After the popular premiere of several supernatural novels, such as the Twilight saga, House of Night and The Summoning, current readers seem to engross themselves in the abnormal.

With the sudden adoration towards vampires, celestial aspects of books appear in sequels to some of the most beloved books of all time, such as Pride and Prejudice. Along with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, written by acclaimed author Amanda Grange, deserves recognition among the bizarre rewrites.

Not only does Mr. Darcy, Vampyre incorporate a supernatural aspect to a classic story, but it is also a sequel to one of my favorite Jane Austen novels, Pride and Prejudice. As an avid Austen reader, I quickly finished Mr. Darcy, Vampyre the night I bought it.

The story illustrates the life of main character Elizabeth Bennett and her relationship with Mr. Darcy, beginning on their wedding day. As they begin a married life together, they decide to embark on a trip to Paris, France, where Elizabeth realizes Mr. Darcy’s high social standing.

Dragged from Paris to meet a relative known as Count Polidori in the Alps of Europe, Elizabeth also feels the unwanted stares of the recently met cousins. She begins to note the downsides of their marriage that Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine, foretold.

After several foreshadowing events, including dreams about the abnormal and Mr. Darcy’s nighttime disappearances, Elizabeth finally discovers a secret about him that she never knew – he is a vampire. The rest of the book centers around Mr. Darcy’s desperate attempt to find a certain tablet in order to transform himself into a human.

Unlike her other bizarre rewrites that include nonsensical scenes of roaming zombies, Grange attempted to produce a legitimate continuation of Pride and Prejudice by claiming that Mr. Darcy was a vampire all along.

However, one immediate reaction to the novel that hampered Grange’s legitimacy was the changed personality of Elizabeth. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen portrays Elizabeth as an intelligent and observing person. In Mr. Darcy, Vampyre Elizabeth exhibits stupidity when she ponders Mr. Darcy’s secrecy, despite his constant disappearances at night.

To supplement her lack of intelligence, Grange expanded on Elizabeth’s loving attitude, as she increasingly expresses her concerns about Mr. Darcy’s disappearances. However, the personality change in Elizabeth not only surprised me, but also eliminated the interest in the novel as she used to be such a strong and intelligent character.

Also, though the novel’s plot eventually becomes engaging, many sections weren’t worthy of reading. Much of the book centered on a long description of their trips that were entirely boring. The story line finally got interesting in the last 50 pages of the novel.

Since the climatic events occurred near the end of the book, Grange seemed to end the story entirely too quickly with a cheesy resolution to the conflict. This denouement may leave readers satisfied, but multiple possibilities to the actual ending of the novel causes confusion, such as whether Elizabeth becomes a vampire or both of them die.

In comparison to Austen, the writing style of Grange seemed dull and gave dramatic scenes a less significant effect. However, when Elizabeth finally begins to dream heavy nightmares, though trivial, Grange’s style improved as she included more descriptions.

Along with this, some of the events that occur throughout the book seemed taken from other novels. One part of the novel included a fortune teller’s visit, which automatically reminded me of Jane Austen’s Emma. This gave the story a lack of originality.

Though eye-catching, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre seems like another attempt to conform to the present popular book genre of the year – vampires. Even if this genre holds an addicting aspect to the plot, a realistic novel creates a more relatable situation to readers at all times.

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre can be purchased at most local bookstores for about $15.

For more book reviews, visit the Aug. 20 article, Created to cure.