I was working in a now-defunct bookstore when Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was released on an unsuspecting public. I don’t have precise figures but I can say with certainty that the book sold like mad. It was a combination of a small publisher doing a somewhat limited run, and a level of consumer interest that not many predicted. People love Victorian zombies, apparently. Who knew?

A year after the novel’s release, a side-scrolling game based on the twisted tale made its way on to the App Store. But Quirk Books isn’t done with the iOS platform yet. Oh no. Not by a long shot. Now the literary “classic” has been given new life (*rimshot*) in the form of an illustrated, interactive eBook.

This isn’t any regular old eBook, mind. It’s full of interactive (and incredibly gory) illustrations and features an original score and sound effects. Sounds awesome, yes? Well there’s more. Not only can users enjoy all manner of zombie-centric animated illustrations as they read this unexpectedly popular story, they can also read the entire original Austin text by flipping their device upside-down. Even more interesting (and excessive), tilting the device on its side will simultaneously display both the interactive zombie-infested re-imagining and the literary classic at the same time.

Anyone who might have held off on reading this most interesting interpretation, but still wants to, should definitely have a look-see at Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Interactive eBook. It’s absolutely stuffed with content and at $4.99 (for a limited time) it’s currently almost half of the physical tome’s price.

$8.99

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Interactive eBook

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-23 :: Category: Books

Call me old fashioned, but I typically like to read my books on paper. Maybe it’s my pride in ownership, or maybe it’s just me thinking like an antique, but if I’m going to buy a book, it’s going to be a real one. Unless it has more to offer.

PadWorx Digital Media is releasing an interactive version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the iPad just in time for people to read for Halloween. The interactive eBook will feature, according to the developer, “300 pages of text, animation, gameplay, and touch screen technology that creates the definitive interactive, user-driven experience”. The pages will have all sorts of interactive elements, from leaves that need to be swept off pages to lanterns that need to be used to uncover words.

“Our new interactive version of Dracula is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on the iPad,” said Jeffery Alan Schechter, director and producer at PadWorx Digital Media, Inc. “From fans of the original classic tale, to the blood and romance fans of the Twilight books and movies, to tech savvy enthusiasts, there are plenty of elements to keep everyone reading for hours. We’ve created original illustrations, animation, sounds and touch screen elements that work together with the text on each page, drawing readers in and allowing them to uncover a new tale worth telling.”

I’ll have to spend some time with the book/app to see if I really like it, but I do like that it offers more than the simple book experience. If I’m going to buy a book on an iPad, I think that it should do something more than my paperback copy. This one looks like it does a lot more.