Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride & Prejudice & Zombies)

I was so excited for this book to come out! I thought the idea was great and the trailer was a lot of fun. The trailer is here.

The book is written using excerpts of Lincoln's private journals that were said to be lost. The Introduction explains how these came into the hands of the author.
One thing that I was concerned with was how much time would be spent on Lincoln's political career and thankfully, it was brief. Politics bore me, so I was happy to not have a detailed description of campaigning, etc.

It starts with Lincoln's childhood, his family life and his first encounter with a vampire. From this point on he swears he will hunt down every vampire and kill them. His first attempt is successful, but the second does not go as easily as he planned. He is rescued by a man named Henry, who nurses him back to health and teaches him about vampires and better methods of eliminating them.

Lincoln continues to work hard during the day and at night, he hunts.

The author does a good job of adding the vampire hunting aspect of his life to facts, but changing a few things to fit. People in his life will die from vampire attacks instead of tuberculosis. It's done very well.

I'm not sure how much Southerners would enjoy this. It's written from a Northern perspective and the Confederates are in league with the vampires. I know some people take that pretty seriously down there and probably wouldn't appreciate themselves being portrayed as traitors to the human race.

There is a minor amount of gore, which is to be expected when killing anything, but it's not overdone or overly detailed. It's a very fast read (I got through it in 3 days) and doesn't have any points that drag. There are some photographs included that have been Photoshopped to fit with the vampire theme and they add to the fun.

I have a tendency to get excited about things and be let down by them, but this did not let me down at all. I enjoyed it just as much as I hoped and highly recommend it.

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat

I wasn’t so sure about this book when I picked it up. Since PPZ & S&S&SM came out, there have been numerous other titles jumping on the bandwagon. I found it for $2 and snatched it up.

One thing to think about when reading this is the author was able to take more liberties with the story than with the PPZ. It is a fictitious “what if” story. Don’t go in expecting classic writing with zombies or sea monsters carefully woven in. The writing style is modern. There are a few instances where foul language was inserted, which makes me wonder why they felt the need to use it at all. I don’t get offended by that sort of thing, but it could have been left out and no one would be the wiser. In one instance, I could see what he was going for, but it still seemed out of place.

I did enjoy this book quite a bit. It was fun and a quick read. It was perfect to bring to work and read on a lunch break and I found myself getting sucked in and kept reading until I had exceeded my lunch hour. Ooops!

I did have my doubts when I read the first few chapters. One of the main characters, Quimby, is bringing people together for an orgy and is discussing the new process of photography with someone who has come to show him the new process. They are interrupted by zombies that begin feasting on the prostitutes and Quimby’s servant, Perkins. The photographer takes a picture of the grisly scene and later attempts to blackmail Quimby, who has resurrected Perkins with a potion so he may resume serving him. Perkins complains of being hungry after his resurrection and is allowed to eat Quimby’s dog.

This is what put me off a bit. I did not want to read about the escapades of a pervert. I'm also a dog lover and don't even like fictional harm to come to fictional dogs.

The story then goes to introduce Maggie Brown (Protektorate of the Queen), Victoria, her mother, Conroy (her mothers partner) & the Prime Minister. The King dies and Victoria becomes the Queen. Maggie rushes to her to protect her from demonic forces. The two battle a succubus in Victoria’s room and the two are introduced. The fight scene allows them to give a glimpse of Victoria’s fighting instinct that she will use later in the book. Maggie addresses Victoria as “Your majesty” and this is how Victoria discovers she is Queen.

The chapters alternate between the various characters’ storylines. There seems to be quite a few characters, but they do serve a purpose & it comes together toward the end.

I was expecting more demon hunting action on the part of Queen Victoria, but she only engages in battling demons for one reason. I won't give it away. The demons are plotting to take over England.

There is a bit of gore in the book, so if you are squeamish, you might want to take a pass on this one. The concern I had in regards to Quimby ended up being unfounded. He is smarmy and will occationally mention a past conquest, but it is not detailed.

I don't want to give away too much of the story line. I do recommend this if you enjoyed Pride & Prejudice & Zombies & Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters. It's a fast and fun read and I enjoyed it quite a bit.