I've seen the various titles and covers and had avoided this mash up genre up til now. I think the cover of Seth Grahame-Smith's previous best seller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies scared me off.
But you know, I was pleasantly surprised and entertained! The premise is that Seth has stumbled upon the secret journals of Lincoln, not seen for 140 years. From these personal journals, Seth retells the true story of Lincoln's life.
I think this was the neat part. Historically the tale is factual. Lincoln's accomplishments, family and history are all there. It's the reason behind those achievements and drive that is the twist. Lincoln's mother was killed by a vampire and this is reason he has sworn to rid the country of this scourge. Armed with his trusty axe, Abe cuts a path through many vampires on his way to the presidency. (Reader and listener beware - there are some slightly graphic descriptions) Grahame-Smith is very creative in his retelling of this iconic American figure, exposing the real history behind the Civil War and the truth about John Wilkes Booth.
I listened to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter in audio format. The reader, Scott Holst, was very good. He captured the sonorous tones of Lincoln and the oddly formal tones and language of the vampire Henry equally well. I was able to easily differentiate between the various characters.
I don't think I'll become a die hard fan of the mash up, but I did find it to be an entertaining listen.
Listen to an excerpt of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Watch the book trailer on YouTube.
Also on Facebook and there's even an iPhone app!
1 comment:
Great review! I've avoided the genre thus far too, but this particular book looks the most interesting out of all. The YouTube video was neat too! Maybe I'll pick it up in the future.
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