Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [Paperback]

Seth Grahame-Smith (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 3, 2012

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.

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.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Mti Rep edition (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781455510177
• ISBN-13: 978-1455510177
• ASIN: 1455510173
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,164 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

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#77 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#77 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

213 of 227 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

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

68 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Parody and Gore March 8, 2010

By Jeannie Mancini VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Seth Grahame-Smith's second innovative alternative history horror novel is simply going to bowl you over and knock your socks off!! Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is an adventure into the faux biographical journals of our 16th United States President, Abe Lincoln. Seth's unswaying and unnerving talent to create a totally believable world of blood thirsty vampires in the mid 19th century, will have the reader's head spinning with wonder and fright as Abe swings his axe to slay the devils of the South reaping revenge for the death of his dear mother.

Presented in such an awe inspiring literary land of macabre, in addition to the cool photo edited sepia toned photographs that enhance the story's credibility, this book is a dynamite work of art. Not to be taken seriously in any shape or form other than Seth's talent to capture horror lovers and hold them spellbound from page one to the finish line, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a winner.

Told through Abe's journals that began as a child the night he saw his mother die from the heinous acts of monsters he only dreamed of, he vowed that evening to devote his life to the killing of every vampire on American soil. Becoming a trained and skillful hunter, taught surprisingly from an ancient vampire that becomes Abe's lifelong friend, mentor and champion, Abraham will now rid the United States of vampires who deserve to be put to death for their unnecessary taking of the lives of innocent children. Lincoln becomes obsessed with keeping his chopping axe sharp and spends many years on his own private murderous manhunt.

Cleverly disguised Southern gentlemen in dark glasses and top hats, are harvesting Negro slaves to be corralled and bred for the pure purpose of quenching their thirst. Mentor vampire Henry Sturges, uses Abe's vindictive ambition to inform Abe that it is his job alone to avenge the needless deaths and to do so by fighting the battle against slavery. Thus leaves us readers with a new truth behind Lincoln's crusade of abolition and the falsehoods we were told about the true cause of the Civil War.

This book is told to us in a meticulously detailed biography format that encompasses Abraham Lincoln's tumultuous and melancholy life as he narrates his life story. His notebook writings start as a young boy who lost his mother to monsters, on to his teenage years chopping trees, building cabins, and on to his early career as a lawyer. Together Abe and Seth build Lincoln's story slowly of his advancement in societies inner social circles, leading right up to his brilliant approach to campaigning for state legislator, congress, and presidential candidacy. Detailed scenes on the battlefields of the Civil War with fanged foes and Abe's axe rolling heads, ending with a finale at Ford's Theater, the author recreates this alternative life of our Honest Abe with such amazing attention to detail you will almost find it authentic.

This book is certainly NOT for the light of heart or weak-kneed reader. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is horror fiction at it's very best. Gruesome, gory, bloody, and violent. However even with that alert, I will tell you that this novel is also full of wit and will have your lips from time to time turning up in a smile for this is nothing but fun! And the ending..well... I won't tell you for I hate to spoil your pleasure but I just loved how it all turned out. It's only March but I must say I foretell my own future in saying this might just be my favorite book of the year! I can also hope too that someone puts this book into Tim Burton's mailbox. STANDING OVATION FOR SETH GRAHAME-SMITH PLEASE!

206 of 269 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 HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format: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.