Make no mistake. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter isn't going to wow you with some heavy-duty, thought provoking prose. But what it will do is provide the reader a hell of a lot of enjoyment as the author, Seth Grahame-Smith weaves a vampire tale with an historical context, the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.The book begins in present day when the fictional author/narrator is given a set of secret diaries (kept by Abraham Lincoln from a very early age) by a vampire named Henry Sturges. The author then pieces together a chronological history of Lincoln's life, using the diaries as a guide, often quoting directly from them.
When Lincoln learns at a very young age from his father that vampires not only exist, but they killed both his grandfather and his mother, he vows to dedicate his life to killing as many vampires as he can.
Through life-threatening circumstances, Lincoln meets the vampire Henry Sturges (the same vampire who gives the author the diaries at the beginning of the book) who trains him in the art of vampire slaying. As it turns out, Sturges is a vampire who's philosophy is that humans and vampires can leave peacefully with each other. However, the vast majority of vampires in the United States at that time are part of a plot to take over the country, using the Southern United States' most powerful and influential politicians to that end.
And thus the story unfolds. I give Seth Grahame-Smith a lot of credit for coming up with a great plot idea, and then following through with an enjoyable story that weaves fictional and actual historic figures into a very interesting book. I may be stretching a bit by making this comparison, but if you have enjoyed the works of the author E.L. Doctorow and his ability to bring real-life characters and events into a fictional story (my favorite being Ragtime) and you like a good vampire story, then Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is for you.
I'm also pretty excited that the book is being adapted into a movie, produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Tim Burton, due out in the Summer of 2012.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-SmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Make no mistake. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter isn't going to wow you with some heavy-duty, thought provoking prose. But what it will do is provide the reader a hell of a lot of enjoyment as the author, Seth Grahame-Smith weaves a vampire tale with an historical context, the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.
My full review: http://jiresell.blogspot.com/2011/09/boo...
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