Fevre Dream
A Novel
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4.2 • 307 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A THRILLING REINVENTION OF THE VAMPIRE NOVEL BY THE MASTER OF MODERN FANTASY, GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
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.
Customer Reviews
Not what was expected
Honestly I can’t say what I was expecting when picked Fevre Dream from the pile of options I had to end 2025. It’s George R. R. Martin, so I figure it’s a good bet.
Some hard-core American Lit folks out there might cringe when I make this irreverent reference, but
Fevre Dream reminded me of Melville’s Moby Dick. The captain isn’t on a whaler, and it’s not a white whale he pursues, but….
Some beasts have teeth.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone with a sensitive nature or someone who is easily offended. It is, after all, a book based heavily on the insensitivity of its time period. Lots of monsters in all shapes and sizes.
I loved the wholesale dive into the colloquial speech of the era, and I learned more about steamboats than I ever thought I could. The story is bleeds deeply and carries like the river’s muddy current.
As I write this, I’m wondering why I’m not giving it 5⭐️s so let’s just call it 4.5⭐️s for good measure.
Fevre Dream probably closes out my reads for 2025, and I, glad of that because it was a meaningful book. Doubt I will ever forget Abner Marsh.
If you like vampire novels
You have to give this one a read. The attention to historical detail adds so much to the novel's rich and ominous atmosphere. The protagonists are memorable and even lovable, while the villains are properly despicable. For me, it was the relationship between Abner and Joshua that I found most compelling. Honestly, the epilogue left me a little choked up. I've read a whole herd of vampire novels and, until Fevre Dream, none had left me dewy-eyed.
Steamboats and vampires
A great story of the river and friendship. A vampire story like one I haven’t read before.