First published 2010
Nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels beside his dying mother in their Indiana cabin. Nancy Lincoln succumbs to what locals call Milk Sickness, but Abe later discovers vampires caused her death. This revelation transforms the future president into a vampire hunter driven by vengeance. Lincoln develops his legendary physical prowess and ax-wielding skills while pursuing the undead across America. His secret war against vampires continues as he rises through politics to reach the White House. The Civil War becomes more than a battle over slavery and union. Lincoln fights to save the nation from supernatural forces that threaten its very existence. Seth Grahame-Smith presents this alternate history through Lincoln's fictional secret journal, blending biographical elements with vampire mythology. The story reimagines America's greatest president as both emancipator and monster slayer, suggesting his public achievements masked an even greater struggle against creatures of the night.
Genres: biography, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, fantasy, 19th-century, alternate-history, american-history
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, secret-identity
Setting: America, Indiana
Period: 19th-Century
352 pages · Kindle Edition · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: violence