Ahira's Hangar

I only recently discovered that George R. R. Martin wrote a fantasy novel about Vampires called Fevre Dream. It is supposedly out of print in the US, though still available in some other countries, including Britain. Has anyone here read this book? I was told it was pretty good! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

My used copy finally arrived. Glimpsing through it, it appears to be set upon the steamships and ports of the Mississippi River... Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

George talked about Fevre Dreams on one of his panels at Bubonicon..I only remember it because of your Mississippi reference. He talked about research on the steamboat and the difference betwee 2 dif types: the Paddlewheel and the Sidewheel--apparently the Paddlewheel (in the back) is more efficient. Yes vampires and gamblers does sound interesting--and though I don't, usually (except for mayb The Lost Boys), go for Vampire stories I may for this one... And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i></i>

Quote:When day and night clasp hands across the twilight of fear the terrifying dreams begin. At midnight the river runs red and a white ship with a noble mission sails upon it - to free an ancient race from its legacy of blood. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

I started reading this today and am enjoying it so far...it is an odd cross between a vampire novel (so far the gore is more suggested than described in great detail, thank goodness) and the riverboat story...I read Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi a few years ago when I went to visit some of my husband's family who live in an old port town in Iowa on the Big River...and some of the color and characters on the boat Fevre Dream remind me of that book...similar flavor...
Larger than life Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

I have to say that Martin creates some of the most vivid characters in all of fiction. I think that the riverboat Captain Abner Marsh will be on my all-time favorite characters list by the end of this book.
And as usual, his character is NOT the boring all-perfect fantasy hero. The good Captain is fully human, with flaws and warts, but is very noble for all of that.
The situation thus far, set in the Deep South before the Civil War, makes for some very nice subtle comparisons between vapirism and slavery. Another thing I like about Martin -- he is very subtle with his important themes (honor in ASOIAF, for instance) and he lets you make up your own mind about things rather than hit you over the head with a board. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

I finished Fevre Dream tonight and it was wonderful. It had this great bittersweet ending, made me cry like a baby! You've got to read this if you get a chance! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>