The Last American Vampire by
Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
This was a good way to end 2019 and start 2020. I had very little in terms of expectations for this book. My only requirement was for it to be a fun twisted view of American History. It is. I admit I either did not read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, or it wasn't memorable enough to remember I read it. I did see the movie in theatres, which I remember as a fun and entertaining night at the movies.
This book definitely takes some of its inspiration from Anne Rice. It is an old vampire telling his story. A vampire who was present in the first book, and more intriguing in some ways than the main character of the first novel. Henry is a great leading man who has depth and humor as well as a gravitas that draws the reader in.
I have quoted this book for many friends already. My favorite quote (as well as I remember it) 'a human life is like an ant farting into a hurricane.' I am butchering that, but I remember laughing out loud and loving that dialogue.
The time frame is long and touches Roanoke to 1970s ish, and hits some of the major events across eras. The take on Jack the Ripper, Mark Twain, Tesla, and Stoker were genuinely some of my favorite representations of this historical figures I have ever read.
With Rice influence, a great leading vampire, great dialogue, and historical figures come to life, I am surprised I landed on a 3 Star rating. I liked the book. I did. I really liked aspects, but the over all is just a like.
My two major issues were the gore and the pacing. I should have known going in the gore would be intense, but I felt it stepped a little beyond just gratuitous at certain points. It was visceral enough that there were chunks of fight scene descriptions that I did skip over. I would glance at a page and see a word or two get the gist of who had the upper hand, and then move on. If you like gore, and violence maybe this amount would be grate for you. And yet, I loved when Grahame-Smith is a little more slowed down.
For me the best parts of the book were the character moments. The interaction, the dialogue, the relationships were well written, fascinating and what I wanted the heart of the book to be about.
So I guess the issue at the crux is pacing. The beginning of the book felt like a decent balance of character and violence. Just the right amount for me, but as the book continued character development, interactions other than fighting were replaced with more gore or REALLY quick character moments. Howard Hughes is introduced, has a quick scene, but really isn't interacted to explored to my satisfaction. There is a relationship between Henry and a women from his past that is the impetus for the whole adventure, and yet when they do come to a meeting point nothing is explored. It seems like a missed opportunity that still elicits visible frustration on my face while typing about it.
We here her back story, then hundreds of years pass, and boom VILLIAN. Which is a great motivation and story line, but i wanted to know it if I was supposed to be so invested. I lost my interest in there battle before by about 3/4 through the book and the end climax thus became dull.
To me this was just SOOO much potential, I am glad a read it even though it was frustrating. I would give this author another chance.
View all my reviews
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog