Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

By: Seth Grahame-Smith

Narrated by: Scott Holst

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

©2010 Seth Grahame-Smith (P)2010 Hachette Audio

Great re-write of Lincoln's legacy

Would you listen to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter again? Why?

Yes, I am not normally a fan of vampire sagas but this one is different. I could not turn it off. The Lincoln take was unique and captivating, especially if you love history.

great book

It was a great read glad I read it before I saw the movie. I

History is Awesome

This is differently worth a credit if you have an extra you can't seem to spend on anything special. The history is very much the best part of the book. A better book is Lincoln's Dreams. I wish audible would get this book.

Great story, great performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I intend to when it hits DVD. I am a bit of a history buff and this story interested me right off the bat. I wasn't sure what to expect with something like this but was very pleased with the outcome.

The story was better than I thought. The performance was among the better that I've experienced. The reader pauses for all of the footnotes and that was a bit disconcerting at first, but those without as deep and wide a vocabulary or understanding of history will certainly appreciate it after they get used to it.

Better than the movie!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to be better than the print version?

Yes.

What did you like best about this story?

The way fact and fiction where wove together.

Have you listened to any of Scott Holst’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Who was the most memorable character of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and why?

M.

Any additional comments?

It was so much better than the movie!!

Interesting interpretation of historical events

This was the second book written by Seth Grahame-Smith that I've listened to. The first, "Unholy Night," was truly captivating with a wonderful narrator. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" was good ... not great though. I'm sure the author spent much time researching not only the life of Abraham Lincoln but also the lives of his contemporaries, and historical happenings are woven into the narrative -- sometimes seamlessly, more often not. I particularly liked Lincoln's acquaintance with Edgar Allan Poe and how Poe's mysterious death -- during which he reportedly and repeatedly called for Reynolds -- became a plot point of vampire aggression and indifference to humans, the "lesser" beings.

Scott Holst did a stand-up job with narration, using not only different voices for different characters but also implying traits of individual characters in their speaking voices. Grahame-Smith and, especially, Holst did so well with "Vampire Hunter" that that the sequel, "The Last American Vampire," was a true disappointment. A different narrator was used, but the characters' speaking voices were unsettlingly different from "Vampire Hunter" -- not to mention the repetitive text and the book-within-a-book-within-a-book topos -- that I gave up listening to TLAV. I'd still recommend "Vampire Hunter" though.

Recording was kind of choppy

What did you like best about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? What did you like least?

Best- Story keeps you interested
Least- Recording (seems to cut off in places, no need for the music)

What other book might you compare Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to and why?

Not sure

What didn’t you like about Scott Holst’s performance?

Good. Voices are distinguishable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably.

LOVE it!

A unique and surprisingly believable story...a new twist to the vampire genre. My husband and I listened together to it 3 times!

Fun Story, Amazing Production

Seth Grahame-Smith delivers a fun thrill-ride that effortlessly merges historical fact with supernatural fiction.

But the real star here is the production. Period music is inserted as a backdrop for chapter intros, making the audiobook feel like the soundtrack to a Ken Burns Civil War documentary from an alternate earth.

Forget about the movie adaptation. The audiobook of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a wonderfully immersive experience!

Scary & Powerful!

What made the experience of listening to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter the most enjoyable?

The unbelievable coupling of history and fiction.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters and details in the plot

What about Scott Holst’s performance did you like?

His ability to keep you interested in the character and plot line

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The same as the book

Any additional comments?

A really wonderful story to lose time by, I was just blown away with the thought of vampires pushing slavery for the merge fact of food.