History The Way It Should Be

March 8th, 2010

As I sit here, staring out of my office window, admiring Mother Natures wrath in the form of a torrential downpour, I am thankful of 2 things.

1.  I’m not out in this crap trying to lug around 2 small children and

2. I’m glad I don’t live in a mud hut like poor unfortunate Abraham Lincoln.

I have never claimed to be much of a history buff, as a matter of fact, unless it has to do with WWII I could really give a flying crap, but that all changed when I picked up “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.”

Forget everything you know about American History, it’s a load of poopie, and just for a second consider the alternatives.

What if  Abraham Lincoln was less “Honest Abe” and more “Buffy-esq Abe?”

What if the 1850′s Typhoid epidemic was really “Vampire fever?”

What if the slave trade was just a really well though out blood smuggling ring?

History just got a whole lot more interesting didn’t it.

I was first introduced to “Seth Grahame-Smith” about a year ago through his controversial adaptation of a classic. “Pride & Prejudice and Zombies” was witty, it was fun, and it was…for a lack of a better term… completely deranged.  Which ever little voice it was inside of his head that told him to spiff up the old and make it new, we all should collectively buy it a drink.  In this particular case (AL-VH) his ability to take such a drab subject and turn it into a page turner was not only impressive, but amazingly enjoyable.

Abraham Lincoln is a man on a mission:  Flush out the existence of vampires and keep it quiet! After the loss of not 1 but 2 loves, his mother and his beloved Anna, his vow becomes his life.  Traveling the river with a list of names (ironically supplied by one of his “vampire friends” Henry) and a coat full of sharpened goodies, Abe starts to cut down the vampire community… 1 head at a time.  Keeping flawless journals and flawed friends (aka Edgar Allen Poe) kept Abe in line… or did it? What really started the Civil War…and who was there to watch it all go down?

Written in the form of a biography the plot can sometime be a bit slow…drug down by unnecessary factual details, however the unprecedented concept is so far in left field it is almost impossible not to enjoy.

Think of it as history 101 with a kick, a jump start to alternative thinking… or better yet, don’t think about it at all…take it for what it is, a fun read about a man we all know, or don’t know…as the case may be.

Happy reading my fellow Hunters and remember: mistaken identities happen… just be happy you’re not the one tromping through the woods half naked with Abe Lincoln on your tail.

For A Complete Book Description Click Image.

(3/5)

Caution: Zombies Ahead!

February 26th, 2010

world war zHappy Friday People! Hopefully you are out and about and doing something so fantastic that you could care less about this book review, but for those of you who are home-bound and tied down, as promised…here is my take on “World War Z”

I found this book a few months ago and plopped it into my “to read” list without much hope of it ever being released to Kindle, but a few days ago, when I finished the shortest book on the planet, I decided…hey…why not let someone else pick my book?  So I did.  I called my husband and said “Hey…pick a book!” (sounds pretty simple right?)

Apparently not so much, the man immediately picked 2 books that weren’t even out yet (HELLO!!!) and then finally landed on this…the book I had given up hope on.

“World War Z” was great! It was also unlike any other book I have ever read in my entire life.  It was…in short form, a biography written about a war that never existed.”

Now shush it! I know that you are thinking….Geez… really?? A biography… you are kidding right?  If I wanted to spend time with reality I’d turn on the Discovery Channel. (which I love by the way) but have no fear…this is the most interesting mock-bio you will ever have the pleasure of digesting.

In 1996 the world as we know it was overrun by Zombies, and for the few thousand that survived, the struggle was not without consequence.  Entire families were lost in the battles, your neighbor was suddenly hungry for your eyeballs, and your son’s little league coach suddenly became more of an arrogant ass than he already was.  The years were long and the winters were bitter.  New countries were formed from the rubble of desperation and alliances were formed that were otherwise unimaginable.

Now, while I make the premise sound a lot “funnier” than it actually is, the book was still undeniably intriguing and courageously written.  “Max Brooks” wrote in the form of interviewer/interviewee, trying to get a human perspective and timeline of the war that changed the world.  Each section is a detailed account of a singular persons experiences starting from the original outbreak and taking you to the rebuild of a torn planet.  The plot was clearly defined through each person’s story and while there was an enormous amount of detail in each “sitting” it in no way drug down the flow of the book.

There were stories from a disabled artist/neighborhood watch member, the former US Joint Chief of Staff, a human trafficker, a money hungry pharmaceutical developer, a movie director, a doctor/smuggler, a mother who ripped of a zombies head with her bare hands to save her daughter, a soldier from the epic battle of Yonkers, an asylum patient, a female soldier who was taught not to desert her post the hard way, a girl who followed her daddy north, and a former spy who knew the truth before anyone else did. (just to name a few)

My conclusion? I’m glad that my husband didn’t write it off as quickly as I did… because to miss this read would have been a shame.

Read it if you like zombies, read it if you find the human psyche fascinating…read it if you want a well written book with a whole new twist on an old topic.

Get it, live it, love it…pass it on!

Happy reading my fellow Zombies and remember: you don’t have to be the fastest person alive…just faster than the people around you!

For a complete description click image.

(4/5)

RSS Feed

  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Furl
  • Stumble
  • Technorati
  • Yahoo