Review: The Last American Vampire: A novel

Title: The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Format: E-book
Pages: 416 pages
Genre: Horror

I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for a fair review. 

Synopsis: Vampire Henry Sturges returns in the highly anticipated sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter-a sweeping, alternate history of twentieth-century America by New York Times bestselling author Seth Grahame-Smith.

In Reconstruction-era America, vampire Henry Sturges is searching for renewed purpose in the wake of his friend Abraham Lincoln's shocking death. Henry's will be an expansive journey that first sends him to England for an unexpected encounter with Jack the Ripper, then to New York City for the birth of a new American century, the dawn of the electric era of Tesla and Edison, and the blazing disaster of the 1937 Hindenburg crash.

Along the way, Henry goes on the road in a Kerouac-influenced trip as Seth Grahame-Smith ingeniously weaves vampire history through Russia's October Revolution, the First and Second World Wars, and the JFK assassination.

(7) Review: I did not read Grahame-Smith's first book, however I did see the movie that was made from it which I found to be a bit ridiculous but amusing nonetheless.  This book, although it is a sequel, is able to stand on its own and I didn't feel lost when reading it. As the book even mentions this is very reminiscent of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, since it written as if someone is actually interviewing Henry Sturges.

From Roanoke to the JFK assassination this book takes you on a tour through American history which is fairly historically accurate, with the exception of the vampire thrown in here or there. For those of us who are not history buff's this was an interesting way to be introduced to some historical figures that we may not have known about but after reading about them here I found myself doing google searches on them to find out more about them and to see what was accurate and what was embellished.  

I really loved the way this book is written.  With pieces of it pulled out like it was being quoted or taken from a diary and other parts written as a narrative you get drawn into the story.  I found myself whipping through this very interesting novel and was almost upset to find myself at its end. However, being left wanting more helps me to know how much I felt invested in the characters.

Things that I felt were missing weren't very important but things that stuck with me, such as, what happened to so many of the vampires? Why are there so few left? I doubt that Henry was able to wipe out that many in his travels. I understand that if you were in the Union you were sworn not to make any new vampires, but what about those who weren't part of that group? Surely they were making new vampires? So that part confused me a bit. Maybe I will get answers in a future book.