Quirk Books’ Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters: Impressions & Giveaway
I’ll be honest. When Philadelphia’s publisher of all-that-is-quirky, Quirk Books, announced they would be publishing a follow up their New York Times best selling book Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, entitled Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters… well, I was both excited and concerned. The trailer was hilarious and built the hype, but was Quirk just banging out a quick book to keep up with the trend, or is Sea Monsters yet another quality text?
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was absolutely wonderful and hilarious. I brought the book into my college English classrooms and read passages to my students. The book managed to maintain the most powerful literary elements of Austen’s work, while becoming something all its own. After-all, the book was 85% true to the text, with only 15% digressing into zombie madness.
Now along comes Ben H. Winters, a Brooklyn native, with his foray into the Austen spoof. Instead of Grahame-Smith’s zombies, Winters gives us “giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, swashbuckling pirates, and other seaworthy creatures.” And instead of the smaller ratio of new crazy content, Winters’ dishes out nearly half.
Well, there’s a reason it’s out of stock on Quirk’s website. The book is a riot, and absolutely worth the purchase. Winters’ proves that Quirk wasn’t just piggy backing off the success of Zombies, but instead, giving us an awesome series of rewritten texts to look forward to. That’s right, this isn’t the last in the Quirk Classics series, and I can’t wait for the next one. The book is available now in stores, and I suggest you grab a copy.
However, for those of you cheaper folks, you might want to try to win a well-read copy of the book. Leave a comment and name your favorite sea-monster. I’ll pick one at random and ship out the book next week. Geekadelphia likes to share.
Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters
Out Now via Quirk Books
www.irreference.com/sense-and-sensibility-and-sea-monsters
I’d have to day that my favorite sea monster is the one from Disney’s 20k leagues under the sea. He was just so angry!
I dunno…
I guess my favorite sea monster has to be the Leviathan because of its implications and origins of a Biblical nature.
The one that made the Bloop!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloop
My favorite sea ‘monster’ has got to be the African Ifa Yemaja/Agwe, a combination mother goddess and her husband who might be some kind of sea monster. She’s a great mom if your a good child, otherwise, she’s drags you away under the sea and her husband/other half causes all sorts of sea storms. Pretty neat stuff.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Nessie, and our own home-grown monster Champ. But I think my own personal favorite monster was the shrunken skeletal remains of a mermaid on display at a bait shop in my hometown. Real monsters are always the best!
My favorite was the one out of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I read that many times and after the first one I always had to skip that part, it freaked me out too much. Also, I am really looking forward to Werewolves of Wuthering Heights. If I say it, it will come true.
My favorite sea ‘monster’ is the Coelacanth – the oldest freakin’ fish. Believed to be extinct until sighted in the 1930s… MONSTROUSLY AWESOME.
my favorite sea monsters are the evil mermaids; the sirens with wicked intentions! Great post.
I’ll take Krakens for 500, Alex.
Would love to pick this up and give it a nice read through. As for my favorite sea monster that would have to be the the lovely Siren’s.
Monstro, the Jonah-ish punishment whale from Pinocchio.
The Ekranoplan, or Caspian Sea Monster
My favorite sea monster is Leviathan too!
I second the Kraken…