Anyway, as I was driving home from the Writer's Conference the Sunday before last, I had my first encounter with an audio book. I've always been hesitant to try these, mainly because I'm a writer and I truly believe that books are meant to be read, not listened to. One good example is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. That book is ridiculously long but I sure as heck read the entire thing. (They're also making a television series out of it but more on books and their television shows in another post.) But, I decided to brave it because the drive home is 7 hours long (on a bad day, 6 on a good one) and it's hard for a person to stay awake and alert for that long of a trip. So what do you think I read?
That's right.
I actually own this in paper. I bought it a while ago, but I never seem to get to it. So, enter the audio book and a 6 hour drive, and half of the book read now (or listen to). Here is my assessment:
It's a funny idea. I mean, all who think of Elizabeth Bennett know that she is a tough cookie (as is Mr. Darcy) and it's humorous to think that she could be the main defender of the Bennett family. For the first few chapters, I was hooked and laughing in my car as the poor Bennett girls had to fight off zombies as they wandered into town or discovered that the cook of the Bingley household had been attacked by a zombie during a very large party. However, after a while, it got old. It got old fast. As someone who has read Pride and Prejudice and appreciates the beauty of Jane Austin's work, I found myself wanting to hear more of the story and less of the zombies. I missed many of the interactions between the characters that left me charmed and coming back for more. Also, when the author decided to turn Charlotte (Elizabeth's best friend) into a zombie and described the slow process that it took for her to get into that state, I was done with the book. I didn't care that Elizabeth could stand on one finger or defeat three ninjas at once. The author had thought Charlotte to be such a disposable character that it would be fine to turn her into a zombie! I didn't finish the audio book and, I can already tell you, I'm not going to finish my hard copy either. What I want to do is give that book away. I don't ever want to see it again.
Those of you who have read Pride and Prejudice or other works by Jane Austin... do you agree with me? Beauty shouldn't be toyed with. Apparently, they're making Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters or that might just be a youtube video that they have advertising what it would be like but I really think the author has ruined something beautiful. Shame on Seth Grahame-Smith. You don't get a single star in my book. Nor does Ben H. Winters for doing this:
Disgusting.
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