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At midnight, the folks at Quirk — who brought you the best-selling Jane Austen mashup Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — announced that they’re back with the next book in the series, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which goes on sale Sept. 15 (complete with 15 illustrations — we’ve brought you two of them — and a readers’ discussion guide). Quirk editor Jason Rekulak, the creator of the series (“I just thought it would be really funny to desecrate a classic work of literature”) recently said that he didn’t want to go out there “with the one-millionth vampire novel that’s going to be published this year.” P&P&Z’s Seth Grahame Smith did not write this sequel, since he recently left the franchise and signed a hefty contract with Grand Central for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I talked to the series’ new author, Ben H. Winters, last week.
After the jump, our Q&A with author Ben H. Winters and illustrations from the book.
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I know Quirk came up with the title and the concept for the novel … what did you think when you first heard “sea monsters”?
I loved the idea of sea monsters. I’d hate to say our culture is oversaturated with vampires and zombies, but it was fun to do something different. I got to research shark attacks, sea serpents, pirates, octopi. I went back and read a lot of period peril-at-sea novels — I got really into H.P. Lovecraft. I was also heavily influenced by Jaws and even the first season of Lost (much of the action in the book is set on a desolate island).
Did Quirk give you free rein?
They did. They gave me the title, a copy of Sense and Sensibility, and told me to go to town.
The Jane Austen aficionados, who can be a tough bunch, seemed to like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
I feel like people who really love Austen get it. Her novels are so strong, so cleverly constructed, so smart and dry, they really lend themselves to over-the-top violence.
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Okay, what kind of creatures can we look forward to in the book?
A giant rampaging mutant lobster. Octopi with glittering tentacles. And pirates — I couldn’t resist pirates. I studied pirate lore, from R.L. Stevenson to Pirates of the Caribbean.
Compare to the last book, if you would.
Well, our monster-to-Austen ratio is higher than in the last book, about 60-40 (that’s 60 Austen, 40 me). That’s proportionally more monsters, swordfights, and submarines.
So what do you think, readers? Are sea monsters an innovative idea, or should Quirk have stuck with the undead? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Comments (1-30) of 41 Add your comment
I’m holding out for Wuthering Heights and Werewolves…oh, wait, that’s Dickens!
i think emily bronte wrote “wuthering heights”, or is there a joke i’m not getting?
So far no one has got your joke but me. *pats on head*
Check out the official book trailer, complete with digital sea monsters!
This looks utterly fantastic, and the concept Quirk has adopted — first with “Zombies”, and now with “Sea Monsters” — is brilliant. I’m reserving my copy as we speak.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters–brilliant! I wonder what they will come up with next? Persuasion and Chainsaws?
Genuis! One of the ideas that you wonder why you didn’t think of it first.
BTW – the new page for this blog is so much better than the rest.
Mansfield Park and Mummys? Emma vs. the Ninjas?
Haha this is awesome. BTW Just saw Lost in Austen (another cute take on Pride and Prejudice) and loved it. Love this stuff.
Nice try Snarf, but Wuthering Heights is by Emily Bronte.
actually, Persuasion might have worked better with Sea Monsters..what with him being in Navy and all, though i like the alliteration.
& Josh m – both suggestions are brilliant
I’m thinking sea monsters would fit a little better into the plot of “Persuasion”, where they actually spend some time at the seaside. That said, “Persuasion and Sea Monsters” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. I just watched the Ang Lee adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” this weekend and am now going to imagine Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman fighting sea monsters in period costume. Thanks for the great mental image, EW!
Ha ha, this is awesome! As a huge Austen fan, I loved the campiness of P&P&Z. It’ll be interesting to see how they make this work, since they don’t spend much time near water in the original. That said, the title is alliterative.
As for other titles, how about “Emma & the Body Snatchers”? Or “Northanger Abbey and & Invisible Man?”
Snarf,
BRONTE wrote Wuthering Heights, not DICKENS
Can the movie “Clueless and Carrie” be far behind?
Actually Wuthering Heights was Emily Bronte.. but that sounds like it would be good anyways!
I did hear the name “Northfanger Abbey” when P&P&Z came out, but I think that was a joke from a reviewer. I could see Werewolves in Wuthering Heights, though. Can’t stand the Cathy character — she’s so whiny, I always wanted to smack her. I’d love to see her attacked by werewolves.
Oh, yes. Perhaps Linton will be a werewolf, though Heathcliffe is the perfect role for that already.
I don’t know, I’ve never read the books, but my mom was really upset when she saw the cover for Pride and Predjuce. i agreed because it’s kind of ruining a classic.
Wow, that concept jumped the shark awful quickly.
I loved P&P&Z and look forward to this book. I think the sea monsters theme would have worked better with Persuasion – but I can’t wait to see how this turns out. I especially am excited by the Lost reference in the interview! I wish Seth Grahme would have stayed on the series!
Sea monsters would work much better with either Persuasion (as other commenters have pointed out) or Mansfield Park. Both have several characters in the navy, and in MP a long sea voyage is a plot point… I fear these folks are more interested in an alliterative title than a witty book!
Brilliant. Can’t wait. These mash ups are awesome. PP&Z, SS&SM (this one), there’s War of the Worlds and Huck Finn with zombies too.
How about: A Tale of Two (Sin) Cities; Crime and Punishment and Sarcasm; Finnegan’s Wake and Nonsense
http://danger2012.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/book-club/#more-485
When will it be time to leave poor Austen alone, already?
LOL, I know. Poor Jane. Never saw it coming.
Certainly this idea would be better suited to Persuasion, especially with that cover. That said, I’m interested to see what they do with this.
I hope they do something with dinosaurs next (a buddy of mine suggested “Emma and the Dinosaurs”).
Oh this seems interesting…I liked Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so I’m looking forward to this.
Do you even know what jump-the-shark means. Or do you just a label everything you don’t like with that tag. Wait maybe you just jumped the shark by saying they jumped the shark. Very clever COG, very clever indeed. Give me a break it’s just a book stop fussing over something so silly.
I have loved seamonsters ever since I was a little girl. I can’t tell you how excited I am that they are in vogue again.
the illustrations made the story seem really good, i read pride and prejudice and zombies in my book group and we all really enjoyed it! ill definately try and get my book group to read this!
I saw that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies thing on a forum. I guess these are real books then? o_O
I’m curious. I’ve read a couple Jane Austen books. o_o
and also, LOL@Diamondgirl. XD
It would have worked better to have Persuation and Sea Monsters, but Persuation is not as widely read as P&P and that title would not neccassarily lead the uninitiated Quirk reader to assume a parody of a classic.
I have not read Zombies, but there are common themes in all of Austin’s books so I do not think it would be hard to expand the scope of the novel to include any or all of Austin’s books.