Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Having read Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and enjoyed it tremendously, I was looking forward to his next book. When I first started Abraham Lincoln I found it a little off-putting because Pride had followed Austin’s book and Abraham Lincoln was not based on a book about Abraham Lincoln. As I moved through the book, I found myself drawn into Abe’s life. The author claims to have found Lincoln’s diaries detailing his fight against vampires. It seems Lincoln’s mother died after being bitten by a vampire and he spent his life fighting and killing vampires. He claims that the institution of slavery was a way of feeding for the Southern vampires and there are several graphic depictions of slave owners (read vampires) feeding off their slaves. So to Abe, abolishment of slavery would mean the end of vampires. I was so caught up in this book I started feeling like it really was a biography of Abraham Lincoln and a well written one at that. We are told about his loves, marriages and children as well as his beginnings in politics up to his assassination. I found humor throughout the book with Abe’s dreams and statements of “fact” such as the Confederate Army won some of the first skirmishes because they had vampires in their ranks. Little known “facts” such as this are littered throughout the book. Also, the pictures are a hoot. It appears real pictures have been used but the eyes have been blacked out so the people look like vampires. I don’t know if I should recommend this book for Abraham Lincoln admirers or vampire fans. I guess I’ll recommend for both and anyone looking for an interesting and humorous read.