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A review by asparagusfern
Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Vampires and steamboats is a weird combo but George RR Martin went all in. It’s as if he read Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice and Life on the Mississippi and tried to combine them.
This is a pretty solid vampire novel, although Martin lacks the genius of his later writing and leans into some of his worse instincts (exploitation as a form of exposition, an excess of detail). The pacing is a bit off - too slow in the beginning and too fast at the end.
I think the time and place are interesting. Martin connects vampirism with American slavery in a way that’s really interesting, although I think giving the black characters a bit more agency and screen-time would have helped. And the 19th century is an age of scientific discovery and transition - the steamboat, foremost, but also a scientific concoctionthat saves the vampires from having to drink blood.
Where this novel succeeds more than anything is in its lore. Joshua’s history lessons are by far the most interesting passages and George tweaks the vampire mythos in ways I’ve never seen.
This is a pretty solid vampire novel, although Martin lacks the genius of his later writing and leans into some of his worse instincts (exploitation as a form of exposition, an excess of detail). The pacing is a bit off - too slow in the beginning and too fast at the end.
I think the time and place are interesting. Martin connects vampirism with American slavery in a way that’s really interesting, although I think giving the black characters a bit more agency and screen-time would have helped. And the 19th century is an age of scientific discovery and transition - the steamboat, foremost, but also a scientific concoction
Where this novel succeeds more than anything is in its lore. Joshua’s history lessons are by far the most interesting passages and George tweaks the vampire mythos in ways I’ve never seen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism
This takes place in the pre-Civil War American south so there is some truly awful treatment of slaves by villain characters and some ambivalence by protagonists.