{A Blast from the Past} Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY

Indiana, 1818. In a one-room cabin nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his mother's bedside.
"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. Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, young Lincoln 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 the Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for almost two hundred years - until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln. Now, using the journal as a guide, Seth reconstructs the true life story of America's greatest president. For the first time ever, he reveals the hidden history behind the Civil War - and uncovers the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of the nation.

MY REVIEW

I read this book first a long while ago in High School, just before the movie graced the screen. I'm sure that I don't need to explain the allure of this book to me, but I will for those of you who haven't read my reviews before. It is a re-written view of the Civil War, one of the most important moments in America's history, has my personal favorite President as the main character, and as I'm sure you'll find when you read the excerpt, beautiful language.

Young Abe (from the movie)

Seth Grahame-Smith created a world like ours in almost every aspect except the fact that this world, and this President Lincoln, is plagued with vampires. And no, I'm not talking about sparkly vampires that would rather date you than eat you alive. There is no vegetarian menu available, so they basically run around drinking from whoever they wish. Abe's own mother was poisoned by vampire's blood, which drove his never-ending hunting and hating of the monsters themselves. I was amazed very often at what this Abraham Lincoln would do to get the job done, how bloody his life was from the day that he killed his first until he was assassinated himself (no, that isn't a spoiler at all, trust me).

Abe and his trusty axe (from the movie)

I really enjoyed the amount of thought that Seth put into the book. When the passages were taken directly from Abe's "secret journal", it felt like an older way of speaking, like someone from the 19th century had taken a time machine to the 21st and written all of it down. I found a hard time pulling myself away from the book, the scenes were filled with so much beautiful/horrible detail that when I pulled myself out to do something else, I was thinking about it instead, and wondering what would happen next. He makes this book so real, from adding in pictures of "vampires" from around that time, to adding his own little twist to supernatural legends of America's past. It feels as if you are living when he was, breathing in the 19th century air, watching America, and Abe, become what they became.

South lawn of the White House under heavy guard, circa 1862. The man on the portico is believed to be a member of Abe's trinity (bodyguards)

Not only did it do all that I mentioned above, it also introduced me to a side of my favorite president that I wasn't aware of; the side that enjoyed writing poetry and reading stacks upon stacks of books, beginning of course with the Christian Bible. I am ashamed to admit that despite him being my favorite president, I knew almost nothing about him other than his famous hat, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the fact that he was assassinated in a theater, so this book taught me a lot about his life. For example, it gave me a pretty accurate look at his life before becoming president; the places he lived, what he did when he wasn't hunting vampires or becoming involved in politics, where he came from, etc. And yes, I checked the facts after reading this book and it is very accurate about who he was. (Without the vamp killing, of course.)

This is a gif of Abe training in the woods with his trusty ax (from the movie).

All in all, if you like supernatural tales filled with action and history, gore and peace, horror and beauty, then what are you waiting for? Pick this up and start on page 1, you won't regret it a bit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.

A LITTLE EXCERPT

"I have no memory of driving it in - I only remember that I did. His laughter ceased and he took an awkward step. His eyes turned black in the space of a single blink, as if inkwells in his pupils had suddenly shattered - the spill contained behind glass. His fangs descended, and I could presently make out a faint blue web beneath his skin. It was true. Until that moment there had been room for doubt. But now I saw it with my own eyes. Now I knew.
Vampires were real.
His arm rose, and his stout little hand instinctively grabbed
the stake. There was no fear in his face yet. Merely a puzzlement,
as if he was attempting to sort out just how such an
object could be attached to his body. He presently lost his
footing and collapsed into a seated position, where he remained
for a moment before falling the rest of the way onto his back. His
hand lost its grip on the stake, and the arm fell to his side.
I walked around him, wondering when he would strike. Wondering when he would laugh at the futility of what I had done and cut me down. As I did, his eyes followed me. They were the only things that moved now. There was fear in them. He was dying... and he was afraid. What little color he had left him now - and rich, dark blood began to run from his nostrils; out the sides of his mouth. A trickle at first... then a flood - running over his cheeks and pooling over his eyes. More blood than I ever thought possible. I could see his soul (if indeed he had such a thing) departing. Bidding an unexpected, frightening farewell to such a long, long life - one undoubtedly filled with happiness, and agony, and struggle, and success. Filled with moments too beautiful to share. Too painful to recall. It was all ending now, and he was so afraid. Afraid of what nothingness awaited him. Or worse, what punishment.
And then he was gone. I expected my eyes to fill with tears. To feel remorse at the sight of what I had done. I admit that I felt nothing. I only wish he had suffered more.
Thomas stood aghast. "Look what you've done," he said after a sickened silence. "You've killed us."
"On the contrary...I've killed him."
"More will come."
Abe had already begun to walk away.
"Then I shall need more stakes.""

pages 59-60

Well, that's all for now!

Have a Happy Halloween!

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

 

Watch the trailer for the movie that came out in 2012! (the one on the bottom is more gorey, keep that in mind)

Listen to some tracks from the movie!:

What Do You Hate? by Henry Jackman

Mary Todd by Henry Jackman

Powerless by Linkin Park