So I bought Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin. After hearing that it was about vampires and also because I was impressed by his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, I thought I would see how he approached vampire fiction. I was sure I was on safe ground... partly because Fevre Dream was written before the big boom in supernatural romance novels, but mostly because Martin definitely does not seem the type to write a formulaic vampire love story. And I was right.
Fevre Dream is the story of Abner Marsh, a steamboat captain working the great Mississippi river during the late 1850s. Having fallen on hard times, he receives unexpected support from the mysterious Joshua York, who gives him the funds to build a new steamer, the Fevre Dream, the finest steamship to sail the Mississippi. But things grow complicated as rumours of York's unusual habits begin to spread - his odd eating habits, his strange hours and his even stranger companions. And as the Fevre Dream sails downriver, leaving dark tales in its wake, a confrontation soon becomes inevitable.
Reading this book firmly cemented my opinion that George R. R. Martin is a brilliant writer. If you had told me a few weeks ago that I would be getting excited about a race between two steam boats, I would have laughed. But that's exactly what happened, so invested was I in the lead character of Abner Marsh, who loves his boat and his profession like nothing else on earth. He's brash, ugly and about as far from a romantic lead as you can get, but he's likeable and it was easy to become invested in his dream. Given Martin's "anyone-can-die" approach to writing, I was praying that Marsh survived his ordeal. The other characters all have their own unique appeal and the relationships that develop between them give a wonderful depth to the story without the need for any overblown romance. I can't say too much about the supporting characters without giving away the story, but I will say that Martin keeps you guessing as to what everyone is up to, what their motivations are and, by the end, even the villains have a terrible tragedy to them that makes them more than the cardboard cut-outs they might otherwise have been.
The setting is also inspired for a number of reasons. The Mississippi river provides an excellent backdrop for the story and the steamboat Fevre Dream itself is a great set piece for the action that takes place - from its claustrophobic cabins to the elaborate dining rooms. Also the problem of how vampires hide themselves from humans is obviously greatly reduced by having the story set in the 1850's, though suspicions still inevitably arise to drive the story onwards, and in this regard Martin finds ways of being original while also drawing on some of the traditional vampire stories people know so well. Various other aspects of the time and setting, most notably slavery, add new angles to our perception of the characters, both good and evil.
Thankfully, I have little to criticise about the book. Many of the problems I noted in my review of "A Song of Ice and Fire" are absent here - there are fewer editing errors and there are fewer point of view characters so the narration is blessedly stable. However there were times when I worried that the story was gearing towards an anti-climatic finish and while the end is exciting it's not as exciting as I might have hoped from George R. R. Martin. There's a particular break in the action - a very long break - towards the end of the book which, I felt, detracted from an otherwise good build-up and this may have contributed to my feeling that the end was not what it could have been.
But all-in-all, I would recommend this book to any fan of the vampire genre, especially anyone wanting an escape from the supernatural romances that are still overflowing on the bookshelves.
