Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Enjoyment Rating: ***
Source: Audible for iPhone
Books I've read this year: 74
I don't plan to watch Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter when it hits theaters in a few weeks. The previews look way too gory, and it seems to be shot in that gray-on-black way that always puts me immediately to sleep. But I'd heard a lot of buzz around the movie, and I hate to be left in the dark, so I decided to read the book so I would at least be conversant in this pop culture moment (by the way, I'm really struggling with my choice not to read Fifty Shades of Grey, for mostly the same reasons).
Anyway, the premise of ALVH is that shortly after Lincoln's beloved mother dies, when he's barely more than a boy, Lincoln discovers that she was not killed by milk fever (as history suggests) but by a vampire who was owed money by Lincoln's father. Fueled by rage, Lincoln decides to avenge his mother's death and rid the world of vampires. After that, pretty much every significant moment in Lincoln's life (the death of his first love, his choice to pursue politics, his election to the presidency) can be traced directly to his relationship with Henry, a "good" vampire who wants to eradicate the "bad" vampires who came to America because they could buy themselves a steady stream of fresh blood through the slave trade. So the Civil War is really just a cover for the war between the good and bad vampires.
There are some things I loved about ALVH. I love how Grahame-Smith took real historical elements and gave them a vampiric twist. It's evident that lots of research went into the novel, and that made it feel believable (in its own twisted way) to me. But ultimately, the book was a lot more icky and gory than I enjoy.
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