A few years ago, Seth Grahame-Smith made a huge name for himself with the release of his living-dead take on Jane Austin with Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. While I have heard great things about the book (even from dedicated Jane Austin nuts), not being a fan of that genre of literature, I decided to pass. However, when Grahame-Smith decided to take a stab (pun intended) at American history, I was on board. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter follows the story of a young Abraham Lincoln dedicating his life to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of vampires. The story chronicles his loves (both won and lost), his early career, and eventually his presidency and fills in all the gaps we never learned in school. For example, vampires heavily inhabit the American South due to the easily obtained supply of food that no one cared if something happened to it: slaves.
Without ruining too many details of the story, this book does an excellent job of detailing Lincoln's journal through the use of direct quotes (some real, most invented for the book). Grahame-Smith does a great job of making the quotes sound like something you would hear in a Ken Burns Civil War documentary. Everything feels very authentic and that is where the books sucks you in. By feeling like a real biography, the reader's suspension of disbelief is upheld throughout the story. When you read about Abe's motivation, training, and feelings, they are all very real and organic. So, when a vampire ends up showing up, it flows very naturally. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Lincoln's life was filled with so many tragedies, the reader very quickly believes that there must be a supernatural cause.
By speaking with Lincoln's "voice," Grahame-Smith's book is a huge success for fans of the historical fiction genre. If I had any complaints, it would be that the denouement does not match up with the opening of book and adds nothing to how excellent everything in between was. Despite this, with only two or three pages being disappointing, the book is well worth the read.