Rating: 
Summary: Excellent even if you don't like vampires
Review: I don't like vampire books, but this one was forced on me by a friend, and I am eternally grateful to him. Martin does a most impressive job of showing a race at once similar and alien to humans. The characters are realistic and three-dimensional, the setting is superb, and of course Martin's writing is as polished as ever. What can I say? Read it at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: Reprint of a unique vampire tale.
Review: I first discovered Martin in his recent fantasy work, "A Song of Ice and Fire". Having an interest in vampire literature, I dicovered his out of print book, "Fevre Dream". It took awhile to track down a copy, but it was well worth the effort. Now that it's been reprinted, I hope that many others will be exposed to this unique take on the vampire myth.
The setting is perfect, the Mississippi River during the steamboat era... New Orleans. The descriptions are less clinical, and much more 'sensory'. You can quite easily imagine being in the scenes described. The vampires in the book are given a more 'natural' feel than in most vampire myths and in many ways this adds to the horror of the story. Make no mistake, this is a horror novel. It is dark and at times very hard to read due to the imagery which oftentimes is made more shocking due to focusing on a different sense than would be expected. A sound or smell instead of sight.
The sideplots are almost as compelling as the overarching one, such as the attempts to make the steamboat of the story a famous name on the Mississippi. Martin has a knack for ending a story with an indelible image (something he did in "Dying of the Light", also a recent reprint), and he has done so here.
Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A dark and delicious story that every reader should savor...
Review: I first read this novel in 1988, and I have since read it again - once a year like clockwork. It is a spectacular piece of writing that evokes tasty images of a wayward Mark Twain on acid, as Martin leads a group of the undead into a family reunion that only an unlikely hero like Abner Marsh could survive. The characters are vivid and deeply rendered, and their quests, both good and bad are the stuff of classic stories. It is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read, and one of the most fun. Find it, read it and keep it close - it's a blast...
Rating: 
Summary: good characters slow story
Review: I love vampire novels, and I had really high hopes for Fevre Dream. Perhaps too high. I had read comments that claimed the book was equal in quality to 'salem's Lot and The Hunger, and had always held off reading Fevre Dream until I wanted a really special experience.
The first big disappointment was finding out the 'vampires' were not of the supernatural kind - the wholly unnaturally evil, utterly damned sort - but I adjusted and hoped the plotting and narrative drive would make up for this. It didn't - the long passage describing the 'Fevre Dream', the steamboat at the centre of the story, seemed to me interminable - and that was my second big disappointment.
The book was very good quite often but not brilliant. The author was aiming for an epic, something he only occasionally achieved.
In his characterisation, however, he did much better. Abner Marsh was a grittily realistic, larger than life, yet sympathetic individual, and to a lesser degree so was Joshua York. The two evil characters were truly evil - I won't be forgetting Sour Billy Tipton and Damon Julian for awhile. Joshua's girlfriend Valerie provides the only truly terrifying moment. But it is Abner that makes the book a good one ultimately, he is the reason why the novel's epilogue is so moving.
A good novel but the potential was there for a much better one. Read it on a slow winter's night to get the full effect, don't expect the earth, and perhaps you will enjoy yourself so much you'll wonder what I'm quibbling about.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I normally hate vampire books... because they're more romance novels than fictional adventures. And the only reason i picked up this book, is because i've been absolutely hooked on GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. But i have to say, this book is absolutely amazing. I thought the only reason why Martin was able to recreate medieval life so accurately and amazingly in Song of Ice and Fire was because he must have been a medieval buff or expert... and maybe he is, but that means he must also be a Mississipi steamboat expert as well, because his writing is almost like he lived the time. Heck, i think i would have given this book 5 stars even if it wasn't about vampires and lacked any plot, and it was simply a diary or recounts of somebody from that time.I won't spoil the book, but if you truly want to be transported to another time, this book is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: A murky myth with Twain twists
Review: I probably first read this book about 16 years ago or so. Picked it up on a whim at the library and it has been on my recommended list ever since(although the publisher seems to have thought otherwise.) I am fascinated with the vampire myth and this novel was the first to make me realize how adaptable the myth was - Anne Rice's often brillant concepts aside. Every thing changes so why not the vampire's legend? Being 1999 I can't remember the specifics , I just remember it was a rousing read that caused me to ignore all my mundane duties at the time and read it straight through. I was greatful that it also made George R.R. Martin a name that I would look for in the future when looking for a good read. My wife and I became fans of the early television episodes of Beauty and the Beast and imagine my surprise when I realized my favorite episodes were penned by George R.R. Martin ( the episodes that dealt with character developement and ambiance, not the ones given to unadulterated trash romance.) I soon made sure I read all that Martin had written and I'm looking forward to the to reading the Clash of Kings follow-up. Fevre Dream is an atmospheric cruise down the nether regions of the Mighty Muddy. I also want to thank Amazon for the chance to expound on an out of print novel. Service and appreciation of the medium, whether it be print or audio is a commendable trait seldom found in today's retail world.
Rating:
Summary: One of the great vampire masterpieces
Review: I waited two long years for this book to roll into my favorite used sci-fi and horror bookstore. The day it came I raced home and read it until I was finished. It is a well crafted story. This book takes place on a boat on the Mississippi river--prehaps an unexpected place for a vampire tale. The characters a fueding an almost good against evil--it works wonderfully in this story. The characters in this novel are well constructed and enjoyable to get to know. The plot is well defined, complex, and detailed. All I can say is that this is a great story. I urge anyone to try to get a copy if they can. I often feel like so many times like Fevre Dream was unfairly put out of print. If you can find it, I hope you enjoy!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: I'm an obsessed horror fan and I read everything I can get my hands on, but oddly enough I don't care for vampire fiction all that much. It's a subject that's been done to death in my opinion and as a rule it kind of bores me. (With some exceptions, of course.) For years, I passed over Martin's FEVRE DREAM, thinking it was just "another vampire novel". But if you are lucky to come across a copy of this novel, don't make the same mistake I did. FEVRE DREAM is far more than just a vampire novel. It is a brilliant novel, period. I was so spellbound by this book, my house could have fallen down around me while I was reading it, and I probably would not have noticed. By the time I turned the last page, it had ranked itself as one of the best novels I have ever read. George R.R. Martin skills as a storyteller are unparalleled. I'm actually jealous of the fantasy and sci fi fans who've had his attention over the years. FEVRE DREAM has all the elements of the great classics of literature: larger than life characters, a perilous journey, and a story that sweeps you away like the river it is set upon... In a nutshell, it is a tale of vampires clashing on a steamboat in the 1850's. Two "bloodmasters", Joshua York and Damon Julian, are on a collision course of ideals and philosophy, and God help all those who are witness to it. The river will run with blood before it is all over... I'll never forget the cast of characters: the cruel and sick Sour Billy, the beloved curmudgeon Cap'n Abner Marsh, Hairy Mike Dunn, Joshua York, or Tobey the cook. I have never used the word "masterpiece" in a book review, but this book merits the term. Highest recommendation. You'll never forget this book once you turn the last page, I guarantee it.
Rating: 
Summary: Martin's quality as a writer shines through.
Review: I'm like many readers who know George R.R. Martin from his fantasy books. I think he's one of the best fantasy writers currently active-- the series Song of Ice and Fire is one of the best going at the moment. I picked this book up because I was curious to see what his take would be on vampires, and while I don't find that it has all the strength of his fantasy novels (_Fevre Dream_ is a very early novel for Martin) it still doesn't disappoint. _Fevre Dream_ is a historical novel, set in the grand days of the Mississippi steamboat captains. The experienced but unlucky captain Marsh takes a strange business partner-- Joshua York. York is an intelligent book-reading man who has the unusual habit of sleeping by day. Anticipates the better-known Rice vampire novels in the idea of a vampire at war with its own nature. _Fevre Dream_ is intelligent and well-written-- well worth reading for both established Martin fans and fans of the vampire novel in general.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: I'm not one who gets into historical, vampire novels especially set in New Orleans (I absolutely abhor Anne Rice), but George R. R. Martin's Fevre Dream sets a new standard for vampire tales. Fevre Dream is a steam boat built in New Albany, Indiana, on the Ohio River right before the Civil War. One reviewer stated that the first 50 pages are rather slow, but I found them to be fascinating. I live in a river town located on the Ohio River, so the historical research of the Ohio River and steam boats fascinated me. In fact, it's motivated to reread Mark Twain. To summarize the story, Joshua was the educated leader of a race of vampires who wanted to break away from hunting humans for sustenance. He desired to take his followers to a new "dusk," to live peacefully amongst humans and learn from them. To many vampires he was the prophetic "vampire messiah" who would lead his race to a subterranean dark city built by their ancestors. Joshua (ironically, the name of successor to Moses, who led the Isrealites into the Promised Land), had developed an elixir of animal blood and wine, that quenched the blood thirst so vampires would not have to hunt humans. Joshua financed the building of Fevre Dream and used it to gather his vampires on board and introduce them to his philosophies of peace and non-violence. Of course, Joshua had an evil nemesis, a vampire who was the head of another clan, who enjoyed the blood-hunt, the killing of innocents, and drinking their life force, and who violently opposed Joshua's altruistic endeavors. This vampire was a little more powerful and appealed to the other vampires' inherent bloodlust. The battle between the two opposing forces built to a dramatic climax at the end of the book. Martin did a great job of developing a likeable human character named Abner, who was the captain of Fevre Dream. Abner suffered a great financial loss when a bad winter caused him to lose most of his boats. His company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Joshua made Abner "an offer that he couldn't refuse." Abner allowed Joshua to finance and build his dream ship, but under the stipulation that he would call all of the shots. Abner sold out, so he could live out his life on the fastest, most powerful steam boat on the Ohio and the Mississippi. He lived to regret his decision. Abner became suspicious of his new partner's behavior, sleeping through the day, coming out only at night, long nonscheduled stops in small cities along the river, coming back with blood on him, and bringing strange individuals on board his ship who also had nocturnal habits. Abner discovered the truth and had to decide to help Joshua or abandon him. In my opinion, Abner was a likeable character who made the novel better. Though I enjoyed the story, I have to agree with F. Paul Wilson, that there is "no such thing as a noble vampire." However, the book is not far fetched. The book is wonderfully written and will hold your interest until the very end. As I mentioned, I'm not a great fan of vampire novels since there are so many of them out there, and most of them are bad, but I have read a few good ones. If you like Fevre Dream, Try reading F. Paul Wilson's The Keep and Midnight Mass. Robert McCammon's They Thirst and his anthology Under the Fang. Richard Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show, The Stake, and Bite. And finally, the granddaddy of them all, Richard Matheson's I Am Legend.
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