Abraham Lincoln

by Seth Grahame-Smith

[violetpeanut]

This book was different than I expected it to be. I was expecting much more action and gore with a few tidbits about his life interspersed. In reality, exactly the opposite is true. This book read like a biography of Lincoln's life - from his childhood in Kentucky to his eventual rise through state legislature to the office of the president and the civil war. There were tons of historical details that made this feel like a historical account rather than fiction.

The vampire aspect of the story is woven rather seamlessly into this historical account. Certain details of Lincoln's life, political motivations of the time, slavery - all include a vampire element that is actually a believable alternative to the truth we know.

Other reviewers have said that this is a "gory" book. I disagree. While there are some pretty bloody and disturbing scenes, I don't think there are enough of them to justify calling this book gory. Actually, there was a lot less gore than I was expecting. There are scenes of vampire hunts but more often these episodes are only mentioned rather than described. There are scenes describing horrible things done by vampires but these scenes are not described in enough detail to be gory. They set the scene well and have a definite creep factor but are not downright scary. Maybe I've just been desensitized by too many horror movies.

Overall this was enjoyable but did not have as much action as I would have liked.