Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of The Dreadfuls
Author: Steve Hockensmith
Published by: Quirk Classics

I love books with kick-ass heroines. Even better when the women literally kick some ass. Full disclosure here: I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies yet (I know, I know – I’ll get to it!), I’m sure I read Jane Austen in high school but can’t remember much of it, and when I think Pride and Prejudice I see an enthusiastic Bridget Jones saying, “Yes! Yes! Mr. Darcy! Mr. Darcy!” at the prospect of interviewing Colin Firth.

Despite a zombie popping up in the first few pages, Dawn of the Dreadfuls takes a few chapters to get going. Or maybe that was just my need to continually go back a couple of pages to verify the relationships between the characters. Once it shifts into gear, though, there is no stopping it. Think macabre chick lit. As much as I love Bridget Jones and the Ya Ya Sisterhood, they might have been even better with an occasional visit from the undead.

Once it is clear that the undead have returned, Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters dive headlong into their Unmentionable-frakking training - polite society be damned. Their feminine wiles and wittiness come in handy when they need to mediate between the men and their conflicting agendas. Thrilling action sequences nicely balance out the touching moments and the tricky relationship developments. I really enjoyed the conversational tone of the book, as well as the touches of humor thrown in at dramatic peaks.

The book’s woodcut illustrations really do the story justice, although the descriptive language renders them as a bonus, not a necessity. Reading Dawn of the Dreadfuls has definitely given me the incentive to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies posts-haste.

Rating: Two shots to the head, throwing stars, and a sharp katana slice. Braiiins!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of The Dreadfuls shambles into your local bookstore on March 23rd. Be sure to tune into GeekintheCity Radio, Issue 57, to learn how you can win a copy!

Tomorrow, December 19 from 11am to 5pm, SCRAP is very proud to present the 8th Annual Holiday Bazaar. (2915 NE MLK, Jr. Boulevard - On the corner of NE MLK & Stanton). Showcasing wonderful handmade crafts from local artisans made from 100% recycled material, the SCRAP Holiday Bazaar is the perfect way to spend a Saturday.

If you’re still kicking yourself in the butt for missing The Lovely Jenn’s work at the Hallowe’en Bazaar, now is you chance to make up! Making her second appearance, come and see all the wonderful work made by the heart and soul behind GeekintheCity.com. For some samples, pop on over to www.illusionaire.com and see what goes on in the mind of The Lovely Jenn!

Not only will you be supporting talented artists, but you’ll also be helping SCRAP and their worthy cause. Since 1998, teachers who couldn’t bear to throw away good art materials and supplies left over from school projects banded together.  They transported the reusable materials to A Teacher’s Space, a resource center for educators in the Portland area. Other teachers began bringing in materials that they no longer needed in their classroom.  Still others used the materials left over from other teachers’ projects to create their own projects. They took it a step further and began soliciting materials from businesses in the area. To date, SCRAP has helped thousands of local children, teachers, artists, and the environment with their approach to “old material”. Please check them out.

Greetings programs! On this estrogen fueled issue of GeekintheCity Radio, Aaron is joined by Kristen Bowie and the Lovely Jenn while Scott fights Andorian Antenna Flu. First, Kristen Bowie talks about life in the employed world while Aaron just nods with confusion. Next, the Lovely Jenn steps in to review And Another Thing, the sixth book in the increasingly misnamed Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Can Eoin Colfer fill the frood shoes of the late, great Douglas Adams? Then, Aaron and Kristen dive into uber game nerdality with their reviews of Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. Only on GeekintheCity Radio!

This weeks musical breaks are:

A Geek Like Me (live) - The Wonderstrucks

So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish - Joby Talbot

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Transform and Download!

The biggest of thanks to everyone that made it out to ths Portland Hallo’ween Bazaar. James and I were very happy and humbled by all the readers that came back asking why we “just had to end the teaser there”! Well, it wouldn’t be a teaser if we told you what happened to poor Althalia, now would it? As promised, for those that couldn’t make it on Saturday, here are the exact images used in the printed teaser comic for La Brujeria Issue 1 - The only comic to mix Mexican mysticism with a Lovelorn Nerd, a Mythical Pest Control Service, the Djinn of Alhazred, The Who’s ex-roadie, a Werewolf, and the Chupacabra. Confused? You won’t be…soon!

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Click for Full Size

Also, a massive thanks to all the folks that stopped by and chatted with the Lovely Jenn and asked about her custom Día de los Muertos Art. Something tells me you’ll be seeing more and more of her work in the future. Stay tuned for details.

Finally, for those that asked, here is where you can download and subscribe to GeekintheCity Radio -  Only the best pop culture podcast in the history of ever. (With apologies to Smodcast).

Once again, my deepest of thanks to you all. Without you I’d be just some comic book nerd annoying the hell out of my wife with endless stories and ranting. Okay, so I’m that anyway, but you get my point.