Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Seth Grahame-Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010

Indiana‚ 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his dying mother's bedside. 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‚ Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 ax, 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 our 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 our nation..

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From Publishers Weekly

Following the success of his bestselling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with another mélange of history and horror, Grahame-Smith inserts a grandiose and gratuitous struggle with vampires into Abraham Lincoln's life. Lincoln learns at an early age that his mother was killed by a supernatural predator. This provokes his bloody but curiously undocumented lifelong vendetta against vampires and their slave-owning allies. The author's decision to reduce slavery to a mere contrivance of the vampires is unfortunate bordering on repellent, but at least it does distract the reader from the central question of why the president never saw fit to inform the public of the supernatural menace. Grahame-Smith stitches hand-to-hand vampire combat into Lincoln's documented life with competent prose that never quite manages to convince. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1st edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446563080
• ISBN-13: 978-0446563086
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (325 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Seth Grahame-Smith is a film and television writer/producer, semi-frequent blogger, and bestselling author. His first novel, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list. Since its release in April 2009, it has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 20 languages. Seth is also the Co-Creator/Executive Producer of the upcoming MTV comedy series, "The Hard Times of RJ Berger." He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Concept; Flawlessly Executed! (Pun Intended), March 5, 2010

By 

K and A (Massachusetts, US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Hardcover)

When Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out I was skeptical, but I read and thoroughly enjoyed the book, I particularly liked the retelling and the concept in general appealed to me. I purchased Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for my kindle and liked it so much that I also got a hardcover edition. As with other reviewers, I agree that this book is a good read. It is an interesting concept that is flawlessly executed (pun intended).
The author clearly went the distance to create a plausible melding of vampire mayhem and history. It was well researched and the history was on target. I was pleasantly surprised at just how good this book was. In this case the title is accurate, this isn't a textbook account of President Lincoln's life, so take it for what it is: a fun read. As a an avid history and horror reader, I really enjoyed this work and I look forward to see what the next project that Seth Grahame-Smith is going to come up with.

112 of 149 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Honest Abe's Secret Life: Another Monster Mash-Up In A Seemingly Endless Supply, March 2, 2010

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Hardcover)

After defiling Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" with flesh eating zombies, what was Seth Grahame-Smith to do next? Why, of course, he tackles an unexposed and super secret chapter in American history. Yes--"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" exposes the little known truth about our sixteenth President. From his humble beginnings through to the bitter end, it seems that Lincoln's clandestine and very personal mission was to preserve the American way from the most unrelenting of enemies--the bloodsucker. Charted from Lincoln's own diaries, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is a surprising and revelatory memoir that just might change how the history books chronicle the Civil War.

All right, none of that is true. Grahame-Smith does tackle the noble Lincoln in this horror mash-up--and while the result is undeniably readable, it lacks the cleverness of his previous hit "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Part of "Zombies" allure was the strict adherence to Jane Austen's text in revamping (no pun intended--oh, who am I kidding?) an unlikely classic for horror aficionados. The problem with "Zombies," however, is that many modern horror readers lacked the patience for Austen's prose. What I thought made the novel inspired is the same aspect that alienated much of its intended audience. No such problems with the straightforward text of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which is a fast and engaging read. And bonus points for the photographic evidence that document the inconvenient truth.

But as the conceit is that the story is derived form Lincoln's own journals, the tone may strike as too matter of fact for those looking for a quick thrill. I, personally, enjoyed that this subject matter was presented in a serious manner. It was a tad unexpected given the silliness of the plot--but it was unconventional. Grahame-Smith's greatest achievement is making a surprisingly strong link between vampirism and slavery. I don't know that he wasn't on to something there! Ultimately, though, I question whether "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" strikes the right balance for its audience. Neither comical nor particularly horrifying, its quiet pleasures may be a bit too subtle to make it a smash hit of "Zombies" stature.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic historical fiction, thats actually more heavily historical, December 28, 2010

By 

Brian Long "Brian" (Ogden, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Hardcover)

I must hand it to Seth Grahame-Smith. He's not only managed to trick most of the current generation into reading classics by adding the word "zombies" to the title, but he's also managed to illuminate the actual upbringing of our 16th president by simply throwing in a few macroed scenes involving vampires, against a backdrop that actually works startlingly well.

The best part of this novel is the simple fact that it's completely based on fact. His scattershot upbringing, his law practice and political involvement, even the murder of his grandfather by an Indian raid, all flow seamlessly together while being gripping and entertaining. Only certain aspects are even distorted, such as he only disliked his father as opposed to loathed him.

Interspersed with what is for all intents and purposes is a presidential biography is the "true" history of Lincoln's upbringing. That his mother and grandfather were murdered by vampires, and that, after being tutored in the finer points of hunting them by Henry, a vampire and Lincoln's close friend, uses the various events of his life as a cover for trailing and killing monsters, all the while aware of a growing plot to expand slavery to the northern states, pushed by vampires, in order to give them a near limitless, and uncared for, food supply.

Overall, a fantastic story that's also a great read for a very light biography of his life. If only every other president could so easily be novelized, there would be far more presidential historians about.