Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Plot

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.

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This was a really good book.  I enjoyed it so much.  I'll admit that I went into it with a completely false idea of what it was going to be like and, while it didn't live up to those expectations, it more than made-up for it in being what it actually was.  I was expecting a comical book.  Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires?  How could it not be funny.  What it actually turned out to be was a "true" re-telling of his life as a vampire hunter.  True, it was humorous in a tongue-in-cheek, deadpan sort of way, but it wasn't laugh-out-loud funny like I was expecting.

In recent years, there has been a sudden surge in the "Found Material" genre of movies, i.e. The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, etc.  I'm a huge fan of those types of movies and it was very interesting to read a book that falls into the same genre.  The book is presented as both a novel and a work of fiction, in a way.  You're presented with facts about Lincoln's life with fictional accounts of his time hunting vampires woven in.  I loved that.  Having concrete facts (AND PICTURES!!) within this work of fiction almost made me read this as something one might find in the Biography section of any book store.  Amazing.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book was it's tendency to put a vampiric spin on actual facts.  Real moments in history are attributed to the work of vampires and the explanations we've read in our history books are merely cover-ups to protect us from the truth.  Like I previously stated, this style of storytelling made it so I felt as if I was reading an actual biography more than a fantasy story.  I actually learned things, while reading it.  I spent just as much time Googling fact about Lincoln's life as I did actually reading the book.  Incredible.

Favorite part of the book?  Hands down, the final chapter.  I don't want to give anything away, but I absolutely loved it.  Had I not accidentally dropped the book on my way to bed one night and caught a glimpse of the final page, I would have been even more blown away and not had a sense of what was coming, when I began to read the first page of the chapter.  Even then, I was still surprised.  Well played, Mr. Grahame-Smith.

Bottom line, as if you don't see this coming, a definite read.  Saves the Vampire genre from the massacre it's had to endure thanks to Twilight.  I think everyone would enjoy it.  I honestly can't think of a single reason someone would come away with a negative review...unless they're crazy into Lincoln and view it as an affront to his good name.  In that case, do you really care that much about their opinion?  Didn't think so.

~Missy

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Plot

This delicious, steamy debut novel chronicles the adventures of Nan King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music-hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler.


When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on "Grease Paint Avenue", Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover, and, soon after, dons trousers herself and joins the act. In time, Kitty breaks her heart, and Nan assumes the guise of butch roue to commence her own thrilling and varied sexual education - a sort of Moll Flanders in drag - finally finding friendship and true love in the most unexpected places.

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So this book took a downward progression for me, as it went on.  In the end, I did enjoy it, but as I made my way through it, I found myself beginning to like it less and less.

To begin with, there were certain twists in the story that I saw coming pages in advance.  I have to give Waters some leniency, since this was her debut novel, but still...a lot of the plot seemed to follow a fairly predictable formula, at times.  Events that were meant to shock or surprise me were entirely expected on my part.

Then there's the character of Nancy.  I started the book liking her.  She seemed like a completely together and likable girl.  Then, all of the sudden I found myself being completely annoyed and put-off by her.  She went from being this strong, independent girl and just suddenly became this weak, whiny thing.  I hated it.  She redeemed herself in the end, but I just didn't like the way her character changed, at times.

Bottom line, I'll say...read it.  For all its flaws, it's a better-than-decent read.  I've read one other book by Waters and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as this one (which is odd considering this was her first...shouldn't your work improve?).  Be warned ahead of time though that this is a "lesbian fiction" book and...it's kinda heavy on the lesbian, so be prepared for that.  Not saying it's a bad thing.  I just feel compelled to give you a heads up so you're not caught completely off-guard.

~Missy

1984 by George Orwell

Plot

The story of Winston Smith presents the world in the year 1984, after a global atomic war, via his perception of life in Airstrip One, a province of Oceania, one of the world's three superstates; his intellectual rebellion against the Party and illicit romance with Julia; and his consequent imprisonment, interrogation, torture, and re-education by the Thinkpol in the Miniluv.

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Let me just get this fact out of the way, right up front.  Read this book.  Not just because it's a good book.  Not just because it's one of those books you're expected to have read.  Not just because it's gives a look at what our lives could be like, if we stop thinking for ourselves.  It's because of all of those.  You're supposed to have read this book at some point (usually in high school) and, having now read it, I can tell you that it's worth the read.  Alright.  Now that I have that out of the way, I can get to my actual review.

This book was depressing and scary, at the same time. Imagine a world where it's illegal to think something other than what the government tells you.  If they tell you that two plus two equals five, it equals five.  If you think otherwise, you die.  Not even a second chance.  One time and you're doomed to die.  I cannot wrap my mind around the idea of living in a world where you no longer have freedom of thought.  It's such a small act, thinking, but to have that ability taken away would be unbearable.

What's scarier is that, while 1984 (the year) may have been 26 years ago, I saw a lot of similarities between Orwell's 1984 and our 2010.  Granted...not as extreme as in the book, but I could spot places where we, as a society, are beginning to go down that road.  Let's just say I kind of feel for the people we pass on street screaming about Big Brother watching...cause I kind of think he might be.

Bottom line, like I said, read this book.  Orwell is an amazing writer.  I usually don't enjoy the books that you're supposed to have read in high school, but I couldn't put this one down.  And, not just the writing.  This book opened my eyes to a lot of things that even I do.  It made me want to pay even more attention to things that go on in our world, cause I never want to see a poster on every corner telling me that "Big Brother is watching you".

~Missy