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Fevre Dream

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 6,116 ratings · 658 reviews

When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investme...more

407 pages

Published October 25th 1984 by Sphere Books (first published 1982)

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Jan 08, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Becky by: VM-MD

Shelves: vampires, the_south, 2012, fantasy, historical-fiction, horror, nook, reviewed, challenge-1010

3.5 Stars

This was a definite departure from what I'm used to when it comes to GRRM. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I don't think that this was it. Not that it was bad... just not what I was expecting. I did enjoy it quite a bit though.

So, this story is set in the mid-19th century, on the rivers that vein the South and in New Orleans, during the slave trade... with 'people of the night'. The take on these vampires (let's call a spade a spade here) was different, and interesting.....more 3.5 Stars

This was a definite departure from what I'm used to when it comes to GRRM. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I don't think that this was it. Not that it was bad... just not what I was expecting. I did enjoy it quite a bit though.

So, this story is set in the mid-19th century, on the rivers that vein the South and in New Orleans, during the slave trade... with 'people of the night'. The take on these vampires (let's call a spade a spade here) was different, and interesting... but oddly less satisfying than what I'd have expected, but it's hard to lay my finger on just what it was that left me wanting.

With the setting and the vampires, it was inevitable that it led to comparisons with Anne Rice's work... but for me, there is none. This may not be my favorite GRRM story, but it is head, shoulders, torso, bellybutton, butt, legs and feet above anything I've ever read of Anne Rice's work. I just cannot stand her writing. Her ideas are fantastic, but her diarrhea of the description is too much for me, and I just cannot read her. GRRM does a lot of description in this book, yes. I'm not saying he doesn't... but the difference is in the amount, effect, and purpose of the description.

Anne Rice describes simply for the sake of description. One could argue that it's so that the reader is transported into the world she's trying to show, but if so, she's doing it wrong. I don't need to know just what kind of wood a door is made out of, how many curlicues were carved into it, or how long it took to carve, or its thickness, or height or that it's a burnt sienna color or how many millions of hands have knocked upon it, or any of that mind-numbing detail to imagine an old, beautifully engraved door. It's too much, it's too tiring, and it's a waste of my time.

GRRM uses description to show the reader who his characters are, what is important to them, what makes them get out of bed in the morning. Captaining a steamboat is more than a job for Abner Marsh, it's his way of life, his livelihood, his dream, his passion. He lives and breathes it. So I'm OK with seeing the river and his steamboats through his eyes.

Likewise, Rice's & GRRM's vampires bear comparison. Both wrote about vampires questioning their nature, which is interesting to me, but again, where Rice goes off into repetitive existential drudgery, GRRM manages to still tell his story.

I was interested in the vampires' stories, particularly Joshua and Julian... I was interested in the two main human characters as well, Abner Marsh and Sour Billy, and felt a bit sorry for all of these characters. Each, in their own ways, lusted after the one thing that they can't have. But that made them interesting, and seemed to draw them all together again and again, even though they were working at cross purposes. I always enjoy seeing both sides of the coin represented, and GRRM does a great job at making it hard to choose sides, that's for sure. (less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: other-beings, thriller, horror

Great atmospheric story set in the period of 1857 during slave era, setting is great on-board a grand steamship with a few vampires mixed in to boot, what more could you ask to have in a novel! This was the first of a few vampire books i was going to read in a row just felt in a bloody mood, then i would go on to Dan Brown in time for the movie release.

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Aug 28, 2012 Brittany rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To enjoy this book, there are some things that I honestly believe that you must possess.

1. A love of steamboats, because goddamn does this book go on and on about steamboats. The main character, Abner Marsh, is a steamboat captain with an obsessive love of steamboats, and as is typical of Martin's writing when he gets Really Involved with something, every single tiny facet of the boat is described...sadly leaving the actually interesting parts, mainly those regarding the pasts of his vampire ch...more To enjoy this book, there are some things that I honestly believe that you must possess.

1. A love of steamboats, because goddamn does this book go on and on about steamboats. The main character, Abner Marsh, is a steamboat captain with an obsessive love of steamboats, and as is typical of Martin's writing when he gets Really Involved with something, every single tiny facet of the boat is described...sadly leaving the actually interesting parts, mainly those regarding the pasts of his vampire characters, touched upon but lacking. Valerie in particular gets the short end of the stick, as all we learn of her is that she's very beautiful and, surprise surprise, in love with one of the other characters. Huzzah. Despite of course setting the framework for what could be a quite intriguing cast of characters, he leaves a lot of them really lacking and one-dimensional, which is especially a shame if you happen to read A Song of Ice and Fire before this book and are aware of how much better he could have done.

2. Absolutely no inkling of offense at the word "nigger". Everyone in this book, save for the vampires, uses that term to refer to their slaves. Yes, it's the 1870s, so there is a certain realism in it, but it gets trying around the tenth or so time that someone goes on a nonsensical tirade of nigger-this-nigger-that--and of course, all the people of color in this book speak like Civil-War Deep South Stereotypical Black People, with the full on 'Yessuh/Nossuh' and so many apostrophes that you almost start to get dizzy from how often your eyes go up and down over the page.

3. Actually, no offense at racism whatsoever. It's used so often as an excuse to brutalize black people that if that kind of thing makes you upset, just...step back. (Blah blah historical realism yes we know, but if you're Really Offended at that kind of mindset...not a good plan to read this book.)

4. Patience. It took me far too long to get through this book. The gaps between the remotely interesting bits that I blazed through were much too long, and even when I finally did reach the Big Climax of the Novel, it left me really underwhelmed; perhaps because at that point I no longer really cared about any of the characters or what happened because it had been so long since any characterization had actually taken place outside of 'here is the enemy' and 'here are the good guys'.

At first, this book sounded like an interesting read from an author I honestly enjoy--I picked it up because there aren't that many English-language books to choose from, and I actually rather like vampire stories that refrain from romanticising the hell out of the vampire to the point that they're just Average People Who Happen to Have Inconvenient-At-Times Powers...but this was less about characters, and more an underdeveloped Moby Dick scenario with steamboats. So many steamboats. (less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Vincent Ribaya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I believe all authors have a certain piece of work that sadly doesn't get its due credit. For George R.R. Martin, that book would most probably be Fevre Dream.

I personally enjoyed this novel, and though preoccupied with a Transition Camp for medical school, I managed to finish it throughout my 2-night stay at that camp. The book was quite fast-paced, and there are a few parts in the plot which I think could've been longer - but it all worked out quite nicely.

Many would claim Fevre Dream was a fe...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Markus Molina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Vampire enthusiasts, George RR Martin fans

Boy, oh, boy, does Mr. Martin know how to bring characters to life. I never have had characters feel so real to me so immediately as I have when reading from the point of views of his protagonists. Abner Marsh leaped off the page and I felt like I knew the steamboat captain personally. Though, I admit, in this book, the antagonists (some vampire folks) are set up rather weakly and kind of read a bit generically (mostly through only the first half). Although, I suppose that might be attributed to...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Sofia Teixeira rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Sonho Febril' é a primeira obra que leio do autor George R.R. Martin. Sei que este é mais conhecido pela saga 'As Crónicas de Gelo e Fogo' e sendo este livro de um género um pouco diferente, estava bastante curiosa.
Todos têm noção que os vampiros voltaram a estar na moda, mais que nunca, mas nem sempre todas as obras inseridas nesta temática conseguem trazer algo de novo que nos agarre à leitura e nos surpreenda. George R.R. Martin teve essa capacidade.

Fevre Dream é o sonho de qualquer capitão...more

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Mar 05, 2010 My Inner Shelf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Étant gaga de la série Le Trône de fer je me devais de découvrir le reste des œuvres de George R.R.Martin. Donc voilà c’est fait, et bien évidemment, ce n’est qu’une mise en bouche avant la suite de la saga, de quoi patienter d’ici le prochain volume ou les premiers épisodes d’HBO (j’en frémis d’avance).
Nul besoin de préciser que Riverdream ne peut pas égaler un monument comme le Trône de fer, néanmoins, cette histoire de vampire voguant sur le Mississippi est tout à fait délectable.
On plonge da...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Michael Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

A definite antidote to the Twilight world of 90210 with fangs (and significantly predating it) this is one of those books (like Peter Straub's "Ghost Story") that should be tactfully thrust into the face of any of those whiners who dare to say something as vapid as "But it's about Vampires!" Yeah yeah we know, they're everywhere, they'll be on the census soon. I like Vampires but I'm starting to wonder if I can face many more. But wait! Few of them are as interesting and rounded as they are here...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Jacquie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the only one of Martin's books my Library had when I went looking for something specifically by him, and it looked interesting enough so I grabbed it. Two words: steamboat vampires. It was like Stephen King meets Mark Twain. I thought it was great, and I have never been one for vampire stories. I think the fact that it was not romantic in the least is what made the difference for me. It's just creepy and gory and entertaining.

Two "bloodmasters" get into a bloody battle of wills for cont...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I saw that GRRM had a vampire novel it was a must on my "to read" list. I am always interested in authors' takes on the vampire lore and origin. Martin's origin story, though not completely original, is as believable as a vampire story could be. I enjoy historic authors whose books are filled with detailed description (i.e. Hugo and Dumas) and reading "Fevre Dream" was similar with detailed description of life on a Mississippi steamboat in the years before the Civil War and the brutality of...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Melissa added it · review of another edition

Huh. I haven't read the Song of Ice and Fire series - I made it a couple of pages into the first book, found myself already confused, and gave up - so this was my first real George R.R. Martin experience. And my first reaction was: why aren't more people talking about this book?

I never read Ann Rice, either, so maybe this story isn't as innovative as I think it is, but the basic premise is that it's the 1850's, and a steamer boat captain who's recently off a string of bad luck is approached by a...more Huh. I haven't read the Song of Ice and Fire series - I made it a couple of pages into the first book, found myself already confused, and gave up - so this was my first real George R.R. Martin experience. And my first reaction was: why aren't more people talking about this book?

I never read Ann Rice, either, so maybe this story isn't as innovative as I think it is, but the basic premise is that it's the 1850's, and a steamer boat captain who's recently off a string of bad luck is approached by a mysterious man who wants to partner with him to build a new steamer and drive up and down the Mississippi. Only, as we discover, the mystery man is a vampire, possibly the king of vampires, and he is on a mission to try to unite his own race and humanity.

As a general rule, I don't care for historical fiction, and the thought of a book set on Mississippi River steamboats makes me want to take a nap before I even crack the spine. (No, I'm not exactly a big Mark Twain fan.) But this book grabbed me, partly because of its gothic, Dracula-esque mood, partly because our hero, Captain Abner Marsh, is so gruffly lovable, and partly because Fevre Dream succeeds where Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer offends. Yes, curiosity got the better of me when there was a big hoopla around the Lincoln vs. vampires book, and I read it. And I was very irritated, because the whole premises of that book is that evil vampires bought slaves for food, and Abraham Lincoln more or less ran for president and abolished slavery just so he could cut off the vampires' food supply. Ouch. I've always thought that was pretty demeaning.

Maybe Fevre Dream works because it's pure fiction, instead of fiction laced with historical fact, or maybe it works just because it takes a gentler approach to the whole idea of vampires killing slaves. Instead of an in-your-face "Ha! Digest THAT, historians!" the book just quietly sets out the admittedly interesting what-if: if vampires were real, then Amercia's years as a slave nation would have been heaven for them. Discuss.

I do recommend Fevre Dream, especially if you're a fan of vampire fiction, because it takes a couple of interesting ideas - vampires on steamboats, vampires as slave owners - and explores them in a classically gothic manner. Or just read it because you're sick of everyone telling you to read the Game of Thrones series, and at least this will get them off your back for awhile.(less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Nicole Shelby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The main thing is that poetry is pretty. The way the words fit together, the rhythms, the pictures they paint. Poems are pleasant when said aloud. The rhymes, the inner music, just the way they sound. It's hard to explain if you don't feel it...A poet could maybe say something straight out, sure enough, but when he puts it in rhyme and meter it becomes grander."

"Yes, yes. Coffins full of dirt, soulless creatures that don't show up in mirrors, things that can't cross running water, creatures who...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Yes, I did pick this up because it is about Vampires, it was also to see if I would like to read more of Mr. Martin’s work. One of the main assets of this book is its setting: never heard of a vampire story set on a steamer along the Mississipi. Mr Martin gathers a grim, gothic atmosphere as black as the sudden storms that devastate the river. Another asset is the extraordinary characterization: through a partly original idea about the nature of vampires the author creates three extraordinary ma...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Sakura87 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-nordamericani, horror, novecento, vampiri

Mi spiace dirlo, trattandosi di George Martin –che nelle Cronache del ghiaccio e del fuoco aveva dato mostra di saper attanagliare il lettore, senza scampo, in una spirale di eventi rocamboleschi-, ma questo non è un romanzo eccezionale. Possiede senza dubbio diversi spunti non sempre egregiamente colti, e naturalmente alcuni pregi, ma certamente non è un libro che preme per essere terminato prontamente.
Ma andiamo per gradi: partiamo dalle etichette, croce e delizia di ogni commentatore e di og...more Mi spiace dirlo, trattandosi di George Martin –che nelle Cronache del ghiaccio e del fuoco aveva dato mostra di saper attanagliare il lettore, senza scampo, in una spirale di eventi rocamboleschi-, ma questo non è un romanzo eccezionale. Possiede senza dubbio diversi spunti non sempre egregiamente colti, e naturalmente alcuni pregi, ma certamente non è un libro che preme per essere terminato prontamente.
Ma andiamo per gradi: partiamo dalle etichette, croce e delizia di ogni commentatore e di ogni acquirente. Il genere solitamente assegnato per questo romanzo è quello horror, ma, mi spiace deludere, le atmosfere horror scarseggiano alquanto, almeno fino al finale del libro. Lo considererei più un thriller con elementi dark-fantasy, se non fosse che manca anche della sequela di azioni mozzafiato su cui solitamente un buon thriller può contare.
Cosa resta, dunque? Non chiedetemelo, perché non so darvi una risposta. E’ un libro sui vampiri, ambientato letteralmente sul corso del Mississippi nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento, in pieno scontro tra schiavisti e abolizionisti. L’ambientazione non è casuale, perché Martin coglie la palla al balzo e istituisce un continuo parallelismo tra la lotta millenaria tra la razza vampirica (sebbene questo termine venga prontamente smentito nel corso del libro) e quella umana, e il confronto tra razza bianca e razza nera.
Abner Marsh, orribile capitano con poca fortuna in affari, riceve in un momento di difficoltà finanziarie un’offerta difficile da rifiutare: Joshua York, uomo d’affari facoltoso, affascinante e di bell’aspetto, gli offre di rilevare metà della sua povera azienda con un contratto incredibilmente vantaggioso, e la promessa di costruire il battello più veloce e lussuoso che abbia mai navigato sul Mississippi. Il capitano Marsh accetta per vanità: il suo sogno è sempre stato quello di superare il battello Eclipse in velocità. D’altro canto, le condizioni poste da York sono poche e chiare: pretende discrezione e obbedienza cieca e senza domande ai suoi più assurdi ordini. Les jeux sont faits, insomma, e presto il battello Fevre Dream prende vita.
Abner sarà anche brutto come la fame, ma non si può dire che gli manchino acume e fegato: presto si rende conto che il suo socio in affari ha qualcosa da nascondere, e anche dopo essere stato messo al corrente della sua vera natura risolve di restargli amico. Il suo aiuto sarà prezioso a Joshua, che in verità ha trovato un modo per liberare la sua razza dalla Sete Rossa, che la rende fin troppo simile agli animali, e vuole condividerlo; la cosa non sembra mandare in visibilio altri esponenti più antichi e superbi di lui.
La trama è interessante, e profonde sono le digressioni morali su quale sia l’effettiva differenza tra il nutrimento che i vampiri traggono dagli esseri umani e la sottomissione dei neri alla razza bianca. Tuttavia, come dicevo, il ritmo è tutto fuorché serrato: il tempo narrativo è ora troppo dilatato, ora troppo ristretto, trascorrono ore in troppe pagine e anni in poche righe, e sono rari i capitoli del romanzo che inducono il lettore a continuare a leggere col fiato sospeso.
Martin rivela tuttavia il suo talento nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi, che bucano il foglio già non appena vengono presentati in poche righe: Abner, lo scaltro capitano; Yoshua, il corretto e pacato vampiro; Julian, perché il vampiro dandy e assatanato proprio non poteva mancare; Billy il Verme, il suo bestiale mastino che desidera l’immortalità.
Altro punto forte: i dialoghi interessanti e significativi, mai gettati lì per diluire la narrazione; e apprezzabile anche la precisione di Martin nel descrivere e nominare le parti e i meccanismi dei battelli. La sua prosa, poi –inutile dirlo- è come sempre perfetta nel coniugare sintesi descrittiva e capacità di evocare luoghi e personaggi. Inoltre, l’epilogo è quasi commovente.

Per concludere: è un romanzo che, tutto sommato, merita di essere letto (già solo per l’accuratezza con cui è scritto), purché si tenga bene in mente che i picchi d’eccellenza sono rari.
Tre stellette e tre quarti.

Nota sull'edizione: la carta è sottile, ma ho sempre apprezzato il biancore abbacinante (mi rende la lettura più agevole) e la rilegatura sembra abbastanza robusta.
Qualcosa mi ha fatto storcere il naso, però: il numeri spesso sono scritti in cifre invece che in lettere, nei dialoghi, nelle descrizioni. E' la nuova frontiera del postmodernismo e io, lettrice antiquata, sono rimasta indietro se le ritengo un'eresia?(less)

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Jul 10, 2012 Alvin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hi. I finished the fifth book of George R.R. Martin’s popular ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series a couple of weeks back and was left pretty appeased and yet wanting for more. Had a real hard time recently waiting for the sixth book in the series (sleeplessness and uneasiness you bet!) and just wanted to read one of other works of Martin to calm my appetite of ASOIAF a bit. I knew well that Martin isn’t going to release The Winds of Winter anytime soon, not in next two years, at l...more Hi. I finished the fifth book of George R.R. Martin’s popular ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series a couple of weeks back and was left pretty appeased and yet wanting for more. Had a real hard time recently waiting for the sixth book in the series (sleeplessness and uneasiness you bet!) and just wanted to read one of other works of Martin to calm my appetite of ASOIAF a bit. I knew well that Martin isn’t going to release The Winds of Winter anytime soon, not in next two years, at least. So, when someone recommended me a vampire based novel of his which he wrote in 1983, Fevre Dream, back when he was more of a struggling writer, I was all for it. Struggling maybe, but I’d heard that he always had that amazing storytelling talent we’ve seen in ASOIAF even when he was young.

I was dubious about of it too. Didn’t want to waste money on anything which is not worth it. Initially. Didn’t want to read anything that was dull or uninteresting. I hadn’t gotten along well with vampires anyway, be it movies or books or TV shows. I like other supernatural stuff well enough, including grotesque zombies. But somehow, vampires didn’t intrigue me all that much (maybe Twilight was the reason?)- that was before I read this novel. I read a review which was quite positive and decided to have a go anyway.
This was my only third vampire novel after Twilight (first one) and one of Anne Rice’s writing which name I can’t recall (it was a long time back). I ordered it through Flipkart and it took a pretty long time to deliver, 6 days. It was imported from abroad and costed me Rs. 357. Came nicely and securely packaged. Typical Flipkart fashion.

Okay, without further ado, let me introduce you to the plot of the novel. It’s largely a story of a struggling steamboat captain, Abner Marsh. His condition was not bad before, back when he had lots of boats. That was before last winter, though.

Now he has only one boat, a simple, small steamer barely enough to fulfill his needs. He’s then approached by a soft-spoken and rich guy who calls himself Joshua York. He offers him his partnership and even promises him a large, grand and fast new steamer if he agrees to the partnership. First, Marsh is suspicious as why a rich man like Joshua will approach a steamboat captain in miserable position like Marsh, why not other captains who are in better condition. Finally, though, Marsh agrees to York’s terms and partnership after realizing that owning an exquisite steamboat like Joshua proposes to offer was one of his dreams.

During the maiden voyage of Marsh’s dream steamboat Fevre Dream, Marsh notices few strange things in the lifestyle of York and his companions and their nocturnal habits. About how they stay in their dark cabins in day time and appear only when it’s dark. Then going inside again in their cabins just before the dawn. After that even crew and passengers began to grow suspicious and restless. Thus, Marsh finally had to confront York. York was reluctant at first but after repeated inquiries he replied that he and his friends are vampire hunters and they’re using Fevre Dream as a base of their anti-vampire operations. In time, though, York had to reveal the whole truth. The truth was they themselves were vampires and York then told his whole story of life about he has conquered his red-thirst (well-known thirst of blood of vampires) by brewing a potion by learning different subjects like alchemy, chemistry, medical science etc. About how he’s on a personal mission of discovering other people of his race (yes, he called vampires as another race, similar to humans and yet so different, remember the Others from ASOIAF or Childer of the Forest?) and helping them to quench their blood thirst by that special potion. By that way he can cease the hostility between vampires and humans and can unite both of the races as vampires after drinking that potion won’t have to kill humans and drink their blood. I won’t tell you the rest of the story as it won’t be any use reading the book then. I’ve spoiled you a bit already. Apologies.

Coming to writing, it’s quite precise and vivid. Martin hasn’t wasted too much time in describing the garments of characters like he does in ASOIAF. First half, while gripping is a lot duller than the second which is lightning quick with hardly a moment to breathe. I finished this book in less than two days, which is pretty incredible as I consider myself a slow reader. But Fevre Dream was different. There is always an intriguing moment once in a while like a vampire killing someone in an ugly and grotesque fashion and sucking his life in almost an elegant way. Yes, vampires in this novel are surprisingly elegant and they talk in a smooth voice. They even move gracefully. Though, they make for a somewhat less impressive sight when they suck blood through someone’s throat or from the veins on the wrist. And beware, if you’re comely. They prefer the blood of beautiful over the ugly ones. Well, I’m spared in that case.

The characters are just what you expect from Martin. Deep and complex. The main character Abner Marsh fascinated me the most. I have nothing but respect for him. If I tell you why, I’d be spoiling the main bits of the story for you. So, I’ll refrain. Other characters are quite engrossing too, especially the strange gentleman, Joshua York. In all ways, read this book. I recommend it heartily to anyone even to someone who finds vampires and their tales irritating and/or drab. Martin’s take on vampires if fresh and compelling and…different. Like a breath of fresh, cool evening air after a hot, humid day. New to the genre or not, just pick this up.

I’ve heard that a movie based on Fevre Dream is in production. If that’s true, it’s a good news for me. Adios for now.(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Clare Fitzgerald rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hey nerds! Did you know that George R. R. Martin has a whole big long writing career outside of A Song of Ice and Fire?

If you're like me, you probably did! But you didn't really care and hadn't arsed yourself to read any of the rest of his stuff, because ASOIAF can keep you occupied for years if you are a big enough dork about it (especially since learning Dothraki is now an option!).

However, I also really like vampires, and I must read a vampire story every few months or else I will start wande...more Hey nerds! Did you know that George R. R. Martin has a whole big long writing career outside of A Song of Ice and Fire?

If you're like me, you probably did! But you didn't really care and hadn't arsed yourself to read any of the rest of his stuff, because ASOIAF can keep you occupied for years if you are a big enough dork about it (especially since learning Dothraki is now an option!).

However, I also really like vampires, and I must read a vampire story every few months or else I will start wandering the streets of Boston biting people. Or something. And since through my semi-magical ability to acquire lots of free books (by which I mean I have a network of indulgent older adults who send them to me) I had received a copy of Fevre Dream, I decided to change that.

Fevre Dream is unlike many of the other vampire novels I have read in that (a) it was not a romance, (b) it was not goofy as shit, and (c) I did not spend most if it going "Oooooooof course." Except a little at the beginning when I realized we were going to be spending part of the story in New Orleans. But it is not really a New Orleans story; this is a Mississippi River story, and particularly a story about Mark Twain's sort of Mississippi River--a Civil War-era one populated by colorfully batshit grouchy dudes who yell a lot, and a ton of steamboats.

Our human protagonist is Abner Marsh, a fat ugly steamboat captain, who you can tell is probably going to be awesome from the way GRRM goes on about how fat and ugly he is, which is different from the way he goes on about how ugly Sour Billy Tipton is (when his characters are awesome, he goes on about how ugly they are; when they are not awesome, he goes on about how angry and bitter they are that people dared find them ugly, how dare they have opinions).

There are two main vampire dudes: Joshua York, who co-owns the steamboat Fevre Dream with Abner, is the Good Vampire, the one who wants to live in harmony with humans and not kill them and all that stuff. Damon Julian is the Batshit Crazy Vampire, who dithers on about beauty and strength and the Natural Order Of Things and other social Darwinist bullshit and likes to buy really expensive slaves and eat them. In a bizarre twist on the usual vampire story, York is blond and Julian is brunet.

Things I like about this book that other people might not: actually, these are basically the same things that are why I really like Martin's writing in general and lots of other people do not. The story isn't very fast-paced, moving along at the slow, rich, detail-filled, thought-by-thought pace that modern readers think is slow and people with degrees in slogging through Victorian literature think is a nice middling sort of walking speed. The other is that Martin writes in the first person, and frequently from the POV of characters who are, quite simply, terrible people. For some people, being in the heads of murderers and rapists and slave-buyers and all sorts of generally despicable bigoted fucksticks is just way too disturbing for leisure reading, which I quite understand. Other people seem to have some issues with the idea that terrible people are simultaneously both terrible and people, which is a widespread cultural delusion that I think requires stamping out ASAP, particularly since in its worst incarnations it leads to those sorts of "So-and-so couldn't have committed that terrible crime; s/he has a family and a dog and goes grocery shopping like a normal person" attitudes that occasionally clog up our already dysfunctional justice system. (Sorry for the digression; I'm having opinions all over the place today.)

I, personally, love books with terrible people in them where you get to see that the terrible people are both terrible and real people, instead of cartoony black-hat-wearing cat-stroking villains who exist just to fuck the hero's shit up because every story needs an antagonist (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, MRS. BATES FROM DOWNTON ABBEY). I particularly love books where there are some morally ambiguous people and some terrible people and very few good people and the good people are still petty and stupid sometimes, because let's face it, people are very complicated and also we kind of suck. I also like it when the good and bad people do not sort themselves into good and bad factions on opposing sides of the plot, which is part of why ASOIAF is so brilliant, but this does not really apply here. Fevre Dream sorts itself into "good" and "bad" characters and social groupings pretty clearly, partly because it is way the fuck shorter then ASOIAF so we really only have time to tell the story of Joshua/humans/"good" vamps versus Damion/Sour Billy/'bad" vamps. Although there are a requisite number of fractures and betrayals within both of these coalitions, so that is fun.

ASOIAF fans will also find Fevre Dream noticeably lacking in those WTF moments that make you go back and reread things to make sure that really just happened, but again I think this is largely due to it being a three-hundred-page story instead of a seven-thousand-page one. There are still things that happened in it that surprised me, which is quite impressive, because either the vampire novel has become the tropiest and most predictable genre ever, or I am way, way, way too familiar with it. For example: in the obligatory Our Vampires Are Different scene, Martin's vampires are actually different! And in plot-specific ways, not just in superficial ways about skin and hair and nails that make you roll your eyes at how hard the author is angling for a movie and/or how much this is clearly important because someone is going to be banging the vampire later. Also: I don't know shit about steamboats, so all the stuff about steamboats was new and informative. (I'm sure steamboats are less esoteric than the stuff that showed up in the last vampire book I read that I did know, but I'm a strange person.) Also also: while there is an obligatory Our Vampires Are Different discussion, there are also other incarnations of that discussion where various characters (both human and vampire) deliberately lie about the ways in which the vampires are different (or, I suppose, that they are the same) in order to further their own ends. It is awesome.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm going to end here.

(xposted from http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co...)(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Bracy Ratcliff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

I did not have high hopes for this vampire story. I've seen dozens of movies, read dozens of books, even worn vampire costumes for Halloween parties--the subject is old and in my opinion over-done. However, this one was a little different. Joshua was, by the common definition, a vampire, but with a conscience. He fought and defeated the 'thirst' but fell prey to a more powerful bloodmaster; and, if not for his human friend might have died. The story is set in my favorite place in the world, alon...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The renowned author and screenwriter of horror, science fiction, and fantasy George R.R. Martin was recently selected by Time magazine as one of the “2011 Time 100” (a list of the 100 most influential people) and is best known for his series A Song of Fire and Ice. However, before this best-selling series that inspired the HBO series A Game of Thrones, Fevre Dream was published in which a tough steamboat captain Abner Marsh is approached by the odd but noble Joshua York and offered the draw of a...more

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May 15, 2012 Riley Keith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If Mark Twain and Anne Rice ever got together and planned a novel, this book would be their result. Beautifully detailed and rich, George R. R. Martin takes readers back to the South in her heyday. It's 1857 and steam is king. Steamboats are the fashionable way to travel and the only means of getting goods from one place to another. We join Abner Marsh, a struggling steamship captain, who is ugly as sin and a mouth on him that would make the devil blush. In his hand is a letter asking for a meet...more

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May 11, 2012 J. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's been a long time since I really got absolutely LOST in a book, and this was a welcomed distraction in my life. I was halfway through it before I knew it.

One review of the book described it as 'more of a deeply themed historical fiction book, than a 'vampire novel,' and I would agree. This thing is so steeped in history, including the language that is steeped in the period's flavor.

Another review called it Tom Sawyer mixed with epic vampire themes. I'd agree with hesitation.

This book has a...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Pepster50 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Probably my favorite vampire novel I've read, just beating Salems Lot. SL was an incredible dark story and I think the only reason I vote this one higher is because SL was my first vampire story and I really didn't know any of the vampire tropes(like being hurt by crosses or holy water), so I was like wtf hes killing these vampires with a glowing cross? This story removes all that random gunk and approaches the vampire myth from a moree science fiction angle which I loved.

My favorite section in...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Maggie Rocca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

No spoilers in this review.

This is Martin's effort at telling a vampire tale. The main character, Abner Marsh, is a steam boat captain in 1857, aging, fat, and down on his luck. He is approached by a mysterious stranger who will only meet with him at night, and makes him an offer to good to refuse. No surprises about the stranger, although Abner Marsh isn't so quick to catch on since he hasn't been inundated for at least twenty years with books, movies, and TV shows about vampires.

Martin loves...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Check out more reviews and SciFi/Fantasy fun at Lions and Men.

George R. R. Martin tells us a tale of vampires inhabiting the area around the Mississippi river in the mid-1800's. Fevre Dream is inhabited by colorful sailors, captains, and undead. As you might have read in my First Impressions, riverdog Abner Marsh and mysterious Joshua York team up to captain a brand new riverboat. Marsh is occupied with the fame and fortune that comes along with being the fastest, while the pale York has shady u...more Check out more reviews and SciFi/Fantasy fun at Lions and Men.

George R. R. Martin tells us a tale of vampires inhabiting the area around the Mississippi river in the mid-1800's. Fevre Dream is inhabited by colorful sailors, captains, and undead. As you might have read in my First Impressions, riverdog Abner Marsh and mysterious Joshua York team up to captain a brand new riverboat. Marsh is occupied with the fame and fortune that comes along with being the fastest, while the pale York has shady ulterior motives. As the novel progresses, we learn the true nature of York's plans, the likes of which will change Abner's life forever.

One of the best parts about Fevre Dream is Abner Marsh's progression from an ignorant captain to a caring friend and partner. He begins this journey as a man possessed by avarice and envy, always trying to be the best captain on the river. Meeting and befriending Joshua York, however, forces him to rethink what matters most in a man's life.

Another main point of the book is the mystery of Joshua York and his true intentions aboard the Fevre Dream. While Abner Marsh is in the dark for most of the first half of the book, the reader figures out the stranger's somewhat obvious secret within the first few chapters. Because of this, it felt to me like Martin draws out this plot point a bit too long, and it loses a bit of it's edge.

Fevre Dream takes place in a colorful pre Civil War backdrop, and the writing style and plot points fit perfectly into this setting. The only thing that I regret about this story is that Martin overstates his main message at some points: Slavery is as much of an injustice as vampirism. It's not that I don't enjoy a moral to my story, but when it is too clearly stated, I feel as though the author is on a soapbox.

With that said, Fevre Dream is still a great novel about faith, redemption, and overcoming insurmountable odds. With all of the novels being published these days about vampires, Fevre Dream remains a breath of fresh air in the genre.

4 out of 5 stars!(less)

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Oct 11, 2009 Kellyreaderofbooks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This blend of historical fiction and horror is set in the mid to late 1800s, on the Mississippi river. Steamboat captain Abner Marsh is approached by the mysterious and strange Joshua York, who convinces Abner to build and co-captain a ship with Mr.York. The call this ship the Fevre Dream, and it's one of the fastest and fanciest steamboats in the river trade. From the begining, Abner notices odd things about Joshua: the way he only comes out at night, his pale skin, his wierd friends who also s...more

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Mar 23, 2009 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009march

Picked this up solely because it was a George R.R. Martin book. And even though the tone is WILDLY different than Ice and Fire, it's still clearly the same author's voice. The way he describes character, the way he advances time, etc. are very familiar.

The setting, characters and plot, though, are not. At least, not for Martin, and honestly, not for much of the supernatural genre.

Fevre Dream is set on and around steamboats in the 1880s. It's a novel idea, and Martin creates brand-new vampire can...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Alaina Brokaw rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fevre Dream was pretty good. It starts off slow, but it's really engaging once it starts moving. I started reading it because I was still in post-Song of Fire and Ice withdrawal and I wanted to read something else by George R.R. Martin. I was surprised to find that this book is written very differently. Unlike Song of Fire and Ice, which is a wonderfully and overwhelming complex universe (with more characters than I can keep track of) Fevre Dream is much simpler. It shifts between two points of...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Andrew Georgiadis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-and-fantasy

4.5 STARS

Never could it be called "fair" to compare the likes of George Martin to, say, Stephanie Meyer (who is the young Mormon author of the chastity-obsessed "Twilight" series), but I can't help myself. Vampire novels aren't a genre with which I whet the noodle often, but when I do, it's in the hopes I'll be presented a modicum of creativity.

This is an antebellum tale of vampires (or something like vampires) that takes places almost exclusively on steam-powered riverboats on the Mississippi....more

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Jul 23, 2012 Jesse rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd be willing to bet that most fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, while the five books at this time in that series total well over five thousand pages, don't know much of Martin's career prior to the epic fantasy series. Fevre Dream is one of them, written thirty years ago now, which shows that Martin has always been a very gifted writer but even for 1982 this story is mostly predictable and came well enough after Anne Rice's classic to elicit plenty of aping criticism. Set in the mid-1850s upon t...more I'd be willing to bet that most fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, while the five books at this time in that series total well over five thousand pages, don't know much of Martin's career prior to the epic fantasy series. Fevre Dream is one of them, written thirty years ago now, which shows that Martin has always been a very gifted writer but even for 1982 this story is mostly predictable and came well enough after Anne Rice's classic to elicit plenty of aping criticism. Set in the mid-1850s upon the Mississippi river and among the steamboating industry which gives it a healthy historical fiction tag, this is also a vampire story involving pretty Euros, plantations, slaves and New Orleans. Much like the wild west camps were before being annexed by the government, it was a largely lawless part of the country people flocked to nonetheless for the industry which is why the vampire tales fit so accordingly: lots of money, lots of fellow Euros and an absence of real authority. Some things don't seem to change, eh? ;)

Anyway, along with the vampire hooey, it's a fairly typical story of ascending to the top, having your moment in the sun/15 minutes of glory and then having it all crash down around you in terrible catastrophe... aided of course by those annoying long-toothed prima donnas. Much of it you can see coming a mile away and it ends rather benignly with no twists or anything other than an unremarkable showdown.

Even so, Martin's writing style made it very entertaining and a quick read that never bored me. His characters are great, once again. He has a great talent for dialog and body language/facial expressions that make conversations between characters very engaging. All the characters were colorful and alive, even the vampires despite their stereotypical elegance and overblown graceful nature.

Fevre Dream was a good book, especially if you want to learn a thing or two about riverboating while being mildly entertained by a reserved thriller at the same time. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading this, so long as they had already read ASoIaF.(less)

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Jan 06, 2012 Ala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This period piece, set in the latter half of the 1800s, tells the tale of a time when the steamboats milled along up and down the Mississippi river as they plyed their trade in passengers and goods alike. Focusing on one boat in particular, the Fevre Dream herself, and it's crew.

Oh, and there's (view spoiler).

It's not a bad tale, really. Just felt a bit slow and leisurely at times. And a bit long-winded and verbose. The characters were interesting for the most part, sav...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Rafal Jasinski rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nie pozbawiona swoistego uroku, choć nie nazbyt "odkrywcza" opowieść o wampirach, która rozczarowuje na jednej tylko płaszczyźnie - po prostu, nie sprawdza się jako horror. Oczekiwałem większego natężenia grozy, który w połączeniu z motywem pływającego po wielkiej Missisipi parowca - a zatem potencjalne ofiary wampirów pozbawione byłyby możliwości szybkiego ratunku - dałoby naprawdę niesamowity klimat. Tymczasem, Martin swoją genezą wampiryzmu odziera w pewnym stopniu "lud nocy" z ich złowrogiej...more

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About George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies,...more George R. R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.

In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.

As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.

In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.

Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.

Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...(less)

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Books by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

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“Beneath it his skin was milky white, serene and unlined, ready to begin anew, ready for the world to write upon it.” — 4 people liked it

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