Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

by Seth Grahame-Smith

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness".

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an axe, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret 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 America's greatest president for the first time - all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of the nation.

• ISBN10: 1306756928
• ISBN13: 9781306756921
• Publish Date: 1 January 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Grand Central Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[cherryblossommj]

Originally posted on www.CreativeMadnessMama.com

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Pages: 448 Mass Market, Trade Paperback, Hardcover and eBook & FILM!
Date Published: June 26th, 2012 (orig. 2010)
Publishers: Grand Central Publishing

 

While reading this book, it felt historically accurate but was by no means a history book. Of course Lincoln didn't carry an arsenal to his speeches and slip out of his room late at night to chase down vampires. At least as far as we know anyway. I never bothered to look into the historical accuracy of the non-vampire points. Oddly though, even the vampire parts of the book were told in a way that made sense if we suppose for a minute that vampires really existed in the mid-late 1800s. The story flowed so well that I even enjoyed the political parts of it. The parts with axes splitting skulls were good too though. I thought this was an awesome idea for a book. It was mostly written as if it was Lincoln's own words coming straight from his diary. A diary presented by some mysterious figure. After reading the book, you might know who.

*The version read was the Hardcovers 2010, thanks to Hatchette Book Group.*

Seth Grahame-Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In addition to adapting the screenplay for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth also wrote Tim Burton's latest film, Dark Shadows. He lives in Los Angeles.

 

 



[iframe http://www.youtube.com/embed/X58RPS665V0?rel=0 853 480]

And now... the MOVIE based on the BOOK in theaters June 22, 2012!

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter explores the secret life of our greatest president, and the untold story that shaped our nation. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) bring a fresh and visceral voice to the bloodthirsty lore of the vampire, imagining Lincoln as history's greatest hunter of the undead.

[iframe http://www.youtube.com/embed/6Eo766iZZ0c?rel=0 853 480]

Genre:
Action and Adventure
Director:
Timur Bekmambetov
Cast:
Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
This review was originally posted on www.CreativeMadnessMama.com

[thepunktheory]

Seth Grahame-Smith claims that Abraham Lincoln was a vampire hunter. If you first hear this it sounds absolutely absurd.


But the stories is written very realistic and by interweaving real historical events with vampire slaughtering it even starts to become sort of real. Of course I am aware that no such things as vampires exist, but the author creates and atmosphere that actually make you believe that all this could have happened.

I've never been a big fan of vampires, especially since this whole twilight-sparkeling-in-the-sun-stuff turned up I turned my back on this topic.
Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter was a great comeback.
Seth Grahame-Smith wrote this book magnificently and I'm really looking forward to the movie.

[Hillary]

http://www.adventuresinneverneverland.com/2013/02/18/abraham-lincoln-vampire-hunter/

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Abraham Lincoln was one of American’s top leaders and also a vampire hunter (according to this book). Lincoln's secret journal has been found and it tells the story different from what you learn in history. Seth Grahame-Smith is known for mashing Pride and Prejudice with zombies but this book feels like a mash up of Vampire hunting and a Wikipedia entry of Abraham Lincoln’s life.

One of the main problems I had with this book was the narrative; was it supposed to be written in a biography or diary format? Because it really didn’t work at all in this book; also I felt like there was a shift from first to third person perspective which never really sat easy with me. But my biggest issue was the attempts in making the narrative sound historical; Grahame-Smith just adds phrases and words into the writing that sound old fashion but the rest of the book continues as if it was written in 2010.

I wanted to read this book because of the upcoming movie adaptation. The movie might be entertaining but this book really had too many flaws and holes in it to make this a decent read. I know it isn’t supposed to be high literature and this is written as pure entertainment but seriously; can’t you research better than opening up Wikipedia? I’m not huge into dark fantasy either but I felt the attempts this book made never really worked. There are some graphic and dark scenes but nothing really came together as an overall book. I expected so much more from this book and I felt let down. I don’t think I’ll be reading another Seth Grahame-Smith anytime soon.

[kimbacaffeinate]

I picked up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith after seeing a trailer for the movie. I adore Abe and have always been fascinated by him. I have read several books based on his life, visited the cabin he was born in and gazed into his eyes at the national monument. I also happen to love vampires and decided I wanted to see the movie. I have a little personal rule that I read the book first; since it is always better. I find doing it in reverse spoils it for me. I found Seth’s take on Abe and American history to be highly entertaining. I love the format he used and the way in which he incorporated actual photos to support his story.

The novel starts out introducing us to the writer of this novel, he is an aspiring author who finds life got in the way of his dream. One day Henry, a young man, who he has previously befriended, comes in to his store with a package and a sealed envelope. He tells him to read the letter first. The young man is anxious to read it but waits until the close of business. He reads the letter and it states the contents are on loan to him, if he agrees to write the story contained within. It further instructs him that he cannot share its contents with anyone. What he discovers are journals penned by Abraham Lincoln. They detail his life and his role as a vampire hunter. The aspiring author thinks it’s all a joke; till he hears a noise and turns around to see Henry with his fangs exposed. The tale that unfolds takes us on a journey from Abe's humble begins to his life in the White House. It is filled with history and unique twists; as key events depict vampire involvement. Seth kept me completely enthralled as we traveling through Abe’s life.

The characters both famous and common in this novel were uniquely characterized by the author and I grew quite fond of them. I think the fact that he stayed true to these men and women’s personalities (as depicted through history) gave his twists a believability that might not have otherwise rung true. His introduction of Henry and how he influenced Abe was fascinating. I like how he separated vampires into two groups those who wanted to live among us and those who wanted to rule us. The way he blended slavery into this issue was horrifying and believable. Slavery in itself is deplorable and he found a way to make it darker. I still get goose bumps thinking about some of the scenes.

I really enjoyed the slight alterations to historical events. The tale felt real and the fact that the author introduced himself into the tale as the writer gave the story an eerie authenticity. It was at times dark but I would have liked a little more gore! Having said that, I consumed this in a few sittings and was captivated both by the tale and the author’s writing style. I liked how he broke out sections to include journal entries. I felt he adequately depicted Abe’s voice in these entries. He incorporated some of Lincoln’s actual speeches and authentic journal passages to make it all feel surreal. The ending was unique but I am not one hundred percent sure it was the right one.

[Quirky Cat]

I have to admit, I was surprised by how well written and researched this book was. While I didn't love it, I did enjoy the way the author wove true historical facts with fantasy. I'm conflicted about how I feel with the author using real people and their death's for the purpose though, hence the three star rating.

[wcs53]

This book was all I thought it would be - and more! It is well-written, funny at times, quite scary and graphic at others, but well worth the read.

The book simply works its way through the life of Abraham Lincoln, from the humble beginnings of his birth, through his political rise to fame to his assassination, and beyond. It differs from any other book about Abe in that it also reveals his life as an accomplished vampire hunter.

I have to admit that, not being American, there is much about Abraham Lincoln's life that I am ignorant on, but it seems that many of the events in this book were real events from his life, some, of course, altered to include the odd vampire killing. If nothing else, the book has inspired me to seek out a biography or two of his life.

I really enjoyed this book and if you enjoy something different with a little twist in historical plot then this is for you. I didn't see the ending coming and it wasn't what I expected. I'm not going to give anything away, so if you want to know how it ended then you'll have to read it for yourself.

[inlibrisveritas]

Oddly enough this is a book that my boyfriend read and recommended to me, and seeing as he has a hard time finishing books I knew I had to check it out. After all if it could keep his attention for 336 pages then it might actually be worth the read. I had already read Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, so I knew something of Grahame-Smith's style and I knew that I enjoyed it enough that this would at least be decent. Like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he takes something already given, in this case the story of Abraham Lincoln, and puts a spin on it that most would never even think about. However unlike PP&Z this plot is almost entirely original minus direct quotes and recorded events. Seth manage to make sure that there is a nearly seamless line between true history and the fictional history, the quotes from real speeches and articles are a nice touch to making this seem more real and even the fake diary entries help to solidify it's obviously fake claim. It is not written as a humorous and funny book but instead it's written like a real biography, that being said it's not one of those extremely dry bios either it's really captivating in the sense that it's something entirely new. There is a vast amount of real history incorporated into the book which most would not know unless they were very well read in this area of history, so that adds a nice touch. The book is darker and bloodier than PP&Z, so it's not for those who are extremely squeamish because some of it is fairly detailed. The introduction even incorporates the author himself into the book to help set the premise for the book and it does put light to the fact that it's fiction. The diary entries however are a small negative, they are in a different font and it can be hard on the eyes to read. I often found myself skimming them at times and I had to go back and fully read the entries when I realized it. I wasn't quite sure about the ending because I didn't agree with it fully but it didn't take away from the bulk of the story so I suppose it's fine. I found this to be a wonderful and original take on vampire fiction.