Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter book to movie She Said/She Said review & giveaway!

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.

 

 

Jess and I are so excited to bring you our first She Said, She Said book to movie review! We are great friends and avid readers, but we don't always agree. THAT is what is going to make this so much fun! This new monthly event on our blogs will showcase a different book made to movie each month along with our reviews of both. With the recent surge of much loved, and sometimes hated, book series being made into movies; Jess and I thought our blogs would be a great forum to discuss our thoughts on some of these adaptations. We will have various giveaways as well to go along with each book/movie. We hope you'll join us each month and share your thoughts as well in the comments.

Our Summer book to movie review list..

June ~ Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

July ~ Warm Bodies

August ~ City of Bones

 

Let's get this party started! Just to add our own flare to the post, I did my review and asked Jess her thoughts as I wrote it, just a little something different! 

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter the book, by Seth Grahame-Smith

~ Tams gives the book 3/5 stars ~ Jess gives the book 2/5 stars ~

 

Tams: This book came up in my suggested reads from Amazon a few years back and piqued my interest. First off let me just say, cover love! And the promised content only heightened my curiosity. I love anything paranormal, especially vampires, and although history wasn’t my best subject I was always intrigued by Honest Abe.

** How about you Jess, what drew you to this book?

Jess: Yeah Tams I gotta say I did love the cover myself! That has to be why I wanted to read it besides the cool sounding blurb.  

Tams: The premise of the story is a series of secret journals Abe kept that chronicled his hatred and subsequent attempted annihilation of vampires. When he was just a boy his mother was killed by a vampire as revenge after his father humiliated said vampire. As far fetched as this concept is, the way Grahame-Smith executed his version of "actual" events in the life of Abraham Lincoln was believable.

** What were your thoughts on the backstory for this book Jess?

Jess: I think it was one of the best parts! This is why I hoped I would love it. It was written very believable and I smirk when ever I come across anything to do with Lincoln because I'm thinking that's not how it happened! It was the vampires! Haha 

Tams: As I said even though the outline of this book/story was far fetched, the way it was presented and written definitely made it believable for me as well. 

Tams: It was also quite refreshing to read a vampire novel that wasn’t about sexually frustrated, angst ridden teenagers.

** I know you have to agree with me on this point Jess!

Jess: I do! It was a nice break to something different! We all sometimes need a break from the usual. This book does it! 

Tams: Viable secondary characters like Abe’s mentor the mysterious vampire, Henry, add reasoning to the story. Between Henry and Abe they have every reason to hate vampires. Grahame-Smith definitely did his research on the time and the man, and it showed in his journal style of writing.

** I loved the brooding, dark and sexy Henry. You just knew he was hiding something, but what?

Jess: Henry was mysterious right from the get go and  he's the reason you're drawn into the book in the beginning chapters.  

Tams: It was painfully slow in some places, but the actual history mixed with the fantasy aspect kept me going. Overall it was an oddly fascinating read. If you can hang on through the tediously slow parts, it’s worth the read.

** What is your final word on the book Jess?

Jess: Ahhh man! Well here's where it gets hard. I was really bored through a lot of it. Even with the history parts that I hoped would make it interesting they started to fall flat about 30% in. It never climbed back up for me. I finished because I don't like to have a book unfinished and I was hoping it was going to be redeemed to a higher rating. 

 

 

~ Tams gives the movie 8/10 stars ~ Jess gives the move 7/10 stars ~



Tams: Watching Abe’s journals and escapades come to life was definitely more exhilarating than reading them. Action packed and intense with just the right dose of humor made this move a must see! Much like the book, the movie chronicles the life of Abe Lincoln from the time he was a boy and his mother was killed by vampire to his training to become a hunter, finding Mary and falling in love, becoming the president and a father.

** What are your thoughts on the movie Jess, hit or miss?

Jess: It was a hit for me! I love action, blood and gore! That's what makes vampires so cool!  

Tams: The story was rich with actual history of slavery, the civil war and the underground railroad. While peppered with fantasy of vampires fighting on the frontlines and ultimately being defeated by silverware!

** The flying fork had me choking on my popcorn! What was your "did they really just do that?!" Jess: Yes! Haha a thrown horse and a rider ending up riding on top of said horse! I was like seriously? They did not just do that! I think sometimes this movie was funny when it wasn't supposed to be! Lol 

 

Tams: The casting was spot on for me. Benjamin Walker is freakishly tall and handsome, just like Abe, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is simply beautiful, just like Mary Todd. Stage and screen alum Dominic Cooper owned the role of the brooding and mysterious vampire, Henry Sturgess, that would mold Abe into the perfect weapon.

** What did you think of the casting Jess?

Jess: Well there was a rumor  that Liam Neeson was to play Lincoln in some other Abe Lincoln movie...that, I would've liked to see! He's an awesome actor. All in all though, I have to agree with you Tams, the characters were casted nicely.

 

Tams: Did the characters come to life the way you read them?

Jess: The characters were better in the movie then the book minus Henry. I have to say Book Henry and movie Henry were both equally satisfying.  

Tams: One of my favorite parts in the movie was in the beginning when Henry is training Abe and he pours the silver on the Axe. I loved the reasoning behind the silver being cursed.

** What was your favorite scene Jess?

Jess: My favorite scene actually had nothing to do with vampire part of the movie. I liked the scenes when he was just a young boy and watching his life into what shaped him to become a vampire hunter.  

Tams: The timelines in the movie played out different than in the book, but they usually do. It flowed well and I loved how they brought Grahame-Smith’s characters to life and stayed true to his story as a whole.

** Did you like the way it changed up some from the book, but still kept the core of the story Jess? Jess: It's probably the reason I enjoyed the movie. It's one of those rare times you enjoy the movie over the book.  

 

Tams: Watching Abe as he trained and came into his own as a hunter, kicked some vampire ass and swung that silver plated axe was fantastic! His stubborn humanity was what I loved most about him, and sadly it was his downfall in the end.

** What was your favorite characteristic that Abe possessed Jess?

Jess: I have to agree spot on with you here Tams. His humanity was something he clung on to throughout the movie and even when you thought it was at its brink of disappearing it stayed with him.  

Tams: This movie has a little bit of everything. Vampires, history, action, suspense, romance, kick ass CGI and a tall, dark and handsome axe wielding vampire hunter! Not only a must see, but I recommend purchasing the DVD.

** You going to buy this one on DVD Jess?

Jess: I already did! I think what people need to remember is that aside from being a suspense/action film it's not to be taken seriously. Take a look at the director...Timur_Bekmambetov! He makes outlandish films with action scenes that bend the rules of reality so you're not going to enjoy the film if you're not a fan of that and keep in mind who was on the list of producers: Tim burton! While he's one of my favorites a lot of people don't like his style. I love it. He manages to put a lot of darkness into everything he touches and this movie needed that darkness. 



 

So, what were your thoughts on this book? Movie?? leave us a comment and join in on the discussion, we'd love to hear from you. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to snag some awesome one of a kind goodies. Catch us next month when we review Warm Bodies by Isaac Maron.

Be sure to follow Jess over at BookEnd 2 BookEnd to keep up with all her reviews!

 

 

  



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