There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
on February 17, 2017
Starts off slow but picks up after a few chapters. I was totally captured by the book during 15-60% in and then I reach the end of the second act, It was just a massive drop off. The story becomes total an incredible bore and even the solid ending can't redeem it. Shame too because there was so much potential here.
on May 20, 2015
This book really surprised me. I will not bore you with details. Download the sample and judge for yourself. All I will say is that I had never been so interested in Steamboats in my life. Mr. Martin is definitely a master writer when he successfully captures your attention and transports your imagination exactly where its meant to go. I really enjoyed this book. I didn't think I was going to enjoy it so much. The only reason I don't award 5 stars is because there were some passages that seemed to have a little bit more writing than necessary. However, I do understand that the development of the characters is very important and very valuable in these complex scenarios. Not your usual vampire novel. Would picture as a motion picture or mini-series on HBO.
on January 23, 2017
I have no idea why this book lost my attention. I usually devour GRRM's work, and I've never had to fight to keep reading him. This one fell short somehow. I just didn't connect with any of the characters the way I normally do with GRRM; if there had been a single character that I *had* enjoyed, I'd have continued just to see how their own plot turned out. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading his other work? He's still absolutely on my buy-immediately list, because I have since read other things he's written, and not encountered the same "meh" feeling I had during this. I will also admit that this was a DNF for me. I made it 3/4 of the way in. Perhaps it finished well and I just didn't get there. Alas, when I picked this up, I had a huge TBR pile and couldn't afford to waste my reading time on something that was only mildly entertaining me. I have high hopes that GRRM will redeem himself in the future. He's an excellent storyteller and has long ago earned my loyalty and my continued coin.
on March 10, 2016
I bought this book because I'm a huge GoT fan! Thought G. Martin deserved an opportunity in some other novel. Well, I did't read the reviews but saw that this book had a decent star rating.
The book is great, right from the beginning you get trapped and want to read and read. It is fantastic how you get transported into the steamboats, the river, all the stuff (though I don't think that he tends to spend a lot of time describing stuff). It has this G. Martin touch, some twists during the story. The end was kind of predictable, but not in that way. It is an easy novel, nothing like GoT. Though I could find some kind of "sayings" that's G. Martins got. For example, in the story there says something like: "the night is dark and full of terrors" though changing 2 or 3 words.
In few words. I invite you to read this book, maybe it isn't the great story GoT is, but it is pretty damn well written.
Do read the epilogue, I think is the cherry of the cake.
The book is great, right from the beginning you get trapped and want to read and read. It is fantastic how you get transported into the steamboats, the river, all the stuff (though I don't think that he tends to spend a lot of time describing stuff). It has this G. Martin touch, some twists during the story. The end was kind of predictable, but not in that way. It is an easy novel, nothing like GoT. Though I could find some kind of "sayings" that's G. Martins got. For example, in the story there says something like: "the night is dark and full of terrors" though changing 2 or 3 words.
In few words. I invite you to read this book, maybe it isn't the great story GoT is, but it is pretty damn well written.
Do read the epilogue, I think is the cherry of the cake.
on August 8, 2015
Don't read this book expecting it to be anything like Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. However, it was written just as well and hooked me into the story and characters right away. I had no idea what this book was about when I began reading it. I, like many other people I assume, purchased this because I love his fantasy epic and needed something, anything to satiate my hunger for more George R.R. Martin prose. This book definitely did not disappoint. I absolutely love this genre and Fevre Dream is no exception. But it is exceptional. If that makes sense! Its perfect mix of 19th Century America with fantasy and lore was right on. I'm looking forward to reading Martin's other non Ice and Fire novels and short stories.
True To George R. R. Martin a must read for those who dream of Vampires but know they are not always about blood and gore. I t
on September 1, 2016
True to George R. R. Martin - must read for those who dream of Vampires, but know they are not always about blood and gore. It reminds me of another book sadly long out of print call " A Delicate Dependency" . I can't t recall the author but it too lends it's to our codependency that exists between our humanity and our darker selves. Read fever dream and awake on which ever side you chose.
on December 20, 2015
Published in 1982, this book invites comparisons to that other series of vampire novels set in Louisiana. But, like its author's other works, Fevre Dream is filled with much more complex and layered characters.
I am not normally a fan of vampire fiction, but this is a pleasant exception.
Many of the instantly likable characters could have been reincarnations of ancestors from Westeros. The main point of view character is a greedy, ambitious, ugly, and yet absolutely lovable mountain of a man. His Ahab-esque quest haunts the story and his entire life.
The villains are both villainous and tragic, easy enough to both hate and sympathize with.
In short, this is an excellent read. At points, it may seem slow, it may seem to be meandering back and forth lazily, just like the Mississippi River itself. But the journey is well worth the time.
I am not normally a fan of vampire fiction, but this is a pleasant exception.
Many of the instantly likable characters could have been reincarnations of ancestors from Westeros. The main point of view character is a greedy, ambitious, ugly, and yet absolutely lovable mountain of a man. His Ahab-esque quest haunts the story and his entire life.
The villains are both villainous and tragic, easy enough to both hate and sympathize with.
In short, this is an excellent read. At points, it may seem slow, it may seem to be meandering back and forth lazily, just like the Mississippi River itself. But the journey is well worth the time.
on December 31, 2012
I enjoyed the Song of Fire & Ice Series so I decided to try something else by Martin. I like vampires. I like Anne Rice, even the Sookie Stackhouse series. I didn't expect this book to be like a Song of Fire & Ice. I expected it to be dark and well-written, which it was.
Here's what I didn't expect: I hated all of the characters. Sure, they acted "in character," but their stories and plot lines were meaningless to me. I didn't connect with any of them. They were mostly creepy caricatures. There was absolutely no emotional pull to any of them. The singular interesting point to this book was the setting (mid and late 19th century Mississippi River). Pretty sad. I kept reading because I kept expecting to be pulled in. I couldn't believe that it would go on and on and on with no emotional build-up at all, but it did. Things happened. I cared about none of them. In fact, I only finished it a month ago and already forgot the ending.
I hope this was helpful to someone who hasn't read it. I'm sure people will disagree, but the all of the reviews I read said it was stellar, so here's my two cents. It was flat, creepy, and unpleasant.
Here's what I didn't expect: I hated all of the characters. Sure, they acted "in character," but their stories and plot lines were meaningless to me. I didn't connect with any of them. They were mostly creepy caricatures. There was absolutely no emotional pull to any of them. The singular interesting point to this book was the setting (mid and late 19th century Mississippi River). Pretty sad. I kept reading because I kept expecting to be pulled in. I couldn't believe that it would go on and on and on with no emotional build-up at all, but it did. Things happened. I cared about none of them. In fact, I only finished it a month ago and already forgot the ending.
I hope this was helpful to someone who hasn't read it. I'm sure people will disagree, but the all of the reviews I read said it was stellar, so here's my two cents. It was flat, creepy, and unpleasant.
on December 1, 2013
Fevre Dream is a story that - yes - involves vampires, but more than anything revolves around a man and his deep love for Steam Boats and the culture of the Mississippi river circa 1857. If that sounds odd, it should; this is a rather odd book that drifts between historical fiction and horror fiction, with a Twain-like focus on dialect and the Mississippi.
Martin clearly did his research on the Steam Boat era and I really enjoyed becoming immersed in his portrayal of the excitement of the time. This was an age when humans truly began becoming masters of their own environment but were still in awe of their own creations and took nothing for granted.
The book's protagonist, Abner Marsh, is given life by George RR Martin and is by far the most interesting character of the novel, much more so than the two main vampires who devolve into caricatures of "good" and "evil", which is surprising given Martin's notoriety for creating "grey" characters. Abner is a pretty much just "good" in his own right, but his personality leaps off the page and you can't help but root for him as the book moves ever forward towards a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
Martin clearly did his research on the Steam Boat era and I really enjoyed becoming immersed in his portrayal of the excitement of the time. This was an age when humans truly began becoming masters of their own environment but were still in awe of their own creations and took nothing for granted.
The book's protagonist, Abner Marsh, is given life by George RR Martin and is by far the most interesting character of the novel, much more so than the two main vampires who devolve into caricatures of "good" and "evil", which is surprising given Martin's notoriety for creating "grey" characters. Abner is a pretty much just "good" in his own right, but his personality leaps off the page and you can't help but root for him as the book moves ever forward towards a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
