Honest Abe

While noodling around on Audible looking for some sort of Fantasy-Stephen King-Vampire adventure I was distracted by the recommendation for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I like Historical Fiction and I like Vampires. I downloaded it. Had I read the first sentence of the write up I would not. Had I looked into the author I would not have downloaded. Had I thought beyond the novelty of making Honest Abe into a vampire hunter I would’ve stopped short realizing that I felt somewhat sacrilegious to use the greatest American President as vampire fodder.

After an hour into the book I realized this book was a car wreck that I couldn’t look away from. Not that the story itself was a page turner or that I was captivated by the character of young Lincoln. I was just too intrigued by the notion that the Civil war was backed on both sides by vampires.

After finishing the book it still feels dirty, distasteful, and somewhat trashy. The Lincoln mythology is too heavily ingrained and too difficult to seperate from the man. Had the main character been anyone other than Abraham Lincoln I would’ve really enjoyed the book. And had the main character been anyone other than Abraham Lincoln I wouldn’t have taken a second look at it, let alone read it. I guess you get what you pay for. I need to quickly get this taste out of my mouth. Next up, Gunslinger (The First in the Dark Tower Series which I’ve read 5 or 6 times already) or the next Stephanie Plum book. Ok not a classic but pleasant brain candy.