Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Before I start reviewing this book, I have a confession to make. I started out really biased against this book. I first heard about this title while sitting in a theater and watching the trailer for the movie that is coming out based on the book.My initial impression was that someone must have chosen randomly drawn topics out of a (top)hat and decided to write a novel about it.The fact that it was based around Abraham Lincoln made me feel even worse about it. Abraham Lincoln! A vampire hunter?! It just felt so irreverant and disrespectful towards such a wonderful man. A man who had done so much to contribute to our way of life in this country.I thought, surely he must be rolling in his grave at this very moment. Needless to say, I had no intention of reading the book OR watching the movie.Then, one day, I was talking to my local barista. (I have a Starbucks habit that keeps them in business and their stockholders happy.) He happened to mention that he had just finished the Hunger Games trilogy.I didn't know he was a reader, so when I found out, I recommended the Molly Fyde series by Hugh Howey as a follow-up. Especially if he was looking for something somewhat similar and equally satisfying.While he seemed happy to take my recommendation, he mentioned that he'd already started another book, which just happened to be Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.I'll admit, my first thought was one of disdain. It's not something that I'm proud of, but I find that I can be a bit of a book snob. Not openly, of course! I was polite. However, my inner nose turned up a bit at the mention.So, I just smiled and nodded, grabbed my coffee and went on my way.Well, the very next day, Hugh Howey (the very same author that I had been recommending to my barista friend) posted a link to Enphy's blog review of his Wool book. I happily followed the link and found that we had both been equally impressed with Howey's book.This made me want to see what else he had read recently, and wouldn't you know it? Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the most recent review. Not only that, but it was pretty positive.Now I'm thinking I might have to check it out, because it's already been established that we have similar taste in books. So, I started toying around with the idea of reading it. However, I wasn't wholly convinced.Later that week, I came back from another one of my coffee jaunts, and happened to mention to my co-worker that my barista recommended this book (as a continuation of our previous conversation.)Now, my co-worker and I don't have a lot in common, but the one thing we DO have in common is we're both readers and tend to gravitate towards the same kind of books. In fact, it was he that referred me to both the Hunger Games trilogy last year and Ready Player One. In turn, I recommended Wool to him (which he loved.)As I'm telling him about my follow-up conversation with my barista he says, "Oh yeah, actually, that book was pretty good."That was it, I made up my mind right then to read it, keep an open mind, and decide for myself what I thought of it.Almost despite myself, I found that I was captivated by the storyline. The introduction takes on the tone that this is a real accounting of events by the author. Similar to the tactic used in the Blair Witch Project.(Do you remember that movie? The whole lead up to the premier of that movie they tried to get everybody to believe the video was real footage taken by a couple of kids in the woods and was "discovered." I think it was the first time that method was used to promote a movie.)The history of Abraham Lincoln, and that entire time period, is so interesting on it's own, that the underlying vampire theme actually seemed superfluous at times. That being said, the author did a remarkable job weaving the two worlds (both real and fanciful) together.In fact, the amount of research and historical knowledge was so impressive that I found myself thinking, "Wow! I didn't know that!" on more than one occassion. It inspired me to do a bit of fact checking and searching on my own; whether it was to verify something, or just because my own curiosity was spurred to learn more.(Slight spoiler ahead; although I don't think it really counts as one, since we all know how Lincoln dies.)For example, one of the things I didn't know was that the body guard, John F. Parker, hadn't even been at his post the night that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Amazingly, he had left his chair to find a better seat in which to watch the play.Not only that, but he left the theater entirely during intermission and had actually gone over to the saloon next door to have a few drinks. No one knows for sure if he even returned for the second act! However, it is very clear, he was not sitting on his chair and guarding the hallway at the time Boothe went to assassinate the president.I thought this seemed so remarkable; surely the author was embellishing the story! So, I looked it up, and read an article on the the Smithsonian's website that confirmed it was true! Can you believe it?!Nowadays with how strict our security is surrounding the President, it seems almost preposterous that only one, drunkard guy would be in charge of Lincoln's safety. I don't know, maybe that's just illustrating my own deficiency in history.What I thought was brilliant is how Grahame-Smith weaves our nation's history of slavery and vampires together. The outcome of this struggle would decide the fate of our country and whether or not all of us (not just slaves) would be allowed to be free, independent humans- or a country of livestock for our vampire owners.Another thing I liked was that the vampires in this book were not the stereotypical, over-sexualized creatures that we've all come to expect. These were as varied as the humans they fed upon, but not romanticized in the usual fashion.Overall, the story that Grahame-Smith puts together is a quick, entertaining read. In the end, I couldn't help thinking- like a spoonful of sugar- if vampires can cause people to access more history, then I look forward to another installment!George Washington the Werewolf, perhaps?

History is like an exquisite jewel. It has many facets, and it will glitter differently depending on the point of view of the person looking at it. We see it change as we shift, as we shine the light differently upon it, but for the most part, we confine ourselves to a few simple views of history and convince ourselves that what we see is the truth of what the gem is.But what happens when we remove the jewel from its setting and look at the faces we have never before seen? In that case, a whole new history may emerge, one that we find difficult to understand or even believe.Take Abraham Lincoln, for example. We all think we know who he was: a hard-working, honest young man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, became President, saved the Union, and was assassinated for his troubles. Perhaps no other President in American history has been as carefully scrutinized and examined as Lincoln. You would think we had nothing left to learn about him.You would be wrong.You don't know about the vampires.From the early days of the United States, the vampires have been there. They were there when the first ships pulled into Virginia, when the nation won its independence from Britain, and when the nation went west. They had their hands in the growth of the nation from day one, playing a long-term game to build a vampire paradise far from Europe, where the people there were wise to their evil and knew how to destroy them. Vampires were something that had always been talked about in the early days of American settlement. Strange tales of people dying mysteriously, sometimes their faces locked in a grim visage of fear. But no one really believed them of course. I mean really - vampires? Please.The truth was, however, that they were out there. They were lurking in the shadows, waiting and planning and laying the groundwork for the land they would eventually come to rule.And from his youth, Abraham Lincoln was pulled into their nefarious scheme.Born the son of Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, Abraham suffered from his share of the vicissitudes of 19th-century life. Rural poverty was rampant, and his father was not the most skilled of laborers or diligent of workers. But he loved his children, as did his wife. That made it all the harder when those children started dying of a strange wasting disease. When his wife followed suit, it was tragedy upon tragedy. For Abraham, it was the beginning of a need for vengeance that would drive his entire life.As he grew up and discovered the existence of vampires, he became a skilled and terrifying vampire hunter. He was so good at his vocation that a dissident group of vampires, led by a man named Henry Sturges, chose him as their instrument against their own kind. With Henry's guidance, Lincoln began to cut a swathe through the vampires in the United States.But being the chosen one, as Buffy would attest, is not all it is cracked up to be. Plagued with doubts and depression, Lincoln tried many times to cast off the mantle that had been thrust upon him. He married, went into business, and did his best to live the normal life he thought he deserved. But destiny had other plans. The vampires were preparing their endgame - the establishment of a nation built on the backs of slaves, where humans would be cattle to the vampires. In time, they would take the United States and use it as a staging ground to spread their sickness around the world. They had to be stopped, and Henry and his fifth column knew only one man who could stop them.Abraham Lincoln, the greatest vampire hunter the nation had ever known.Written by the same author who did Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, this book was far more entertaining. Probably because I like Lincoln a whole lot more than I like Jane Austen, but probably because he did a much better job at integrating the Lincoln we know with the Lincoln he had created. He invents a vampire-system that would explain how they could manage to maintain influence over humans, and presents a reasonably plausible explanation for how vampires could be at the root of the Civil War.More importantly, he keeps his Lincoln true to the character of the real Lincoln - a complex, driven man, beset by tragedy, lifted by hope, and motivated by a duty to a greater good. Perhaps a bit romanticized, of course, but we all romanticize Lincoln. It's hard not to. What's important is that we see a character who tries to fight his destiny, but in the end realizes that there are bigger things at stake than his own happiness. He has a nation to save and evil to defeat, and even if it should cost him his life, he will see that evil eradicated.The only thing that bothered me was a bit of unfinished business in the book. The conceit of it was that Seth Grahame-Smith had been given the complete set of Lincoln Diaries - the real ones, mind you - by Sturges, so that he could tell the true tale. According to the introduction, this was a project that cost him his job, his marriage, and nearly his life, and after a fairly dramatic and mysterious introduction, we never hear anything from Smith as the author again. I would have liked for him to have explained some of the things he merely alluded to in the introduction - especially the eleven "individuals" he was instructed to talk to over the course of writing the book, but he didn't. It's a little detail, but one I wish he had taken care of.It's a fun read, good for any vampire/Lincoln lover, or aficionado of alternate history.--------------------------------------------------"I can see a man's purpose, Abraham. It is my gift. I can see it as clearly as I see you standing before me now. Your purpose is to fight tyranny... and mine is to see that you win."- Henry Sturges--------------------------------------------------

I've been put off reading vampire horror thanks to the soppy movies and stories that have come out in recent years that for me have softened the whole vampire genre but I had heard a bit about this and thought I would give it a go.......I actually enjoyed it (ive not seen the movie) the hunting and killing does get a little repetitive and samey but then there is only so many ways to kill a vamp but it's the in-between that's tied it all together and kept me reading to the end. I found it really interesting and quite gripping although not "scary" it was an enjoyable read from start to finish.

This is the third of Seth Graham-Smith's books I've read (the first being the fabulous "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and the second being "How to Survive a Horror Movie"; and this is every bit as fantastic as the previous two I've read.It basically does what Graham-Smith seems to be really good at - which is mashing up the genres and coming up with something totally original in the meantime. It's part biography (and I'm not an expert, but I'm guessing that some of the diary extracts are truly attributed to Lincoln, as are the speeches) but they've been tampered with to fit with Graham-Smith's creation of a character of Lincoln as the legendary vampire hunter of his age, part (obviously) fiction.And, it's great fiction. This isn't just thrown together - a lot of thought, planning and polish has gone into this. As a result, Graham-Smith has created characters which are well-rounded and brilliantly realised. Lincoln is fantastic as the troubled, almost reluctant hero of the tale, Henry is fabulous as the mysterious, sexy Vampire with a heart. The narrative style is consistent throughout, pulls you in and keeps you wanting more right to the very end. And what an end! (It leaves it open for a sequel - and how I hope there's a sequel in the offing!)I loved this - I've not seen the film and don't know how it translates to the big screen, but I shall definitely watch it now. I'm so glad I read it first though. Graham-Smith's books are always a treat.

I thought this was an amazing book, I thought the author did a grand job adding vampires to the mix of Abraham Lincoln and the civil war. I found the book very funny and at some points couldn't contain myself laughing with some odd looks of my family.I thought the story was very imaginative and original. I also thought it was very well written and keeps you drawn into the story until the very end, and it is a deffinate page turner.I thought that this book has brought the vampire genre in a way back into the limelight after the "twilight" episode. This book has restored my faith in vampire related books.I would defiantly reccomend this book if you are a big fan of vampires/ zombies that are or have been infuriated by all of the teenage "twilight" copies out there

I have loved the vampire genre for years, but 'Twilight' seems to have changed the genre and not for the better. As an adult I do not care to read about a 15 year old being obsessed with a 100 year old vamp.It has been wonderful to find a book that bucks that tread and is aimed at adults rather than teenagers.This is a great twist on a biography, and has been so well thought out and reseached. I loved the way that vampires were blamed for the American Civil war and how they fitted so well into the history of the country. I am not American so I don't know a huge amount about American History, so I cannot comment on the accuracy anyway, which I supposed helped me immerse into the story well.I think it explained about Mr Lincoln's childhood and showed what an impressive man he became in real life. He came from such a modest family and achieved so much. It is inspiring to hear what an uneducated man can achieve.I read the free sample on my kindle and I loved it from the start and I was so happy to see it went to only 99p when I finished the sample, as I was desperate to get on in the book. It outlines his youth, which in itself was interesting, and then when the vampire angle was added, it just got much more exciting, and I struggled to put my kindle down!I would seriously recommend this to any fans of vampires / zombies etc, that are infuriated by all of the teenage 'Twilight' copies out there.

I really enjoyed this book for two very different reasons - firstly because of the fascinating insight into life in the USA during the 1800's, including learning about the character and life of Abraham Lincoln and the amazingly differing opinions surrounding the morality of slavery at that time. The second reason I enjoyed it was because of the way the author linked vampires into the story by cleverly using extracts from Lincoln's speeches which he stated referred to vampires, their influence on society and their part in the american civil war! He even managed to include a few period photos of vampires and skulls with fangs recovered from the battle fields! Cleverly written, entertaining and a bit gruesome at times. Just don't buy this book for anyone who is prone to conspiracy theories or who easily mixes up fact and fiction....they may well believe everything they read!