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Seth Grahame-Smith
Grand Central Publishing
384 pp.
Adult Fantasy/horror
When Abraham Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died from an ailment
called the "milk sickness." Only later did he learn that his mother's
deadly affliction was actually the work of a local vampire, seeking to
collect on Abe's father's unfortunate debts.
When the truth became known to the young Abraham Lincoln, he wrote in his journal: henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become learned in all things—a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose."
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for reuniting the North with the South and abolishing slavery from our country, no one has ever understood his valiant fight for what it really was. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.
Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time—all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the massive role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
When the truth became known to the young Abraham Lincoln, he wrote in his journal: henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become learned in all things—a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose."
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for reuniting the North with the South and abolishing slavery from our country, no one has ever understood his valiant fight for what it really was. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.
Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time—all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the massive role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
MY REVIEW:
I liked this book more than I thought I would. Written in a fairly
straight forward biographical style, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer
deftly weaves actual history with shockingly convincing fiction. There
were many times when I wondered what was true and what wasn't (the historical parts, not the vampire parts). The parts
about him hunting vampires were a lot of fun to read, though details
and description about the attacks were a little too lean. I really
wanted there to be more in that area and felt unsatisfied some of the
time. However, overall, I enjoyed the book and especially the ending.
When I got to the last page I had a strong desire to read a real
biography of Lincoln and to go see the movie about him in theaters right
now.
If anyone has avoided the book because of the violence, never fear. Yes, good old honest Abe does whack off a fair share of vampire heads, and plenty of body parts get flung around, and victims get hung upside down and their blood drained into vampires mouths below - but oddly enough, the author tells so little about these violent incidents that it's difficult to call the book a horror novel. The descriptions are more academic than creative. So if you're looking for something literary with a dark twist, this is it. I had fun reading it, but my son, who is fifteen, found it a bit dry. All in all, I give it a solid:
Ratings:
Violence: Moderate
Sex: None
Profanity: None
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