***Warning: A few spoilers, so don’t read this article if you’d rather not know them before reading the novel.
By G.L. Giles
From the back cover:
“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 in 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.”
***Warning: A few spoilers, so don’t read this article if you’d rather not know them before reading the novel.
I’ll admit that I was a bit frustrated after finishing “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.” Why? Well, I really couldn’t find any shortcomings—at all! My main complaint frequently is that many books are simply too short. Yet, that didn’t apply with “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” at 336 pages long. In fact, the “First Movie Tie-In Edition” (released in April 2012) that I was sent for review even has a preview of Seth Grahame-Smith’s new novel “Unholy Night” in it — for even more good reading.
Then, I thought perhaps I’d be able to pick apart the plot itself, but, to no avail. The plot moves along at a good, even great, pace with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep you engrossed in the storyline without losing you in the process.
Was it researched well? Yes. Proof of this is revealed in the realistic accents and wording and also in the writing in Lincoln’s journal: before Lincoln was well-educated, many of his words were misspelled as indicated by [sic] throughout his early journal entries.
Were the characters well-drawn? Yes. From Abe Lincoln, who, as it turns out, wasn’t that “Honest Abe” we’d studied in school (though he was certainly honorable in both depictions) to his vampire friend Henry, who constantly makes sure that Abe is aware that not all vampires are evil with his catchphrase “Judge us not equally.” In fact, though a vampire himself, Henry arms Abe with knowledge and vampire-fighting skills to ensure his survival.
It’s mostly the vampires who have aligned with corrupt slave owners, etc. to exsanguinate slaves, babies, etc. who are the evil ones. As it turns out, the polarity caused by the Civil War, is really more of a vampire feud than human feud, as the vampires (bad and good) are oftentimes the puppet-masters.
So, back to my quest to find something wrong with the book, I looked to the cover art to try and bring up something less-than desirable. Again, I couldn’t. I love the cover, too.
Original ideas/content in the interior itself? Absolutely! Mixing Abraham Lincoln’s historically accurate life with his fictional portrayal in this book, as also being a vampire hunter extraordinaire was brilliant! Plus, it also has a popular steampunk vibe to it, in an alternate history kind of way. Furthermore, though it’s not specifically a ‘weird western’ it could perhaps be even more precisely defined as a ‘weird Midwestern’ since some of the storyline is set in Illinois. Alas, now I’m only left with the hope that I’ll be able to find a few flaws/downfalls when I watch the movie!
