Scooter Chronicles

This afternoon I finished “Fevre Dream” by famed wordsmith George R. R. Martin. He is the author of the highly acclaimed “Song of Fire and Ice” fantasy series. He was also a story consultant on the TV show “Beauty and the Beast” and on the “Twilight Zone” as well in 1986. This book was first published in 1982.

Again, I rely on Amazon.Com to supply a description:

When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For 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 has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern – no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove.

Marsh meant to turn down York’s offer. It was too full of secrets that spelled danger. But the promise of both gold and a grand new boat that could make history crushed his resolve – coupled with the terrible force of York’s mesmerizing gaze. Not until the maiden voyage of his new sidewheeler Fevre Dream would Marsh realize he had joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare … and mankind’s most impossible dream.

And that mission involves vampires. I had no idea when I bought it and started reading it that it was about vampires. They do not scare in the least, but do not attract me to read about. However, Mr. Martin did a fine job in NOT using the cliches that you would normally think of when you hear the word vampire. And he even came up with a few reasons that they were not true. And I credit Martin for making the book interesting that I would keep reading it, even though the subject was not something that would interest me.

The story itself moved quite well. He quickly had things in place to get the story moving, but he added more mystery on top of it. At least he didn’t take up upteen amount of chapters on the building of the boat. But it wasn’t until just before halfway through that he pulled a lot of things together and let the reader (and Cap’n Marsh) in on York’s secrets. That chapter was done differently, in first person of York’s dialogue only. It set the rest of the book in motion.

One thing that Martin did well was keeping me guessing what was next. He would bring the story to a point that leading into it could be seen as an ending. But he would lead the story in another direction, and it would continue to play out. Yet it didn’t read like filler just to make a novel length story.

[EDIT]: I did some thinking last night after writing this, and realized how good the characterization was. Especially Cap’n Marsh. You really get a good look at where he stands in life, and how the world effects him and how he deals with things. Also, the epilogue is probably up there as one of the best I have read, along with “The Lions of Al-Rassan” by Guy Gavriel Kay. [/EDIT]

All in all, I enjoyed it. Even though the subject matter was not something I would look for or read in the future. After reading the above description I saw the story going into different directions.

On last note. Part of the book takes place in New Orleans. It was strange to read about the boats being tied up along the levees to unload passengers or goods, given the mess that Hurricane Katrina left there.