Read for the RIP V Reading Challenge.
It turns out that vampires had come to the American colonies to escape the hostile population in the Old World, and rapidly realized that the slaves here were an ideal food-source. So, the Civil War was actually a battle fought between vampires and a group of mortals that were aware of their existence, and knew that if they won, not just the slaves would be soon be on the menu. And their leader was, you guessed it, Abraham Lincoln.
The early part of this book is a hoot. It reads like a loving portrait of the young life of an American hero, except vampires keep inserting themselves into the story. His training, and his exploits as a young man, are so much fun to read.
Where the story fell apart a bit for me was the lead up to his becoming President. The Civil War flies by at the very end of the book. I was expecting a lot more action during the war, and was a bit disappointed not to find it. There’s a lot of build up to this final fight, and it’s over in a flash.
All in all, I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (by the same author) more than this book. PP&Z was a better fleshed out story. When this book is good, it’s good, but the overly quick ending ultimately left me a bit disappointed.