Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter reviewed

In 2009, there was a book that took the horror world by some kind of storm called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I would say more about that but I haven't read it since I never  read or watched Pride and Prejudice so the basic story would have been lost on me.  But that would soon be rectified for Seth Grahame-Smith's new book, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  Everyone knows about Lincoln and what he did and how he died so I had no need to do some additional reading to try and get it so I bought it and read it.  Now with that said, let's sharpen our axes as we stake our way into Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

Like I said, we all know about Lincoln and his accomplishments but what if there were some secret journals?  What if vampires were real...for realsies?  What if the Civil War was actually a proxy between vampires who want to enslave humanity and rule the world between the other vampires who didn't want those things?  Well thanks to some recently unearthed secret journals of Lincoln we find out that those things are TRUE!  Okay, not really but it would be kind of awesome right?  No, it probably wouldn't but I digress.  Basically it's Lincoln seeing his mother die from vampire blood as a boy and vowing to kill every vampire that exists and as he grows up the stakes keep getting higher and higher.

Now for a book that has Abraham Lincoln that hunts and kills vampires with an axe, the book surprisingly reads more like a text book than an action novel.  Granted, that is obviously its intent and there are some narrative flourishes between the journal texts but things play out in a mostly academic manner.  I mean I was entertained and at times excited but things didn't pop like they should have.  But there is one part where things they do, John Wilkes Booth as a vampire.  His backstory is full of intrigue and excitement that after reading it, I was wishing that the book was based off him.  Don't get me wrong, the Lincoln stuff isn't bad and it does have great moments but it should have been better.

But there's more to this story.  Grahame-Smith wants to connect the horrors of vampirism to the horrors of slavery.  On paper, it seems to be a horribly pretentious idea of making a stupid statement about a long dead issue but I will admit that this idea isn't executed as horribly as it could have been.  On a visceral level where Lincoln sees the vampires eat the slaves do have some decent imagery and it drives the plot forward even though intellectually, it does slow the book down a bit.  But the fact that this idea isn't executed as horribly as it should be is worth commending Grahame-Smith though.

So while I may be a bit too hard on this book, it is basically good entertainment.  It's the same level as a summer blockbuster movie where you turn your brain off and enjoy yourself.  Some ideas should have been better and some ideas may have worked better than they should but Grahame-Smith has created a decent world here.  Just give it a read and you probably won't be disappointed.

7/10