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

Overrated

While the author stayed true to Lincoln's history and mainly put in the vampire parts as an add in, there really didn't seem to be a point to it. Making the Civil War about vampires was just stupid.

AWFUL

Any additional comments?

This has to be the worst book I have ever read (listened to). I generally like sci-fi, fantasy books and thought this looked interesting. I was so VERY wrong. Don't waste your time or money on this.

Can't understand why it's rated so highly

Ashamed to say that I can't be sure which non-vampire parts of the story are accurate or not......yet it was an awful book. I so wanted to enjoy it, had read the hype, love vampire stories...but this one didn't live up to my expectations.
Forced myself to finish.
I now assign myself the task of true, non-fictional research on the subject of Abraham Lincoln.
Original idea, to mix silly fun fiction with fact, or past classics....but I guess I just didn't get into it. How about Huck Finn and vampires, or Moby Dick and zombie pirates ? Those may be more fun.

Mildly entertaining at times...

Would you try another book from Seth Grahame-Smith and/or Scott Holst?

Probably not.

What was most disappointing about Seth Grahame-Smith’s story?

Cheesy... Like it was meant to be turned into an action movie or something.

What about Scott Holst’s performance did you like?

It was well done, no complaints.

Awful

I had high hopes for this book, and it started off strong. However, it devolved into a boring recitation of uninteresting and unimaginative exploits. Don't get me wrong, Seth Grahame-Smith, I think your intentions were honorable, but I would be ashamed to put my name on a collection of pages that reads like a bad Mad-Lib. And trying to make your sentences seems authentically appropriate for the time period by placing the negative after the verb is really only interesting the first time. I had to stop listening after Lincoln said "I care not. It mattered not" for the bizillionth time.

I thought this might be hokey, and it was.

Any additional comments?

After reading other books on Lincoln, I thought this would be interesting. But it was just dumb. Not even a good vampire story!

Couldn't keep my interest.

I thought I would enjoy this book but the slow parts crawl and the "exciting" parts were few and less than interesting. I got around half way through and just gave it up.

Good Facts, Surprisingly No Fun

What disappointed you about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?

I expected a fun read and was surprised at the serious tone. The author knew his subject and period which made a 2 star rating hard. I didn't like it because there was no play in the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Seth Grahame-Smith again?

Probably not.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Lightin' up!

PSA: Don't Listen While Driving!!!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I know that some books may start off slow, but I listened to this book for about 2 or 3 hours and I couldn't endure it much longer.

What was most disappointing about Seth Grahame-Smith’s story?

The story drags and it doesn't peak curiousity.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Addition to the slow start of the story, the narrator added to the displeasure. He just didn't fit. A narrator with a deeper voice like Phil Gigante may have been a better fit.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I just can't answer that question due to brevity in which I listened.

Sent it back!

Not my cup of tea...I considered not writing a review; but it may give another potential listener helpful information; no one likes to see a negative review. I had trouble with the layer of fantasy on such a well known public figure. I concede that the trouble could be with the listener; but, frankly, I wasn't even interested in finishing it. This from a Sookie Stackhouse fan....