Zombie Abbey (2018)
Written By: Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Genre: Young Adult Horror
Pages: 352 (Kindle)
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the publisher with the understanding I’d give it an honest review.
Why I Chose It: I’m not really into zombies when it comes to dramatic horror, a la The Walking Dead. That show gives me serious anxiety. But I’m totally down with them when we’re talking about comedy. Shaun of the Dead anyone? And this seemed like it was going to land on the funny side of that line.
Premise:
1920, England
And the three teenage Clarke sisters thought what they’d wear to dinner was their biggest problem…
Lady Kate, the entitled eldest.
Lady Grace, lost in the middle and wishing she were braver.
Lady Lizzy, so endlessly sunny, it’s easy to underestimate her.Then there’s Will Harvey, the proud, to-die-for — and possibly die with! — stable boy; Daniel Murray, the resourceful second footman with a secret; Raymond Allen, the unfortunate-looking young duke; and Fanny Rogers, the unsinkable kitchen maid.
Upstairs! Downstairs! Toss in some farmers and villagers!
None of them ever expected to work together for any reason.
But none of them had ever seen anything like this.
Very Minor Spoilers.
Discussion: I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but I imagine there are a lot of similarities here. This felt very much like a loyal viewer of The Walking Dead wrote some Downton Abbey fanfiction. A clever and fun meshing of genres I can see appealing to those who enjoy both a comedy of manners and a good horror.
I think the dialogue was probably one of the best parts of this book. Especially Fanny’s dialogue. She was definitely my favorite. I’m a fan of rambly characters who put their feet in their mouths because they can’t stop saying exactly what they’re thinking. But while I enjoyed her parts, I found the rest of the prose clunky. Wordy just for the sake of being wordy, and it got in the way of really enjoying the author’s voice, which I think I would have really liked otherwise. She definitely has that self-deprecating sense of humor about people and situations that I really relate to.
I think we also share a bit of idealism too, since the other great thing about this book was the character arcs and how almost every character ended up with a more charitable view of the others by the end. Sometimes they were so over the top they seemed more like caricatures than real people, but they did all have some wonderful growth and hidden strengths.
All except Kate. From the first page it seemed clear that even among the ensemble cast, Kate and Will were the protagonists. But I didn’t really like either of them, and after such great big arcs for the supporting characters, I expected way more for these two than I actually got. In the end Kate seemed just as arrogant and dismissive of everyone besides herself, the only difference being that now she’s more take-charge about it. Luckily her sisters, Grace and Lizzie, more than made up for the eldest Clarke daughter. I really want to be friends with Lizzie, and I want Grace backing me up when the zombie horde comes.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem I had with the book was pacing. One of my favorite moments in a story, whether it’s a book, movie, or TV show, comes after all the chaos of the first Act (and sometimes the first part of the second), when everyone starts pulling together to actually attack the problem instead of just reacting to it because they all finally believe in the threat. That moment didn’t come until the last few pages of the book, I think because the entire conflict of the story wasn’t that there were zombies. It was getting stubborn people to even admit there was a threat. It made the story feel drawn out and kind of uneventful.
The zombies were the interesting part, they’re the entire reason I’m reading about this dinner party in 1920. But the characters all seemed more interested in bemoaning the differences between the upper class and the help than figuring out why or how there were dead people walking around, or even admitting they existed in the first place. This may have been a fault on my end since I had different expectations for the story than the one that was actually written. And this issue will probably be resolved in later books. I didn’t realize when I was reading this that it was going to be a series (and the last line makes it pretty clear it is), but I still really wanted more of a resolution besides the one given. The characters end the book on a realization that I knew all along: zombies were real and they were coming.
In conclusion: This left me wanting more. More zombies, more romance, more fighting, and more reaction. Which must mean I really connected with the premise. Because I really wanted to see the 1920s collide with this common horror trope, and with so many characters to follow, I wanted to see all the different ways they could have responded. And that just wasn’t really the focus of this book. I think if you really like Downton Abbey and stories about the way two very distinct classes see each other and you like a little speculative fiction thrown in with your history, you’ll find a lot to love in this.
Do you think you’ll read the sequel when it comes out?
I’m thinking about it. Since I feel like this was the setup for what could be the real story. But so far I haven’t seen anything about when to expect a second one.