Sep 20, 2012 11:48 AM
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(Updated Sep 20, 2012 05:59 PM)
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?
Born on 12th Feb 1809 in Kentucky and died on 15th Apr 1865 in Washington, he was the 16th President of United States, the post which he got in March 1861, and was assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, he was counted as one of the great president in US History who saw a civil war, and tried to end the black slavery in the southern states of US. His name was Abraham Lincoln.
I cannot speak of the things I have seen, nor seek comfort for the pain I feel. If I did, this nation would descend into a deeper kind of madness, or think its president mad. The truth, I am afraid, must live as paper and ink. Hidden and forgotten until every man named here has passed to dust.
Henry Sturges met Seth Grahame-Smith one fine day, and left him with a thick compilation of books and letters, asked him to write about it, and then he started writing about an unknown story, from the lost journal of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Abraham or called as Abe, at a tender age lost his mother, and later as confessed by his father Thomas, found that a vampire named Jack Barts was the reason for his mother’s death. He confessed to kill him and to clear the American soil from all the vampires thus existed. He started his practice to become the greatest VAMPIRE HUNTER of all times, when he was founded by Henry Sturges, who himself was a vampire, but a good one, and Abraham started killing other vampires as per the instructions received from Henry, who remained as his friend all his lifetime. He lost his life, his first love, his 2 sons, but was successful in abolishing the slavery trade in South, and removing about all the vampires from US land (with the help of Henry’s Union, which consists of good vampires) and one fine night, he was killed by one last vampire who wanted revenge of the defeat – John Wilkes Booth.
It is the eternal struggle between these two principles – right and wrong – throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle.
I was very much interested in watching the movie adaptation of this novel (that time I was unaware that it was a movie adaptation), which was released in June 2012, but was unable to do so, later on I find out that the movie is actually based on a book, so I ordered it last month, and now (after 21 days) I completed it, I found it totally engrossing and wonderful read. Simple language, and filmy to the core, this book is certainly different. It starts as a flashback, as author mentioned himself in the starting chapter, and went on with the perfect mash-up of facts and fiction, where the actual characters and many incidents are real to the facts, but mashed-up with the reasons of vampires and their ongoings. Obviously vampires are the imaginations, but it was written in such a way that one thinks, whether it is truth or not that they really existed. The novel was written by Seth Grahame-Smith and was published in 2010, by Corsair (my edition), the book is divided into 3 parts – BOY, VAMPIRE HUNTER, and PRESIDENT, divided over a total of 14 chapters, plus an Introduction chapter where he got the journal from Henry (as written in the novel). I got it for Rs.210 from Indiaplaza.
Seth is an American novelist, screenwriter and film/tv producer, no doubt why this book seems filmy, with all the angles, and scenes described like in a stylish way, with kind of guessing that what will come next or how does a particular scene or story progress. He is also known for his best-selling novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, which tells his skills at mashing up of fact and fiction. Every chapter of the book starts with a quote, and then proceeded further mixing the story-telling and narration by the character himself (like excerpts from the journal are copy-pasted) but which bring beauty to the story, you read both mixing up well together. Books have a total of 336 pages, plus some photos right from the archive, but obviously photoshopped (to depict the vampireness and similar incidents), wonderfully researched and written, this book is quite humorous too, take an example “That led to a discussion about John Lennon, which led to a discussion about The Beatles, which led to a discussion about Yoko Ono, which led nowhere.” The book is dark and sometime gory too, when they depicted the tortures by vampires or the slaying of vampires, also held a tinge of mystery to it, story moved-on like an autobiography with parts of love, and revenge sewn together. In the start and middle of book, the numbers are used (probably in an old way) differently, for eg, 21 is written as one-and-twenty years, but that is no problem for a regular reader, as far as he appreciate the work.
I will say a genuine YES for this book, and is a must read with 4/5 recommendation. Go and read this one, and enjoy the days to come, for the nights are only for vampires!
GRuchirG.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
