-depth and better articulated than I could write, blinded by my rage after I had to read about a maid servant "dressed in a kimono and shuffling about on bound feet", the slapstick ninjas, and whatever is "zarizushi". Considering this was written in 2009, how is it possible to have such inaccurate, misinformed, fully racist and exotifying portrayal of Asian cultures?
I have wanted to read this novel for a good while, and I am now glad it is over. Can not recommend to anyone. If I have to read the words "deadly arts" ever again, I will practice them myself in ripping each fingernail of the author away and rubbing salt into the wound, after which I will claw the eyes out.
If you want a good historical novel with zombies, I beg of you to read Justina Ireland's DREAD NATION. It's ACTUALLY good.
Why do the sisters fight zombies with daggers?!? Isn't the point of a zombie fight to keep the monster as far away from you as possible? As if this wasn't enough, they also engage in hand-to-hand combat with the zombies. Why??
Why did they do away with Volumes? Storytelling-wise, they add the excitement, the power of the twists - why were they taken away?
Why is Miss King not mentioned by name in the first instance she appears but only later - and then, without any explanation? This is a small thing, but it annoyed me to no end.
Why is Mr. Collins so fat? Fatphobia isn't funny.
Why were the characters' personalities so altered? Everyone in this novel is either a semi-stupid or fully-stupid side character incapable of fighting, or a martial arts expert who's lusting for blood and vengeance and fantasising about murder. I admit they bear some resemblance to the original characters in how they act, but their thoughts seem not be much different form the zombies they slaughter.
And on that note, the ableism in relation to Mr. Wickham is not simply "why" - it's gross and disgusting. Why did anyone think it was okay?
Why does Mr. Collins kill himself? That just makes no snese whatsoever to his original charcter, or the society they are living in, and it doesn't really do much for the plot either. He could've been killed by Charlotte, that would've been funnier and more suitable.
And maybe the biggest why: the orientalism, racism, cultural appropriation. Just... No. Emma Coffin (2016) has done a great job in analysing the orientalism in the book, and I wholeheartedly recommend her essay. It's more in-depth and better articulated than I could write, blinded by my rage after I had to read about a maid servant "dressed in a kimono and shuffling about on bound feet", the slapstick ninjas, and whatever is "zarizushi". Considering this was written in 2009, how is it possible to have such inaccurate, misinformed, fully racist and exotifying portrayal of Asian cultures?
I have wanted to read this novel for a good while, and I am now glad it is over. Can not recommend to anyone. If I have to read the words "deadly arts" ever again, I will practice them myself in ripping each fingernail of the author away and rubbing salt into the wound, after which I will claw the eyes out.
If you want a good historical novel with zombies, I beg of you to read Justina Ireland's DREAD NATION. It's ACTUALLY good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Ableism, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
maddness22's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this. However, the only enjoyable parts of the novel were the ones untouched by the new author. There was very little cohesion between the zombie sections and the original narrative. There was also very little respect for the original characters. The ninja part was out of left field and didn't belong in the tale except to serve as a shock factor. In fact, most of this book is mostly dependent on shock factor moments. It's also incredibly gross and not meant for the weak of stomach.
I think this would be very fun for casual readers who have trouble getting into classics, but it felt incredibly disrespectful to the original story for me to truly get into it.
I think this would be very fun for casual readers who have trouble getting into classics, but it felt incredibly disrespectful to the original story for me to truly get into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Gore, Death, Blood, and Violence
ricksilva's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This has my all-time favorite about-the-author blurb: "Jane Austen is the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English literature. Seth Grahame-Smith once took a class in English literature. He lives in Los Angeles."
Testing the time-honored theory (I first heard it from late-night bad movie host Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) that everything is better with zombies or ninjas (and yes, this book has both), Seth Grahame-Smith inserts a zombie plague into Pride and Prejudice only to discover that it doesn't actually change the plot all that much.
And therein is really the true joke of this mash-up. There are zombies, and Elizabeth and her sisters are Shaolin-trained martial artists, but really, nothing much changes in the classic love story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
In fact, so much of the original text remains that I found this a nice refreshing of the details of the original, which I read a few weeks ago.
There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness in the small details of the plague of zombies (or, more politely, "unmentionables"), not to mention the rivalry between Chinese and Japanese martial arts traditions, all handled with a kind of intentional offhand superficiality. The whole thing felt like the author is not trying all that hard, and again, this is part of the joke.
And it's a moderately amusing joke with a few very good moments and a few bits that felt like they were just tacked on because there was a quota of zombie scenes per original scenes that needed to be met.
Don't skip the couple of pages of Readers Discussion Guide at the end. This was a pretty clever little extra.
Testing the time-honored theory (I first heard it from late-night bad movie host Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) that everything is better with zombies or ninjas (and yes, this book has both), Seth Grahame-Smith inserts a zombie plague into Pride and Prejudice only to discover that it doesn't actually change the plot all that much.
And therein is really the true joke of this mash-up. There are zombies, and Elizabeth and her sisters are Shaolin-trained martial artists, but really, nothing much changes in the classic love story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
In fact, so much of the original text remains that I found this a nice refreshing of the details of the original, which I read a few weeks ago.
There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness in the small details of the plague of zombies (or, more politely, "unmentionables"), not to mention the rivalry between Chinese and Japanese martial arts traditions, all handled with a kind of intentional offhand superficiality. The whole thing felt like the author is not trying all that hard, and again, this is part of the joke.
And it's a moderately amusing joke with a few very good moments and a few bits that felt like they were just tacked on because there was a quota of zombie scenes per original scenes that needed to be met.
Don't skip the couple of pages of Readers Discussion Guide at the end. This was a pretty clever little extra.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
nutm3g's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I read this for a book club and had high hopes for it since I enjoyed the original novel as well as the film adaption of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This is one of those rare cases where the movie is far better than the book, which hurts me to say. While I know this is a comedic horror retelling of a classic, I assumed the characters' motives and beliefs would stay in line with that of the original, but it really strayed in that aspect. There were a lot of things that occurred that left you thinking "what?" with little to no explanation. The zombies almost seemed haphazardly slapped into the story at times, and the fight scenes were brief with little to no action or believability (which to be fair the book is comedy centric). The several mentions of self-harm ("atonement" in the book) and casualness in which a suicide is brushed over left me feeling uneasy. If asked, I would not recommend this book to anyone and instead tell them to stick to the movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Hate crime, Excrement, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
thecasualbooknerd's review against another edition
Though I enjoyed the Bennet sisters being legendary warriors, I could not deal with the fat-shaming anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Fatphobia
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