Mash-Up Mania

I know you are all aware of mashups—two unrelated songs that are spliced together to create a remix that combines the lyrics of one song with the rhythm of another. However, are you aware that the same craze is happening in the publishing industry? Mash-Up Books are all the rage. Mash-Ups take one storyline and combine it with another seemingly unrelated storyline creating a “remix” of plots.

It started when Seth Grahame-Smith took Jane Austen’s masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, and added elements of zombie madness and mayhem creating Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This awesome book revisits the Bennet Sisters as they deal with suitors and zombies who are systematically eating their way through Regency England. Our heroine, Elizabeth, is blessed with intelligence, wit, “fine eyes”, and kick butt ninja moves. No wonder Darcy can’t resist her!

Then Seth Grahame-Smith took on American history in his recently released, Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter. This brilliant book relates an alternate history where Abraham Lincoln not only uses his axe to chop trees but also to slay evil vampires bent on forever separating the Union and taking over America. You will definitely find yourself wanting to verify historical facts and at the same time laughing aloud at the vampire elements introduced.

I just saw that Little Vampire Women, an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, is due out in May. I cannot wait to read this “remix”. Maybe bratty little Amy will finally get her comeuppance for burning Jo’s manuscript.

While I appreciate the humor of these mash-ups and feel that ultimately they might lead people back to reading the original classics, there has been criticism of this art form. Some people think that classic literature should not be tampered with at all. Some people feel it borders on plagiarism. Some just think it is in bad taste. What do you think? What classic literature would you like to see mashed up?

Other Mash-Ups to read or wait for:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: dawn of the dreadfuls	Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
Android Karenina	Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim	War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts, and Zombies
Mansfield Park and Mummies: Monster Mayhem, Matrimony, Ancient Curses, True Love, and Other Dire Delights

Written by Angela J.