Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame Smith

He is probably America's most famous of Presidents. His father was a lazy illiterate, his mother died when he was still very young. With no fear of hard work, and a passion for making America a truly free country for all of it's peoples, he used his gift for public speaking and immense intellect to be an influential politician who made a huge difference to American History. This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Seth Graham Smith's, "Abraham Lincoln" has a twist. In his spare time he is one of America's most successful Vampire Hunters. Surely this can make an already amazing story even better?

So what drew me to this book? Honestly, the concept of this book did not interest me. However, an American friend appealed to me to read it, claiming it to be fantastic read and surprisingly historically accurate. Dubious, I borrowed it from the library and got to reading it.

The story was fantastic. I am clueless when it comes to American history and geography, and so I had expected to be bored for the most part. I knew that Abraham Lincoln had been an American president at some point, and I vaguely knew that America had experienced a rather brutal civil war (although I didn't know why), but I didn't realise just how incredible old Abe was. Seth Graham Smith brought the historical figures back to life in such a believable manner that it is hard to conceptualise that they were ever dead. And although I don't actually believe that the President ran around America slaughtering vampires with his trusty axe, a [big] part of me felt that it could have happened. To turn my cynical mind around is a real testament to the skill of the author.

I laughed out loud during funny moments, I wept tears of grief for lost loved ones of Abraham Lincoln, and I had nightmares about blue-veined, coal eyed, fanged and taloned vampires trying to attack me at work.  Most importantly, this book brings to the surface America's not-so-glamorous past of slave trading that should never be forgotten. This story was just so unbelievably brilliant that I think every single person should read it.