Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
Abner Marsh is a large, ugly,
dedicated riverboat captain. His career is
on the brink of ruin when ice crushes all but one of his fleet of
steamboats. Trying to keep his company
afloat (pun intended) with one old boat he is on the brink of disaster when he
is sought out a rich man, Joshua York, who wants to form a partnership. York will supply the funds to make the
biggest, fastest and most opulent steamboat to ever sail the Mississippi and Marsh
will just need to co-captain and teach York all about life on the river and
piloting a riverboat. Of course all things
that seem too good to be true are, and Marsh learns more than he ever wanted to
know about York and his kind.
In 1982 the whole concept of looking
at vampires in a way that didn’t follow in Dracula’s footsteps was unique, now
it’s something that every vampire book seems to do: put their own twist on the
legend. Martin did that over thirty
years ago and I had to keep reminding myself of that. This wasn’t just another vampire book; this
was a standalone and a standout at the time.
The friendship that forms between
York and Marsh is an interesting one to watch develop. It makes you think neither ever had a really
good friend. And the lengths each will
go for the other is heartwarming, especially considering the rather
curmudgeonly personality of Marsh.
Pick up this book if you are really
fond of vampire legends, or life on the Mississippi in the mid-1800s or if you
are needing your Martin fix while waiting for the next volume in the Game of
Thrones series.
