Book Review: Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin
I joined a book club to try and make myself read less fanfiction and more real books. Thing is I can be picky with my books. I like books that are as little like my real everyday life as possible: so I like fantasy and sci-fi, I like old 19th and 18th century books, I like magical realism, I like literature and non-fiction. So I joined a sci-fi and fantasy book club! I haven't been going for long, but I started to think that I might as well share the books I read and my opinions with you lot.
So the first book I read with my club was Fevre Dream by George R.R.Martin.
For the first book, I was decidedly underwhelmed. Especially considering what a big name author George R.R.Martin is.
The book was so dull that it took me ages to finish it. I kept on getting bored and putting it down! I ended up going to the discussion without having finished it! (I finished it on the bus home afterwards.) It started out okay, laying out the setting, 19th century southern USA, along the Mississippi and other rivers - this book was going to be about steamboats! - and its characters, our strong-willed and cantankerous steamboat captain and our mysterious stranger with a penchant for poetry and a secret - he is a vampire obviously! - and his equally odd friends.
So this is the gist of the book: vampires on steamboats in olden time South US. Bleurgh! It feels like Martin got obsessed with steamboats and wanted to write a book about them, but his publisher forced him to add something a little supernatural to zest it up, so he added the vampires.
The book club was divided on this one. Apparently vampires on steamboats floated a lot of peoples boats. But there were just as many who found it one giant snoozefest. A number of characters were introduced that could have been interesting: some valiant, some pathetic, some creepy, some ridiculous, almost all of the even vaguely fleshed out ones were male. But too much time was spent loving describing the boats, the river, all the meals our characters kept on eating.
Anybody else read this book and wants to share their opinions?
So the first book I read with my club was Fevre Dream by George R.R.Martin.
For the first book, I was decidedly underwhelmed. Especially considering what a big name author George R.R.Martin is.
The book was so dull that it took me ages to finish it. I kept on getting bored and putting it down! I ended up going to the discussion without having finished it! (I finished it on the bus home afterwards.) It started out okay, laying out the setting, 19th century southern USA, along the Mississippi and other rivers - this book was going to be about steamboats! - and its characters, our strong-willed and cantankerous steamboat captain and our mysterious stranger with a penchant for poetry and a secret - he is a vampire obviously! - and his equally odd friends.
So this is the gist of the book: vampires on steamboats in olden time South US. Bleurgh! It feels like Martin got obsessed with steamboats and wanted to write a book about them, but his publisher forced him to add something a little supernatural to zest it up, so he added the vampires.
The book club was divided on this one. Apparently vampires on steamboats floated a lot of peoples boats. But there were just as many who found it one giant snoozefest. A number of characters were introduced that could have been interesting: some valiant, some pathetic, some creepy, some ridiculous, almost all of the even vaguely fleshed out ones were male. But too much time was spent loving describing the boats, the river, all the meals our characters kept on eating.
Anybody else read this book and wants to share their opinions?