Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

These alternate history science fiction books have always been of interest to me.  I like when an author decides to play the what if game?  You know what if things hadn’t worked out the way we thought it would or what would have happened if time travelers messed with the past?  That said I wasn’t sure how much I was going to dig a book like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  I mean yeah it sounds funny and interesting, but could a concept like this have the legs to carry an entire book?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes.  The book starts off with a frustrated novelist being approached by a mysterious man to write a book.  He is given a series of journals that turn out to be the personal diaries of Abraham Lincoln and describe in detail his career as a vampire hunter.  The rest of the book are excerpts from the diaries with the author filling in the blanks and explaining how the “real” version of history was explained away or spun to keep the reality of vampires a secret.  To add realism to the account there are even photographs included here and there that show some of the vampire characters in various photographs. 

Again I can’t say enough about how cleverly constructed and entertaining that Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is.  One of my hobbies growing up was American History (yeah between that and the horror movies I was a strange kid) and Abraham Lincoln in particular.  I was very surprised how well the author manages to retell a very familiar story with an entirely new subplot of vampires running around.  Unlike many of the other pieces of historical fiction that I’ve read that can be sort of dry, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is a blast.  You get heads and limbs being loped off right and left, as well as several different and interesting twists along the way.  I was hooked right away and finished the book in a couple of days, including a couple of nights where I really stayed up far too late. 

I can’t say much more without giving away spoilers, which I won’t do.  If you are looking for an interesting read and want a vampire story that is a bit different and not an adolescent girls “dreamy” fantasy then this is the book for you.  I highly recommend it.

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2010 John Shatzer