Helpful Score: 6
This is the first book I have read by this author, and not really sure what to expect, but the title intrigued me, so I tried it. I am so glad I did. With a mixture of horror, history, and fantasy, I found it really enjoyable, and will be reading more from this author.
Helpful Score: 5
When I started reading this, I thought it was going to be a very campy, comic-bookish, off-the-wall kind of read. However, I was pleasantly surprised by all the research the author did into the life of Lincoln. If you throw out the vampire story, this would be a pretty good biography of Lincoln from his childhood through his untimely death. I especially enjoyed some of the possibilities laid out there including things like Lincoln's possible friendship with Edgar Allan Poe. The author then does a great job of blending Lincoln's history with the vampire story and at the end even left room for a possible sequel. The writing style to me was very good and did not detract from the story. I would overall give this one a high recommendation. It made me want to read more about Lincoln's life and tragedies.
Helpful Score: 3
The novel was so well written i had the hardest time finding a place to stop. It was absolutely mesmorizing with word and story. I truely kept having to remind myself this is "part fiction". The unique cover captured my attention first and then from the first page it keep my husband eating cold cuts and preparing his own meals for two days. I loved this book and i want to reread it, to make sure i didn't miss anything good. I still want to believe everything i read as it was so well presented, and what fun it would be to believe. I doubt this author can write anything that can top this, but i would be more than willing to read what ever he has written to see.
Helpful Score: 3
I have previously read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Grahame-Smith and enjoyed it. So when I saw this book released I was interested in reading it. I listened to this on audio book which I wouldn't recommend. The narrator and Abraham Lincoln have similar voices so it is hard to tell when they switch, also I didn't get to benefit from any of the pictures that the book has. Overall it was a well done book, although it was more of a biography than a story.
I am not a huge Abraham Lincoln fan but I have read a couple books about him so I knew some of his background. Grahame-Smith has done a very good job of adding vampires to Abe Lincoln's story without hugely altering Lincoln's past. The audio book had a short interview at the end and I agree with what Grahame-Smith said when he mentioned that Abe Lincoln's history hardly needs vampires added to be incredibly interesting. The book itself switches between a narrator and actual entries from Lincoln's journals.
Saying that vampires came to the USA because of the slave trade is an interesting idea and was a good way to tie in vampirism with slavery. Grahame-Smith did a good job of making Lincoln's story very personable and he really featured what happened with Lincoln's family more than I had read in previous books. The inclusion of Lincoln's family made this book much more engaging than it would have been otherwise.
The only thing that bothered me is that I was expected more of a story about Lincoln and vampires and what I got was more of a biography. At times it got a bit boring, I didn't really want to listen to a biography. I also thought that the part added on after Lincoln's assassination was odd; but after thinking about it for a while I think it was appropriate to the rest of the story.
Overall this book is well done and interesting. Not something I would read again, but interesting all the same. You can really tell Grahame-Smith did his research and he did a good job integrating vampires with Lincoln's life story. Just be warned that this is a biography and reads more like that than a fiction novel.
I am not a huge Abraham Lincoln fan but I have read a couple books about him so I knew some of his background. Grahame-Smith has done a very good job of adding vampires to Abe Lincoln's story without hugely altering Lincoln's past. The audio book had a short interview at the end and I agree with what Grahame-Smith said when he mentioned that Abe Lincoln's history hardly needs vampires added to be incredibly interesting. The book itself switches between a narrator and actual entries from Lincoln's journals.
Saying that vampires came to the USA because of the slave trade is an interesting idea and was a good way to tie in vampirism with slavery. Grahame-Smith did a good job of making Lincoln's story very personable and he really featured what happened with Lincoln's family more than I had read in previous books. The inclusion of Lincoln's family made this book much more engaging than it would have been otherwise.
The only thing that bothered me is that I was expected more of a story about Lincoln and vampires and what I got was more of a biography. At times it got a bit boring, I didn't really want to listen to a biography. I also thought that the part added on after Lincoln's assassination was odd; but after thinking about it for a while I think it was appropriate to the rest of the story.
Overall this book is well done and interesting. Not something I would read again, but interesting all the same. You can really tell Grahame-Smith did his research and he did a good job integrating vampires with Lincoln's life story. Just be warned that this is a biography and reads more like that than a fiction novel.
Helpful Score: 3
I finally know the real reason for the American Civil War!I enjoyed the differant "perspective" on history. It was easy to suspend belief and fall into a differant world. There were enough actual facts to support the premise. A fun read.
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting story Kept me reading, history which I'm not a fan of, but liked the way the author "played" around with facts & imagination. liked the book
Helpful Score: 2
I'm not into the zombie/vampire genre but I just couldn't pass up a title like "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". I thought the book was very campy and entertaining. The author successfully intertwines history with fantasy and horror. The addition of the period "photos" and images was a masterstroke. At times, I almost forgot the book was fictitious.
Helpful Score: 2
I opened this book and it didn't get put down till I finished it. This book grabs you from the begining and sucks you in, by the end of it you'll be wondering thinking you live in an entirely different reality.
Helpful Score: 2
Ick I absolutely hated this book. Very choppy writing, same thing over and over go kill another vampire. Ending was awful too. I will not read another book by this author.
Helpful Score: 2
Forget everything you know about Abraham Lincoln, turns out he was a butt kicking vampire hunter. Who knew? The book is a great mix of fantasy and history and a really fun read. I enjoyed it very much, I hope Grahame-Smith continues this story.
Helpful Score: 2
This was inter resting and a diffrent twist on the vampire story.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a really fun read! Abe Lincoln was already awesome to begin with, why not make him a vampire hunter too?
Helpful Score: 1
'The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?'
-Edgar Allan Poe
What a great way to open up a book about one of our greatest Presidents being a vampire!!
******
If I had never read any other book Seth Grahame-Smith had written besides Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I would not have considered him a true author. A man with a brilliant marketing scheme - yes, an author - no. This book puts that assumption to bed though. The most brilliant thing about ALVH, is the seamless transition between true history and fiction. The use of real quotes from some of Lincolns speeches, and articles written about him, combined with excerpts from Lincoln's 'diaries' and wonderful narration results in a fiction story that truly sucks you in and reads as if it were a real biography (NOTE: While all of this was awesome I had been expecting a much more campy, fun, humorous, and obvious fake take on the subject). At points I was googling dates and people mentioned throughout to book to sort through for myself who was real and who is fictional, and whether or not certain debates, riots, and elections occurred when/where/how the book claimed. For the plot being so fantastic an amazing amount of fact was incorporated into the work. (I only wish the author had used more scholarly resources than WIKIPEDIA which he lauds in his acknowledgments.)
This book is also much darker, bloodier, and violent than PPZ. Maybe because this book was set in the American frontier and not a British parlor room. While the amount of gore did not really bother me I could see some people becoming a tad squeamish over the details portrayed.
There are a few illustrations scattered throughout, and while amusing did not really add anything to the work. They are meant to look like they are taken from old newspaper clippings but just don't come off as authentic, and the content was not really enlightening to the text associated with it. It almost seems as if they were a last minute idea thrown into the mix.
One complaint about the book is more about the writing/layout. The long passages taken from Abe's 'diaries' could sometimes be paragraphs long and hard on the eyes as the diary text was printed in a smaller type with smaller margins. It got to the point that when I saw a huge block of diary text was coming up I would skim it more than read it. Furthermore, I did not the introduction necessary. While it was interesting to have Grahame-Smith incorporate himself into the story and introduce Henry it seemed to detract from the book more than anything else. It took me out of the pretend world and reminded me that this was in fact just a fiction book instead of immersing me as I think it was supposed to.
On a final note, the front and back cover art are just amazing! At first I didn't even see the axe on the front till flipping the book over and being confronted by the bloody head and axe held by good ole Abe.
******
SPOILER!!!
I so didn't agree with the ending. I think Henry was selfish and that Abe wouldn't have wanted that whats so ever. Considered lowering my rating on this point alone.
-Edgar Allan Poe
What a great way to open up a book about one of our greatest Presidents being a vampire!!
******
If I had never read any other book Seth Grahame-Smith had written besides Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I would not have considered him a true author. A man with a brilliant marketing scheme - yes, an author - no. This book puts that assumption to bed though. The most brilliant thing about ALVH, is the seamless transition between true history and fiction. The use of real quotes from some of Lincolns speeches, and articles written about him, combined with excerpts from Lincoln's 'diaries' and wonderful narration results in a fiction story that truly sucks you in and reads as if it were a real biography (NOTE: While all of this was awesome I had been expecting a much more campy, fun, humorous, and obvious fake take on the subject). At points I was googling dates and people mentioned throughout to book to sort through for myself who was real and who is fictional, and whether or not certain debates, riots, and elections occurred when/where/how the book claimed. For the plot being so fantastic an amazing amount of fact was incorporated into the work. (I only wish the author had used more scholarly resources than WIKIPEDIA which he lauds in his acknowledgments.)
This book is also much darker, bloodier, and violent than PPZ. Maybe because this book was set in the American frontier and not a British parlor room. While the amount of gore did not really bother me I could see some people becoming a tad squeamish over the details portrayed.
There are a few illustrations scattered throughout, and while amusing did not really add anything to the work. They are meant to look like they are taken from old newspaper clippings but just don't come off as authentic, and the content was not really enlightening to the text associated with it. It almost seems as if they were a last minute idea thrown into the mix.
One complaint about the book is more about the writing/layout. The long passages taken from Abe's 'diaries' could sometimes be paragraphs long and hard on the eyes as the diary text was printed in a smaller type with smaller margins. It got to the point that when I saw a huge block of diary text was coming up I would skim it more than read it. Furthermore, I did not the introduction necessary. While it was interesting to have Grahame-Smith incorporate himself into the story and introduce Henry it seemed to detract from the book more than anything else. It took me out of the pretend world and reminded me that this was in fact just a fiction book instead of immersing me as I think it was supposed to.
On a final note, the front and back cover art are just amazing! At first I didn't even see the axe on the front till flipping the book over and being confronted by the bloody head and axe held by good ole Abe.
******
SPOILER!!!
I so didn't agree with the ending. I think Henry was selfish and that Abe wouldn't have wanted that whats so ever. Considered lowering my rating on this point alone.
Helpful Score: 1
This novel held my complete and undivided attention from front to back. Seth Grahame-Smith's writing style is very fluid and elegantly executed. His story is a well-written mixture of historical events and supernatural fantasy. To vampire aficionados and history buffs especially, I highly recommend this book!
Helpful Score: 1
I stopped reading about half-way through, just to be able to say I gave it a fair shake. It was pretty much the same stuff over and over. It read like a biography with some gore added to make it paranormal fiction. My bottom line is that if I want to read a biography of Abe Lincoln, I'll get a real biography where I can be fairly sure that the events chronicled probably happened; and if I want to read a vampire story I'll read something other than this book.
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting book. I really enjoyed it. There were times I could not stop reading it. It will spark your imagination, scare the heck out of you and make you wonder if some of it may be true.. Good read
Helpful Score: 1
I was on the 'waiting list' here for this book, and believe me, it was indeed worth the wait!! This, by far, was one of the BEST books I've read in a very long time. The author captures you from beginning to the "unexpected" end by combining fact and fiction -- drawing a fine line in combining the two. I strongly recommend this book and give it a 5-star rating.
Helpful Score: 1
Was very excited to get my hands on a copy... What a letdown. Very dry -- reads like a textbook and a poorly written one at that. The movie was better... No, wait. It wasn't. Do not understand people's fascination with the paranormal re-telling of classic literature. I've read about 4 now, by various authors, and they all classify as a waste of my time.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 1
The introduction hooked me right away. I knew immediately that I love the way this author writes. Accurate historical facts with some compelling twists. A fun page-turner.
Helpful Score: 1
When you take real historical characters and weave them into fiction it is best if you stick to the facts. OK, it's obvious the vampires don't exist and that Poe and Lincoln wern't drinking buddies. But, did Lincoln pilot barges down the Mississippi or was that just a plot device to get him to New Orleans. It sounds like something an enterprising young man would do, but I think I would have read it elsewhere if it was true.
I feel like Grahame-Smith has planted a subtle virus in my brain that will eventually destroy everything I know about Abraham Lincoln. Having recently read this book I can identify which facts I know about Lincoln are from this book and which are from more reliable sources. But, in ten years time, who knows?
I feel like Grahame-Smith has planted a subtle virus in my brain that will eventually destroy everything I know about Abraham Lincoln. Having recently read this book I can identify which facts I know about Lincoln are from this book and which are from more reliable sources. But, in ten years time, who knows?
Helpful Score: 1
Wow, was I surprised. I thought this would be good, but it was great.
The way the vampire hunting was interwoven with Lincoln's life and how it affected him from his boyhood to the presidency was done very well. From revenge, to a way of life and then retirement from being a hunter, made sense based on what he was going through in his life. How the vampires affected slavery and the Civil War was an interesting "alternate history" and I really liked how it ended.
I would recommend this to history buffs as well as those who enjoy vampire stories or fiction in general.
The way the vampire hunting was interwoven with Lincoln's life and how it affected him from his boyhood to the presidency was done very well. From revenge, to a way of life and then retirement from being a hunter, made sense based on what he was going through in his life. How the vampires affected slavery and the Civil War was an interesting "alternate history" and I really liked how it ended.
I would recommend this to history buffs as well as those who enjoy vampire stories or fiction in general.
Helpful Score: 1
This is not a mashup. Just because it was written by the guy who wrote the seminal mashup, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," that doesn't mean everything he does is a classic/horror mashup. Yes, he invented the (limited) genre. He is not the genre. Got that? Good.
Because classic/monster mashup is a one-trick pony. The joke worked for one great book, even though it's impossible to perfectly capture Austen's style.
This book is not a one-trick pony. It's fantastic. I want more and more Abe Lincoln and vampire hunting. The idea is brilliant, but so is the execution here. This is guy wish fulfillment, for those of us who have wanted to be both president and superhero. Vampires are also a wonderful metaphor for the slave economy that led to the Civil War.
It's got lots of wonderful history, lots of vampire hunting, lots of blood. It captures Abe's sullen demeanor. Grahame-Smith has Lincoln's voice (in the journal woven through the book) perfectly.
Read this thing.
Because classic/monster mashup is a one-trick pony. The joke worked for one great book, even though it's impossible to perfectly capture Austen's style.
This book is not a one-trick pony. It's fantastic. I want more and more Abe Lincoln and vampire hunting. The idea is brilliant, but so is the execution here. This is guy wish fulfillment, for those of us who have wanted to be both president and superhero. Vampires are also a wonderful metaphor for the slave economy that led to the Civil War.
It's got lots of wonderful history, lots of vampire hunting, lots of blood. It captures Abe's sullen demeanor. Grahame-Smith has Lincoln's voice (in the journal woven through the book) perfectly.
Read this thing.
Helpful Score: 1
Enjoyed this original book. Very thought provoking and almost makes you believe in vampires!
Helpful Score: 1
I am usually not a big history buff, but I was fairly impressed with author's command of historical incidents that were wound into the story. Several times during reading, I had to remind myself that this was a fiction book. Very plausible and interesting story about the real reason for slavery and the Civil War. Definitely a good read, I have already suggested it to several people!
Distorted Biography / Horror. * * ½*. Young Abraham Lincoln suffers a tragedy that will obsess him and shape his destiny as a Vampire Hunter. When he is not building his political career, he is offing a budding America of creatures that have evil intentions in a pre-emancipated country.
The man who "co-authored" "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" pens this well-researched story of Abraham Lincoln. He flips continuously back and forth between fact and fiction giving it a documentary feel.
Leave your history at the door and have fun with it.
The man who "co-authored" "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" pens this well-researched story of Abraham Lincoln. He flips continuously back and forth between fact and fiction giving it a documentary feel.
Leave your history at the door and have fun with it.
In comparison the book is much better than the movie, I was about 3/4 of the way through the book and decided to watch the movie up to my stopping point, I was highly disappointed.
I would suggest skipping the movie, the book has much greater detail.
It can drag in spots, but overall a very good read.
I would suggest skipping the movie, the book has much greater detail.
It can drag in spots, but overall a very good read.
This was indeed an odd story. Well done and it held my interest. I liked the setting and the story of Abe's early life and his childhood. I put off getting this book for a long time and when I finally got it, I read it in a few days.
Definitely Recommend!
Read me if you like....
Horror/Gore
Historical fiction
Stories with a twist
This book was much better than I thought it was going to be. I first saw previews for the movie and thought it was a joke! I had no idea it was a book until I saw it at the bookstore. It is very well written and original. I really liked how the author used the biography of Abraham Lincoln's life and weaved the fiction into that. It made the novel seem more real. I had never read a book from this horror genre, but I will definitely read some more. A great story, I definitely recommend it!
Read me if you like....
Horror/Gore
Historical fiction
Stories with a twist
This book was much better than I thought it was going to be. I first saw previews for the movie and thought it was a joke! I had no idea it was a book until I saw it at the bookstore. It is very well written and original. I really liked how the author used the biography of Abraham Lincoln's life and weaved the fiction into that. It made the novel seem more real. I had never read a book from this horror genre, but I will definitely read some more. A great story, I definitely recommend it!
What an awful book!!! I kept telling myself that it could get better but I was fooled. It was hard to follow while it jumped from the present to the past. I am so glad that I did not pay for this book. Do not waste your time!!!
I was really excited to read this book. It was very interesting and I really liked the author's idea of taking an historical figure and actual events and spinning it so differently. I liked the book, but it was a bit slow for me. I wanted things to progress a little faster than they did.
One of the best books I have read. I love how the author combines history with fiction. It was a book I could not put down and recommended to many friends.
Fun read. Really enjoyed the twist on such a historical figure. Almost made me believe that vampires could be real.
I wanted to read it before I saw the movie, and I don't like it enough to even finish reading it, and I hate not finishing a book.
Not sure what I expected from this book. It was just ok...
It was different. Facts mixed with fiction. Interesting read. Give it a try.
A marvelous blend of fact and fiction. The author's embellishments to the life of Abe Lincoln were done so without skewing the history.
I absolutely loved this book. The historical refrences, the photo's, the vampires. It wasn't a typical blood and guts vampire story. It does keep you interested from the first line to the last.
I highly recommend it
I highly recommend it
As an Abraham Lincoln non-fiction fiend it was interesting to see how the author incorporated actual facts into the story. I had to work hard to let go "Hey, that didn't really happen" (for the personal history, obviously the vampire stuff was a given), but once I did it was a mildly entertaining read.
I bought this book with the lowest of expectations and was absolutely blown away with how fascinating it was. I would tell my fellow book readers that they needed to read it, they would scoff at it, read it, and agree entirely with me.
Grahame-Smith puts a very intriguing and interesting spin on the Civil War and slavery. Lincoln is still portrayed as a true, root-for him style hero. It's my understanding that the historical perspective of the story is right on target (excluding the vampire aspect of course!) It is a very well-written and entertaining read. I highly recommend giving it a shot!
Grahame-Smith puts a very intriguing and interesting spin on the Civil War and slavery. Lincoln is still portrayed as a true, root-for him style hero. It's my understanding that the historical perspective of the story is right on target (excluding the vampire aspect of course!) It is a very well-written and entertaining read. I highly recommend giving it a shot!
The first half of the book was an interesting read, the second half was filler and a let-down. I skimmed most of the second half.
Written so well that it seemed just like a history book rather than fiction.
I loveed this book! It gives a great twist to history & the way one can see history in a different context.
I enjoyed this book from the very first page to the very last. I like the mix of historical fiction with the supernatural beings. It was full of action and left me wanting to read more about Abe Lincoln. I like the open possibilities the end left as well. My only complaint is that the chapters were extremely long.
great book nothing like the movie.
Don't judge this book by that sad excuse of a movie. This book was actually surprisingly good. It has a nice balance of historical facts as well as the obvious fiction.
I suspect he was making a lot of it up. Seriously, it was fun checking which biographical facts were real (quite a few, actually). However, for me it really didn't work adding this pathos on top of the Civil War. Pride-Prejudice-Zombies was at least a contrast of the sublime and the ridiculous.
Absolutely loved this book. I'm a sci fi/fantasy fan so i'm used to the genre but i've never read anything like this. It was so intertwined w/factual history that i had to keep reminding myself it was fiction...... or is it? :-)
I really enjoyed this book. It was cool concept that I would've never thought of. It makes me think of Lincoln in a whole new light!
So totally out of my genre, I picked it up because of the hype and I must say I enjoyed it greatly. I loved the writing style, it felt so real with the journal entries. It was a quick read that kept you entertained.
IF YOU READ ONLY ONE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIOGRAPHY IN YOUR LIFE.....you may want one a little more authoritative.
Excellent book - Historical facts are true. Abe Lincoln was one of our greatest presidents but add the Vampire element and he becomes legendary. Can't wait for the movie
This book is going to lead people astry. There are a few germs of truth in it, but over all the story is silly and predictable despite the fact this was about a real person. I was disapointed by most of it. The ending was silly and unexplaned. The way it is written somehow leads me to think there might be sequel. Oh no.
This book was Really Good! Better than I thought it would be.
but be careful, if you don't know much history (like me) and you read this, due to the way it is written, you may begin to believe it is (or could be) true.
but be careful, if you don't know much history (like me) and you read this, due to the way it is written, you may begin to believe it is (or could be) true.
