There's this book by Seth Graham-Smith, author of Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies titled Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I'll be honest, I wasn't a big fan of PP&Z, and not even aware that Mr. Smith had written it(nonetheless, it sits on my shelf because I like the cover photo). So, when I saw Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter my first reaction was laughter. You know, that haughty laughter that says "This is pathetic." I bought it anyway....No I'm not a smart shopper. I started reading at around 8:30 p.m. and remember last glancing at the clock at 1:27 a.m. I was little more than halfway through the novel and COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. Frankly, I haven't touched or thought of touching a vampire book since the hype began. This is the first book involving vampires that I've read since then(and I have never been more interested to hear about the life of Abe Lincoln.) I remembered hearing about this book and it being made into a movie, so my curiosity got the best of me. I'm glad it did! My only concern is that all characters but Abe are a little flat; but what's to expect when you're revolving the story around his "hidden history". Henry(Abe's teacher of the sort) is exceptionally developed, but I'd like a little more from him. I have a hunch that a big twist is coming in the future(probably involving Henry). Have you read this book? If so, did you enjoy it as much? Note: I have a love of odd tales of gore, so if you have any suggestions, I am forever in your debt(sort of).
I got the book myself, mostly because I was intrigued at the concept of Abe Lincoln killing vampires while trying to fight the Civil War. I thought, "Now how the hell is he going to pull it off?" It was a decent read. Some things were repetitive, like 'Abe awoke with a start' every time he had a nightmare, cheesy lines like "Then I shall make more stakes" that reminded me of B-rated Hollywood movies, and not all of the characters were developed. Still, interesting take on Abe Lincoln and the Civil War. Though I do think it's going a bit too far to take actual photos of dead Civil War soldiers, blackening their eyes and calling them vampires. I could be wrong, but isn't that tacky? The movie is supposed to be released in theaters on the 22nd. I'll probably go see it.
I personally found the cheesy lines fitting for the era. It was when one could say a line from Shakespeare and NOT look like an overzealous and corny lover. (lol) However, I do agree about the characters being somewhat flat. Then again, it's hard to develop characters when the format you're going for is more "documentary" than "fictional narrative". Oh my God! That repetitive nightmare thing....Ah! It aggravated me, but by the second nightmare I started to expect it. Seeing as the book is written around real events, I knew when to see through the tension and say, "Wait, he can't die yet. This is another dream, ain't it?" Nonetheless, it was enjoyable as far as entertainment goes. My inner writer was screaming "He's breaking rules!" The pictures...eh, they were a little much. I thought it was an interesting addition, but the graphics used were somewhat lousy. If anything, the pictures struck me as more corny than the phrases. It's still a book I will recommend to my pals. Heck, if it's kept me this engrossed in its pages, they're sure to love it. Can't wait to see the movie.
I thought that the title sounded absolutely ridiculous. I hadn't even heard of it until my mom gave me her copy, and I (very reluctantly) read it. Lo and behold, I was actually pleasantly surprised. The author had clearly done his research on the Civil War era, it was very interesting to see him weave the facts of the Civil War and Lincoln's life/presidency, with the vampire fiction. Somehow, and I'm still not quite sure how, he made it work. Though I'm in agreement that the pictures included throughout were over-the-top and a bit cheesy, I could have done without those. The movie should be interesting.
I've never been much of an American history fanatic, seeing as most of it revolves around politics(not my cup of tea). I knew some of Abraham Lincolns history, say enough to understand this book, and it was really entertaining. I have never been so interested in Abraham Lincoln and America's history until I read this book(and I imagine that's somewhat pathetic of me). XD What's strange is that I've never found Abe very attractive in his photos. When you read the book and start to understand him as a character, he starts to look better and better. Can't wait to see the movie now.
Even his own soldiers thought he didn't look that well. xD I read a journal by one of them once a few years ago, and when I got to the point where he met the president (for a meeting or something), I chuckled when he was all, "Our president is a skeleton!! Good God!!" But yes, I'll give that movie a try. Come to think of it, I should also re-read that book again in preperation! Don't worry. Watching Liam Neeson's Michael Collins got me interested in the Irish War of Independence, Treaty, and Irish Civil War, and am now reading a book about De Valera by Tim Pat Coogan. Before that, I held no interest in Irish history. You're not alone in that regard. Sometimes it takes the most bizarre things to get you interested in a history of a country. <damn, now I gotta read that de Valera book now! Where IS it!?!> ...And yes, history (especially the American Civil War) is my OBSESSION! I live and breathe history! xD Sorry, sorry, I shall return this topic to normal again. So, what did you make of the trailer, if you saw it already??
I actually adore history, but more ancient history of Europe and the Middle East than American history. Sad to say it, I have a lot of Irish in my blood and yet I'm not entirely interested in what occurred after the Pictish Tribes weathered away. Their mythology is amazing, however. Man-eating fairies(or "faeries") and banshees. This is way off topic, but my great great grandfather claimed to have hear a banshee when he was living in Ireland. The next day one of his neighbors turned up dead. It was legend that when you hear a banshee, it foretold someone's death within the area it was heard. Crazy stuff. Anyway! The trailer looked amazing from my POV. I've seen it maybe twice or three times. I think I fell head over heels for Abe when I saw him handle that ax with such grace! Haha! Even more so, I'm excited to see an actual VAMPIRE movie coming to theaters(no sparkling vegetarians or homo erotic night creatures). It's been so long since I've felt excited to see a film come out involving vamps, which used to be my forte. I was absolutely obsessed with the mythology. I really do thank this book for renewing my love...and helping me to appreciate Abe's history a little more. You love history so...did you think the writer was a little gracious with Abe's character and the abolishment of slavery? I remember reading a shocking quote from Abe a while ago that said something to the effect of "I care not for slaves, but that the union is preserved." <--- This wildly contradicts his "Slavery is wrong!" character in the novel.
I'm more into American and Ancient Egyptian history myself. xD That and Tsarist Russian history. Sorry 'bout that. You must be recalling the "If I can save the Union without freeing the slaves, I'd do it..." speech. Basically, he was trying to appeal to the South to see reason, as they were getting ready to pack up, call it quits, and leave. They were dead convinced that he was going to free the slaves and upend their way of life, and this was him saying, "Now, hold on a minute! Let's talk this out! If we keep going down this path, we face a civil war!!" Turns out, he was right about that when the South bombed the crap out of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. He probably did care for the plight of the slaves, he just didn't want to see the Union split in half over it (and state's rights, as the South was damned pissed at him and the government for telling them 'don't have slaves' and 'don't leave the union'.) See what I'm saying? His first priority was keeping the Union intact. He may have felt that slavery was going to disappear eventually, and may have wanted to do it the nice, easy way. The South, apparently, disagreed, thus the American Civil War.
Ah! Thank you for clarifying that. It's been quite a while since I've went over the text books. (I normally skip on to the Ancient Egyptian articles. Go figure I know zip about the Civil War.) It's a little hard to weigh the freedom of men with the unity of a nation. I'm trying to suppress the thoughts! God help us all if I ever had to make that decision myself. We'd all be sitting around a table for days. "Make a decision yet?" "Uh...W-What?" You take a liking to Ancient Egyptian history too? You're the first I've actually met who sincerely does. Thus far I've run into the bunch who think Anubis is bad a** and that the "Book of the Dead" is some ominous masterpiece that you should pop open in the school library to look mysterious. Back on topic! So all in all, Abe wasn't entirely immoral for choosing the union over freeing the slaves in said speech. I'd misunderstood that. After all, presidents have to play two fields to win both sides. "Free Slaves!" "No, don't free slaves!" It wouldn't be nice of me to judge which side he was really on, seeing as...I'm not well read in that area. Now I'm thinking that I should really shove my nose in an American History book because I feel very low for living here and not appreciating the events and people which made it what it is today. On to the bookshelf and beyond!
