Fevre Dream

Not to be confused with Fever Dream.

Fevre Dream

Dust-jacket from the first edition
Author	George R. R. Martin
Cover artist	Barron Storey
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Poseidon Press
Publication date	1982
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	350 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-671-45577-X
OCLC	8475428
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 19
LC Class	PS3563.A7239 F4 1982

Fevre Dream is a 1982 vampire novel written by best-selling novelist George R. R. Martin. It is set on the antebellum Mississippi River beginning in 1857; it has been described by some as "Bram Stoker meets Mark Twain." The book was first published in the U. S. in 1982 by Poseidon Press and still remains in print. It was notably reprinted in 2001 by Orion Books as volume 13 of their Fantasy Masterworks series and was nominated for both the Locus and World Fantasy Awards in 1983.

Plot summary

Abner Marsh, a remarkably unattractive but highly skilled steamboat captain, is grappling with a financial crisis in 1857 when he is contacted by Joshua York, a rich, soft-spoken gentleman. They become unlikely business partners, with Joshua winning Abner over by promising to finance the construction of a magnificent new steamboat that will be larger, faster, and more opulent than any other riverboat ever constructed: the pride of the Mississippi River.

When finally completed, she is everything Abner has ever dreamed of piloting. The large white, blue, and silver paddle steamer is christened Fevre Dream, for Abner's previously-failing company, the Fevre River Packet Company; Joshua and Abner co-captain the new vessel, with Abner being solely responsible for her actual command and navigation. Many questions are soon raised by both the crew and passengers about Joshua York and his circle of unusual friends, who hardly ever venture out of their cabins during daylight hours. Abner's own suspicions about his mysterious partner begin to grow when he finds scrapbooks in Joshua's cabin containing newspaper clippings detailing many mysterious, unexplained deaths. He confronts Joshua, who reveals that he and his friends are vampire hunters; they are using the Fevre Dream as their base of operations to investigate a trail of unusual deaths and disappearances along the mighty river. In time, however, Joshua finally reveals the whole truth: he and his friends are themselves vampires and many of Joshua's kind consider him the "Pale King" lord (or "bloodmaster") to all vampires. Joshua has developed a potion, using ancient alchemy, which controls the blood-fever of all vampires; he is on a personal crusade to free the undead of their need to feed on the warm, living blood of humanity.

The evil and amoral Damon Julian, a rival bloodmaster, formerly of New Orleans, soon learns of Joshua's efforts; he boards the Fevre Dream with his own entourage of vampire followers and manages to overpower and depose Joshua, becoming the new Pale King of all vampires aboard the riverboat. Damon forces Abner out and begins to use the Fevre Dream for his own nefarious purposes, eventually disappearing down the river, never to be seen or heard from again. Abner becomes obsessed with his lost, now demonic ship, and spends his remaining fortune searching up and down the Mississippi and its tributaries, until he is finally forced to give up the search. Marsh later serves as a naval officer during the American Civil War, all the while being haunted by the memory of his lost riverboat. Some years later, after receiving a surprising letter from Joshua, a much older Abner Marsh returns and vows to help Joshua finally depose of the evil bloodmaster who has ruined both of their dreams. But this proves to be a very difficult task; the vampires eventually square-off, and with Abner's aid, Joshua finally overpowers Damon and becomes the Pale King once again. In the process, Marsh finally discovers the horrible fate that has befallen his beloved Fevre Dream.

The novel closes many decades later by suggesting that all vampires, though still immortal, were eventually freed from their blood addiction by Joshua's potion and Abner's brave efforts on their behalf; they make nighttime pilgrimages to Abner's grave overlooking the Mississippi, continuing to honor his heroic contribution to their cause of freedom.

Adaptations

Comics

Avatar Press published a 2010 seven-issue graphic novel adaptation of the novel by writer Daniel Abraham and artist Rafa Lopez.

External links

• Fevre Dream title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Fevre Dream at Worlds Without End