I read a biography! That or it was woefully mishelved at Goodwill. I’m inclined to believe the latter, I don’t think Abraham Lincoln was actually a vampire hunter.
It’s a fascinating concept, taking an extraordinary man and adding a supernatural twist to his life. The author, Seth Grahame-Smith, clearly researched Lincoln’s life extensively in order to add a vampire element to every tragedy in Lincoln’s life, beginning with his mother’s death when he was nine.
The vampire mythos has also evolved: young vampires experience severe damage in direct sunlight, but older vampires can endure some time outside with appropriate equipment (clothing, parasols, etc.). They do not, I note, sparkle. They also play an integral in the Civil War, with opportunistic vampires viewing slavery as an easy food source. Lincoln’s view of slavery is directly tied to his hatred of vampires, and the Emancipation Proclamation was a strategic move meant to cripple the vamipres’ easy food source.
Despite a minor in history, I don’t read many biographies. I am tempted to pick up an authentic biography of Abraham Lincoln to see how much reality fed into this book. Meanwhile, I will look into the author’s other books… Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sounds interesting.