Tonight: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" author brings "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" to the Brattle

^{Is this for real? OH YES. [Well, sorta.]}

If there's a Dickens of the literary classic/apocalyptic bloodbath mash-up, it's Seth Grahame-Smith.

In 2009's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Grahame-Smith touched up Jane Austen's 1813 novel with some much-needed entrail-ripping mayhem. The result was a tidal wave of viral buzz and staggering critical and commercial success. So much so that it has spawned a mini-franchise of similar-minded books from publishing company Quirk Classics, including a renovation of Tolstoy with robots and a sea monster invasion on Sense and Sensibility (also by Jane Austen, who is undoubtedly somersaulting in her grave).

In his PPZ follow-up, which hit bookstores last Tuesday, Grahame-Smith again sets his sights on completely annihilating another keepsake of our national pastime for the sake of our unbridled entertainment. This time, it's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, an alternate-history scenario in which Honest Abe still ascends to the presidency -- only instead of harnessing the motivation of one day creating a unified nation, he's determined to reach office with the goal of wreaking havoc on the vampire race in an effort to avenge his mother's death by way of fang.

Now, if this seems as if it may be a cash-grubbing attempt to capitalize on the recent pop-culture vamp-nomenon, it might just be, as Grahme-Smith was reportedly delivered the hefty sum of $570,000 for churning out Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Tim Burton is reportedly attached for a film adaptation.

But if you can watch this ad for the book (see above) and not get at least a little turned on by the premise of one of our nation's most beastly presidents wielding an ax and slaying the undead, I don't know what to tell you.

As for the rest of you: go hear Seth Grahame-Smith read from Vampire Hunter and get your copy signed (perhaps in blood) tonight at the Brattle at 6 pm (details here).