Abraham Lincoln

I love historical fiction and I love science fiction.  Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith gives a little bit of both.  Well, a lot of both.

This book begins at the beginning - the birth of our 16th President and his childhood.  The premise is that his dear mother was killed by a vampire because of a deal his father made that went wrong.  Because of this, Lincoln spends the rest of his life, vowing to kill all Vampires. 

At each and every turn in Lincoln's life, he encounters vampires, even once he enters governement service.  What was most riveting to me, was the way vampries were seamlessly put into historical situations.   I am speaking specifically of the issue of slavery. Most people believe that Lincoln's sole purpose of freeing the slaves was to unite the country and stop the war.  This book offers an interesting thought - what if his reason was to stop them from being slaughtered by vampires?...Hmm...

This book is in the genre of Teen fiction.  I found that hard to believe, but then when I thought about the Twilight Series I thought maybe it was.  If it is marketed to teens, it is certainly a great way to teach them some history of Lincoln's Presidency, even if it includes something as far-feteched as vampires. 

I enjoyed the book. I actually took this with me on vacation to Myrtle Beach.  Can you imagine the looks I got?  There is a picture on the cover of President Lincoln, holding an axe behind his back, with blook all over him.   Probably not your typical beach read, but it is enough to hold your interest and easy enough to be able to put down and pick back up.

The other book I read with a  Lincoln theme was The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, by Stephen L. Carter.  Mr. Carter writes the best books!! My friends and I are always waiting for the next one.  He also writes historical fiction.  He always has someone famous showing up in a book. His entire book, Palace Council was filled with folks like J. Edgar Hoover. 

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln starts with the idea that the assisination of Lincoln was unsuccessful.  The President survives, but is brought up on charges shortly thereafter.  That in an of itself is enough to hold your interest.  But the introduction of a young, black, educated woman, who wants to be an attorney really pulls you in.  Abigal has graduate from Oberlin and is fortunate enough to get a job as a law clerk, at the firm retained to defend the President on these charges.

However, there is a problem.  In my humble opinion, this book misses the mark.

It is WAY too long.  It is mired in minutia, which in some parts is not required.  There are stories within stories, on top of stories, to the point that you start to confuse characters of have to go back a few pages to try to figure out who this person is.   I have this thing where once I start a book, I have to finish it.  But I found it so difficult, that I borrowed the unabridged CD's from the library so I could try to speed up getting through the book.  JUST to find out how it ended. 

It was quite an ordeal.  To this day, I'm not really sure what happened.  Abigal was very intelligent and I loved the story of her family and life.  She was never a slave, nor were her parents.  The discrimination that she faced daily, her determination to succeed was all great to read.  But it was buried in chapter after chapter of things that at the end of the day, weren't really relevant to the story.

I read so many reviews about this book that were great.  Of course, I'm not a reviewer.  But I have to say, I was disappointed.   Mr. Carter mentions that this was a book he always wanted to write and I can certainly appreciate that. But for me, it just wasn't what I was looking for....

So, I'm looking forward to the next one!