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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5
Way back, almost two decades ago when this book was released, I remember thinking it would be just some Twilight-esque vampire story that featured more glitter than I was comfortable with in my vampire stories. Then I was gifted this novel as a ‘blind date with a book’ from my wonderful wife last Christmas, and I saved it for this year’s Halloween kickoff. I didn’t expect it to be the glittery sort of story anymore, but I did expect camp.
This story wasn’t campy at all, it took itself seriously as a journal of the truth of this country: Vampires once invaded the US, and young Abe Lincoln’s mother was killed by one after his father owed the wrong person. That set Abe on a path toward the truth: the slave trade in America was feeding the vampire population, fueling it, making it strong. They had an endless supply of food, and plenty of greedy white men to make deals with.
The Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, all of it, a response to vampires in our country.
I had such a good time reading this book; it was written as if very extensive diaries left by Abraham Lincoln after his death were found, and published with commentary to fill in the gaps by our author, Seth Grahame-Smith. There are other things, letters written to Lincoln, events that shape history leading up to the big events which stand out in Lincoln’s life and career. Only one thing took me out of the story, and it was the manipulated photos.
Maybe back in 2008 these looked more convincing, but the book has images of Lincoln with dead vampires, or images of vampires blending into crowds with their tell of sunglasses and a parasol against the sun making them stand out. It wasn’t needed at all; I wish the photos hadn’t been included because each time I saw one, I had to laugh. These moments pulled me right out of the story, but ah well.
There’s still enough here to enjoy, plenty of moments that genuinely surprised me, and creepier moments as well. We get a great feel for Lincoln’s feelings, his attitude, and what made him the man he was. If you’re looking for something on the solid but maybe less hardcore scary side, this might be for you. Bonus points if you like history and don’t mind an author having a little fun!
Way back, almost two decades ago when this book was released, I remember thinking it would be just some Twilight-esque vampire story that featured more glitter than I was comfortable with in my vampire stories. Then I was gifted this novel as a ‘blind date with a book’ from my wonderful wife last Christmas, and I saved it for this year’s Halloween kickoff. I didn’t expect it to be the glittery sort of story anymore, but I did expect camp.
This story wasn’t campy at all, it took itself seriously as a journal of the truth of this country: Vampires once invaded the US, and young Abe Lincoln’s mother was killed by one after his father owed the wrong person. That set Abe on a path toward the truth: the slave trade in America was feeding the vampire population, fueling it, making it strong. They had an endless supply of food, and plenty of greedy white men to make deals with.
The Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, all of it, a response to vampires in our country.
I had such a good time reading this book; it was written as if very extensive diaries left by Abraham Lincoln after his death were found, and published with commentary to fill in the gaps by our author, Seth Grahame-Smith. There are other things, letters written to Lincoln, events that shape history leading up to the big events which stand out in Lincoln’s life and career. Only one thing took me out of the story, and it was the manipulated photos.
Maybe back in 2008 these looked more convincing, but the book has images of Lincoln with dead vampires, or images of vampires blending into crowds with their tell of sunglasses and a parasol against the sun making them stand out. It wasn’t needed at all; I wish the photos hadn’t been included because each time I saw one, I had to laugh. These moments pulled me right out of the story, but ah well.
There’s still enough here to enjoy, plenty of moments that genuinely surprised me, and creepier moments as well. We get a great feel for Lincoln’s feelings, his attitude, and what made him the man he was. If you’re looking for something on the solid but maybe less hardcore scary side, this might be for you. Bonus points if you like history and don’t mind an author having a little fun!
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
True confessions: I didn't actually read the entire book - I got through the first half or so, skimmed a little more, and then gave up.
I LOVED the premise, and thought that Grahame-Smith's treatment of the material -- interspersing real historical information with vampire scenes -- was creative and enjoyable. But, after a while, it just got old. And there was something about the writing style that really grated on me. I've returned the book to the library already so I can't quote an actual example, but there were too many sentence fragments. Sentences like this. I don't mind that kind of thing when used occasionally, but I swear not a page went by that didn't have that structure at least once.
I LOVED the premise, and thought that Grahame-Smith's treatment of the material -- interspersing real historical information with vampire scenes -- was creative and enjoyable. But, after a while, it just got old. And there was something about the writing style that really grated on me. I've returned the book to the library already so I can't quote an actual example, but there were too many sentence fragments. Sentences like this. I don't mind that kind of thing when used occasionally, but I swear not a page went by that didn't have that structure at least once.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Rating my experience: 2.75 out of 5
Seth Grahame-Smith blends biography with horror in this reimagining of Lincoln's life, told through a mix of narrative, "found" journals, and historical references. From Lincoln's childhood through his presidency, the story reframes his struggles and triumphs against the backdrop of a secret war with vampires.
Where to start? First, I'll say the execution of this book is far better than one might expect from such a goofy premise, which, believe it or not, is part of why I have conflicted feelings about it. Before I get into that, I'll stress that this is an excellently written book. The prose is sharp and immersive. Structurally, it strikes a balance between narrative storytelling, epistolary journal entries, and historical reference materials. Had this book been called Victor Shakapopolis: Vampire Hunter and played out under near-identical conditions (minus President Lincoln and a certain premise I'll get to), I might have loved it.
So, spoilers: the core reimagining here is that the worst of humanity is actually vampires. More specifically, American slavery was supported and engineered by a secret cabal of European vampires with the larger goal of enslaving all of humanity. And that's where my trouble begins. I should clarify that I'm a huge fan of vampire fiction (I'm even dabbling with it in my own writing) and have no problem with reimaginings (I've written a retelling of Treasure Island myself—no vampires or zombies, though). But taking one of the most immoral and corrupt facets of American history and shifting its blame away from us, onto a supernatural force, doesn't sit right with me.
I haven't seen the movie adaptation, though I've watched the trailer, which looks as over-the-top as you'd expect. The book, however, is not. It's measured, carefully crafted, and goes out of its way to feel authentic and believable. That care only sharpened my discomfort with the premise. I just couldn't get past the idea that people would somehow have been kinder, more humane, if not for those pesky vampires. To be fair, I prefer my vampires monstrous and evil (rather than sexy and sympathetic), and this book absolutely delivers on that front. But the core conceit—"it was the vampires' fault!"—broke it for me.
Fans of the book might tell me to pull the stick out of my ass, and maybe they're right. But in the end, that premise undermined my enjoyment. Victor Shakapopolis: Vampire Hunter, minus Lincoln and the slavery angle, could have been very satisfying, but then it probably would never have been published. Seth Grahame-Smith has carved out a niche (reimagining classic literature, history, the Bible, etc.) that has built him a career. Fair enough. Still, I think I would've liked Victor Shakapopolis more than vampire-washing American slavery.
Seth Grahame-Smith blends biography with horror in this reimagining of Lincoln's life, told through a mix of narrative, "found" journals, and historical references. From Lincoln's childhood through his presidency, the story reframes his struggles and triumphs against the backdrop of a secret war with vampires.
Where to start? First, I'll say the execution of this book is far better than one might expect from such a goofy premise, which, believe it or not, is part of why I have conflicted feelings about it. Before I get into that, I'll stress that this is an excellently written book. The prose is sharp and immersive. Structurally, it strikes a balance between narrative storytelling, epistolary journal entries, and historical reference materials. Had this book been called Victor Shakapopolis: Vampire Hunter and played out under near-identical conditions (minus President Lincoln and a certain premise I'll get to), I might have loved it.
So, spoilers: the core reimagining here is that the worst of humanity is actually vampires. More specifically, American slavery was supported and engineered by a secret cabal of European vampires with the larger goal of enslaving all of humanity. And that's where my trouble begins. I should clarify that I'm a huge fan of vampire fiction (I'm even dabbling with it in my own writing) and have no problem with reimaginings (I've written a retelling of Treasure Island myself—no vampires or zombies, though). But taking one of the most immoral and corrupt facets of American history and shifting its blame away from us, onto a supernatural force, doesn't sit right with me.
I haven't seen the movie adaptation, though I've watched the trailer, which looks as over-the-top as you'd expect. The book, however, is not. It's measured, carefully crafted, and goes out of its way to feel authentic and believable. That care only sharpened my discomfort with the premise. I just couldn't get past the idea that people would somehow have been kinder, more humane, if not for those pesky vampires. To be fair, I prefer my vampires monstrous and evil (rather than sexy and sympathetic), and this book absolutely delivers on that front. But the core conceit—"it was the vampires' fault!"—broke it for me.
Fans of the book might tell me to pull the stick out of my ass, and maybe they're right. But in the end, that premise undermined my enjoyment. Victor Shakapopolis: Vampire Hunter, minus Lincoln and the slavery angle, could have been very satisfying, but then it probably would never have been published. Seth Grahame-Smith has carved out a niche (reimagining classic literature, history, the Bible, etc.) that has built him a career. Fair enough. Still, I think I would've liked Victor Shakapopolis more than vampire-washing American slavery.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I listened to the unabridged audiobook of this novel, so my first complaint is with the narrator, who I did not feel suited the source material. But putting the shortcomings of the audiobook aside, my main complaint is simple -- I didn't like the way the book ended at all.
I was ready to give the book three or four stars, but when it ended without ever going back to the original narrator and explaining why Henry had chosen him to write the biography, why he had given him that list of names, and why he wanted the story to become public at that time, etc., it really disappointed me. How can an author frame a story-within-a-story and then never return to the first story? What is most frustrating about it, is that since the narrator and Henry Sturges were two of the only fictional characters in the story, they were the only two with any drama to be wrung out of them, since we all know how Abraham Lincoln's life ended.
And speaking of that, I think it was a cheap trick to have Henry change Abe into a vampire, since I do not believe for a second that Abe would have wanted to become one of the creatures that killed his mother, after spending his whole life hunting and killing vampires for revenge. After all, Abe would not let Henry change either his first love or his children into vampires. So why would he accept Henry changing him?
I was ready to give the book three or four stars, but when it ended without ever going back to the original narrator and explaining why Henry had chosen him to write the biography, why he had given him that list of names, and why he wanted the story to become public at that time, etc., it really disappointed me. How can an author frame a story-within-a-story and then never return to the first story? What is most frustrating about it, is that since the narrator and Henry Sturges were two of the only fictional characters in the story, they were the only two with any drama to be wrung out of them, since we all know how Abraham Lincoln's life ended.
And speaking of that, I think it was a cheap trick to have Henry change Abe into a vampire, since I do not believe for a second that Abe would have wanted to become one of the creatures that killed his mother, after spending his whole life hunting and killing vampires for revenge. After all, Abe would not let Henry change either his first love or his children into vampires. So why would he accept Henry changing him?
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No