Abe Lincoln...vampire hunter

A student recommended that I read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He even preempted his selection by saying, "I know, I know...but the writing is good. Promise."

I read Seth's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and found it to be supremely enjoyable, but I was unsure if I liked it so much because I love P&P or because it so seamlessly played with one of my favorite novels while maintaining the feeling of the writing. The two cannot be separated.

So what would happen if I read a book that played with a subject matter (history) that I am less knowledgeable about?

I read the book in one weekend. And my student was right.

It was incredibly fun. When I quit blueberry picking and everyone kept going I was like - yes! I get to read Abe now!

Similar to P&P&Z, Seth takes the history of Abraham Lincoln and inserts vampires. For example, Abe chopping wood isn't just for the fire...it is strength training to kill vamps.

Playing with a fictional tale is kind of different than playing with history, though.

In Seth's version, vamps have infiltrated America due to a lack of tolerance for vamps in Europe. Poor vamps. They insert themselves into all parts of society. Similar to the function of mythology, vampires are used in this novel as an explanation for evil. Your child was sick and had a fever and died in a few days? Vampire. It makes the enemy palpable, and therefore something you can fight. It's comforting.

The one part I flinched over was the idea that 1. (most) vamps were down with slavery because of the availability of victims it produced and 2. the Civil War was caused by equal parts abhorrence of slavery...and to kick vamps out. Part of me says the Civil War isn't something you mess with. Like it might still be too soon.

Overall, however, after reading the novel I'm left content with the playful story while also harboring an urge to go out and learn more about honest Abe who - according to Seth - wasn't above lying in certain circumstances because, you know...VAMPS.

"Living men are bound by time...Thus, their lives have an urgency. This gives them ambition. Makes them choose things that are most important, hold more tightly to that which they hold dear...Their lives have seasons, and rites of passage, and consequences. And, ultimately, an end. But what of a life with no urgency? What then of ambition? What then of love?"
Seth Grahame-Smith