Fevre Dream (original 1982; edition 2001)

Imagine a silent paddle-wheel cruising the Mississippi river in the still of the night stopping only to allow it's passengers the opportunity to feast upon the blood of the unwary populace sleeping in range of the shoreline. So long as the captain were to avoid a predictable pattern of stops they would be able to terrorize the entire length of the Mississippi and it's tributaries for generations.

This is the horrific possibility that Martin conjures within the dark pages of Fevre Dream; a tale of ruthless vampires, a riverman looking for redemption, and an idealistic young vampire who sees a future where vampires no longer need to succumb to the allure of drinking the blood of man.

Fevre Dream is a slightly different take on the traditional vampire story. It is set in the busy river-boating days of the late 19th century America. Martin does a few interesting things with the vampire legend that help set this story apart from others covering the same topic. For example he provides a compelling and believable backstory to the drinking of blood while at the same time he obliterates some of the more cloying bits of folklore about how to defend against a vampire.

I normally don't read "horror", however Martin's deft hand produced a tale I still enjoyed quite a bit. It's easy to read and flows along as smoothly as the river the book is set upon. To fans of George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire" Fevre Dream will come as a bit of a surprise; however, it is interesting to note that Fevre Dream was originally published in 1982 and thus gives you a glimpse into the evolution of his writing style. I think that if you like A Song of Ice and Fire you will also enjoy Fevre Dream; just in a different way.



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Rating: 3.5
It appears as though there might actually be some life left in the vampire story (no pun intended) despite the glut of crap currently on the market. Martin does a good job with this one and his usual flair for character and exciting plots is readily apparent.
His take on the vampire myth is a good one that eschews many of the more extravagent elements of the myth, but stays true to the core of it in a very interesting way. The depiction of riverboat life on the Mississippi is well done and adds a lot to the story as we follow taciturn captain Abner Marsh on his journey into a gothic underworld that turns his life's dream into a nightmare. ( )

The vampires retain their proper deadly/vulnerable dichotomy! Hurrah!
- But Martin does nothing new with them to keep it all from being extremely familiar territory.
Steamboats! I know nothing about steamboats and am automatically interested in the historical setting!
- If only there were much, much more steamboat history and river-town culture.
"Ohmygod a twist I didn't see coming oh yay I love Martin *kisses book*"
- "Huh. That didn't last long."
George R. R. Martin = automatically > most fantasy authors, particularly the vampiric ones
- But it's so short. Such a very slim Martin. Like the first chapter of one of his usual tomes. There could (and, it feels, should) be so much more.

Conclusion: it's like Martin read an Anne Rice book and said to himself, "Hmm, this is sort of intriguing, what with the vampires taking refuge in bayous. I bet I could do better!" And then he did--but got bored or distracted and decided to just end it any old place, thus creating a tantalizing glimmer of relatively awesome possibilities that really didn't materialize in the book. ( )

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. ( )

seem to have 2 copies of this. (one from A. different edition diff cover. 1983.) ( )