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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Welcome to Mr Darcy Week with Sharon Lathan!

This week on Royal Reviews, we're dedicating an entire week to everyone's favourite literary hero, Mr Darcy and the wonderful Pride and Prejudice fiction that has become so popular these past few years.

This week promises to be very interactive and a lot of fun as Queen of Happy Endings hosts polls, giveaways (we love to give you free stuff here!) and an author interview in honour of Sharon Lathan's new novel
Loving Mr Darcy.

So if you're a P & P fan and don't mind talented authors who expand upon the original, we promise we've got some fabulous recommended reads in store for you! Oh and how could I forget, plenty of pervy Darcy pics ;-)


To kick things off, I wanted to ask you what you think about the latest in P & P Rewrites/Sequels:

The Paranormal Janes

So many of us have a Pride and Prejudice story. We read it in High School, found it later in life or found it after falling in love with the movie or mini-series. But now, thanks to Seth Grahame-Smith a new breed of readers will be able to say they found Jane Austen through Zombies. That's right, Jane Austen has well and truly been bastardised modernised by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a tongue in cheek retelling of her most beloved classic.

As a Gen Y who loves the original version of this novel, previously I would've been considered a major nerd *shock/horror*. While on a personal level I may not be interested in reading about Zombies and my beloved Mr Darcy, I can appreciate what this book is doing for Classic Literature. Since the release of Seth Grahame-Smith's novel, Jane Austen has become strangely cool amoung my colleagues and friends (not because they have developed their own literature crush but because they simply think it's funny to read about Elizabeth Bennet the Zombie Slayer.) And although I'm not really sure how Jane would react to such a tale, anything that can get young men reading P & P can't be all bad!

In the wake of this runaway success a new trend has emerged - Paranormal Jane. When a book like P & P & Zombies comes along and completely smashes all the genre rules, the floodgates open for some pretty interesting literature. And I have to admit, some of this I may actually read!

Have you heard of:

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre Darcy's Hunger: A Vampire Retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Mr Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange
Darcy is a secret member of the undead and has to hide his little *ahem* problem from his new wife. My favourite part? Lady Catherine's the one who turned him. I always knew she was an evil so and so! Amanda Grange also writes more normal type sequels to P & P which are highly recommended.

Darcy's Hunger by Regina Jeffers (Also titled Vampire Darcy's Desire??)
Mortal, Elizabeth Bennet has to overcome Mr Darcy's vampirism to find love and happiness. The super-vamp of this novel? The evil Mr Wickham!

Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford
Not too many details released about this one yet but I can tell you that the novel was the subject of a major bidding war recently. The concept? Jane Austen, the vampire!, has been suffering with writer's block for over 200 years. Now, sick of all these authors making some serious moolah off her work, she's back to kick some butt.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters
From the blurb (because I can't do a better job): This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

Make of them what you will, it seems these Paranormal Janes aren't going to die easily (pun so intended). Do you think Jane would be turning in her grave at the thought of this or embracing the re-vamping of her classic (sorry, couldn't help it)? Are you an Austen-Purist or a Modern-Austen? Would you or have you read any of these books and did you enjoy them?

If the books blew your mind, did you know that they are making a Pride and Prejudice Sci-Fi Flick next year? I kid you not. Just given the greenlight for production was Pride and Predator. On that note, I leave you with the book trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.





PS Who tried a Tim Tam Slam last week??? Come on, I know somebody sucked Tim Tam through a cup of tea other than me!


Princess of the Past

11 comments:

J.T. Oldfield said...

What, you say you're Gen Y but you don't love Zombies? What kind of millennial are you?

Blodeuedd said...

Pride and Predator...for real!? Hm..
But the rest looks cool and I want to read the, but not sure about those sea monsters

Sharon Lathan said...

I confess I have mixed feelings about some of these. On the one hand I think it is terrific that Jane Austen fever stays alive and well! And not just because it benefits me! LOL! I maintain that new adaptations, variations, sequels, etc. all point back to Austen and that can't possibly be a bad thing.

Yet, at the same time, it is weird to think of Darcy as a vampire, or zombies haunting Meryton. Gives me the willies!

Still, Amanda Grange is a fabulous writer - and a fellow Sourcebooks author - so I am delighted to see her success. All I have read about Mr. Darcy, Vampyre has been good.

Thanks for hosting Mr. Darcy Week! I am SO looking forward to it!

Miss K said...

J.T. - I know I'm a pretty pathetic Gen Y!

Blodeuedd - No joke. Pride and Predator. Aliens invade the plot of Pride and Prejudice.

Sharon - Hello and a big welcome to Royals! I have to admit that I think P & P intrigues me and I will read Mr Darcy, Vampyre. I've read some pretty good reviews about it too. But zombies...I just can't do zombies!

Miss K said...

I meant P & P with vampires intrigues me!

WhiteLady3 said...

I actually enjoyed P&P and Zombies and was sorry it hadn't more zombies. :D

You can read my review at my LJ if you're interested.

Anonymous said...

I have to admitt, I usually don't like anyone messing with a classic but I have given a few a try. My hands down favorite is "Mr.& Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One" by Sharon Lathan. She did an outstanding job with Jane Austen's characters and stayed true to them better than any other author I've read. I highly recommend this book for Austen fans.
My least favorite was "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" by Amanda Grange not because she isn't a talented writer, but because she (in my opinion) didn't stay true to the characters Jane Austen created. But both authors are talented and I respect their creativity with the Darcy's!

:o)

MsM

Sharon Lathan said...

Thank you Ms. Moonlight! I really appreciate the kind words AND the wonderful review you gave me when "Fitz" came out in March. If you do have a chance to read "Loving Mr. Darcy" I hope you will be as pleased.

Vee said...

Hi Everyone!
Great topic! I must admit due to my new love of Twilight series, I was strangley drawn to buy "Mr Darcy, Vampyre" ad have yet to recieve and read it so time will tell if I enjoy such a weird twist to my all time fav characters!
I totally agree with MsM that Sharon's sequel is my absolute fav!
Sharon gives Darcy and Lizzy three dimensional status!
I love their passion filled exciting lives together. The introduction of wonderful new characters creates a reality that is captivating!
Happy reading
TSBO devotee
Vee

ibeeeg said...

Mr. Darcy week has been fun! I have been enjoying all the posts to date.

I plan on re-reading Pride and Prejudice during Sept. and then I am going to read Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. I am curious as to how the author will tell this story.
I am not into zombies...period. so no zombie stories for me.

My outlook on these paranormal versions:
1. A good way to bring P&P back to the forefront as the paranormal are big reads right now.
2. Some sound a bit too cheesy for me but hey...I have not read them.
3. Like most things - oversaturation can sometimes be a bit much!

Tim Tam? Well, I actually was thinking of seeing if Amazon had them as I am very curious.

Alaine said...

Ibeeeg, let us know what you think of the Vampyr version. I've heard good and bad about it so I'd like to hear what you think.