Quirk Books, the folks who brought you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, its prequel, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, have moved on from bloodying the frock of Jane Austen and set their sights on a new author: Leo Tolstoy. No, the company’s fourth augmented classic isn’t going to be War and Pieces of Brain, nor will it be The Undeath of Ivan Ilyich.
It’s Android Karenina, which will transpose the tale of Anna Karenina to a steampunk-inspired alternate 19th-century world of cyborgs, robot butlers, and space travel. S&S&S scribe Ben H. Winters will be helping to mechanize the original text, and the new quirkified version (the cover, at left, has yet to be designed) is set for release in bookstores this June.
I think these changes can only make a tragic tale more tragic; poor Anna never did well with steam-powered locomotion, and now she’s surrounded by it. No word on whether she’ll be bionically rebuilt following the ending, though. It’s good that this series is branching out to other authors, even if Tolstoy doesn’t exactly inspire the same Sunday-reading-group fervor as Ms. Austen. What say you, Shelf-Lifers? Do you like your Russian literature automatized?
this. looks. hilarious!
This can’t be anything less than pure win. Steampunk Tolstoy? Sign me up!
But that joke isn’t funny anymore/it’s too close to home/and it’s too near the bone
It hasn’t been started yet and it will be out by June? I understand the first book was quite good, but this sounds like they’re just coasting on the concept now, a concept that would probably be served just as well by a photoshop contest. Kudos to Winters on creating this cash cow.
The concept was the brainchild of editor Jason Rekulak.
I’m actually disappointed that War and Pieces of Brain isn’t coming out. Maybe there’s hope for the future…
let’s see…woman loses life over destroying family for what she thinks is true love and the resulting aftermath…plays out in the early 1900′s as well as the future…so how will they change the story????
Brilliant. And Winters is brilliant. Can’t wait for this one.
I’m mixed. Turning possibley the best novel ever written into hokey sci-fi is close to sacrelegious. But if it will turn people to the origonal, then that’s good?
nice vids!
check out my novels? 
THX! http://tinyurl.com/ygh3vux http://cameronglenn.wordpress.com/
I love this series and I really can’t wait for this. I am on board with these books because I have read the originals so I find this kind of fun.
When are they going to do Jane Eyre?
I’m all in favor. It’s the only way I’d be tempted to reread the original.
I don’t mind disrespecting the works of Jane Austen because I don’t like her writing, but Tolstoy, are you kidding? Leave his work alone you greedy child. Maybe you should learn to write a book on your own?
If you read Winters’ interview that he did, he claims that it is not disrespect, but “the highest form of flattery.” And really, I agree. Nothing says classic like a retelling, even a quirky one.
Too bad I can’t read the article because of the huge banner ad covering most of it. I would have liked to know more about this book.
What an imbecilic concept. This has gone way past its expiration date. Read a real book, you geeks.
I agree w/tim that this joke has gone stale – if it was ever fresh – it seems that the talent never was up to the mark – and AK doesnt have a revival movement like Austen to give it a push. Is it going to be as long as AK. BTW if you want ot read a really funny take off on a classic go to the blog on janetility.com and read Austens lost letter about the movie Twilight – its like that actor said – dying is easy & comedy is hard. Maybe Quirk needs to quit when theyre ahead or like someone said go to one of the classics that has more of a popular hook like Jane Eyre