Fevre Dream - Review

Title:  Fevre Dream

Author: George R. R. Martin

Synopsis:  “Abner Marsh, a struggling riverboat captain, suspects that something’s amiss when he is approached by a wealthy aristocrat with a lucrative offer.  The hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua 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 investment in a decade.  York’s reasons for traversing the powerful Mississippi are to be none of Marsh’s concern – no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious York’s actions may prove.  Not until the maiden voyage of Fevre Dream does Marsh realize that he has joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare—and humankind’s most impossible dream.”

Review:  I’m not a huge fan of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.  Don’t get me wrong, they are wonderfully written novels.  The story just doesn’t do it for me.  That has always made me sad, because I admire Martin’s gift with words and the way he puts them together into sentences, which then form paragraphs.  You see where I'm going with this right?  I don’t have to be sad anymore, because I have discovered that he has written other novels and these novels are just as well written and catch my fancy better than A Game of Thrones. 

     Fevre Dream is a wonderful historical story of horror and vampires, and steamboats on the Mississippi River.  Since I picked it up I haven’t wanted to put it down.  When I reached the last few pages I was sad because it was almost over.  Even now, an hour later, I’m still grieving.  I feel sorry for whatever I choose to read next because I know it won’t even come close to being as good as Fevre Dream.  The mystery of who, or what, Joshua York really is grabbed me right off.  I knew the truth, and watching Abner Marsh come to the realization so slowly made me want to grab him and shake him until he figured it out.  Martin’s amazing description of the rich history of this time period flowed off of the page and into my brain so vividly that I could see the swirling muddy water of the Mississippi and smell the smoke in the air.  The ending was perfect and could not have met my expectations better even if I had written it myself.  This is not your typical vampire novel, it’s way better.  Do yourself a favor and add it to your summer reading list!

Publisher:  Bantam Books

ISBN:  978-0553577938

Looking for more novels that give a different spin to the classic vampire tale?  Try these fantastic novels:

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A Taint in the Blood by S. M. Stirling

Blood Rights by Kristen Painter