The Armageddon Rag by George RR Martin

[Werthead]

Just a note to let people know that George RR Martin's 1983 novel The Armageddon Rag is being reprinted this month by Bantam Spectra in the US (no Amazon.com listing though, which is puzzling). Amazon UK is also getting copies in (Gollancz may do their own UK edition later). This has for some time been the hardest of Martin's earlier novels to track down, since it's been out of print since the late 1980s due to copyright problems: the book has a number of quotes from songs that needed to be individually cleared, and that has taken some time.

What is this book about? Here's the synopsis:

Onetime underground journalist Sandy Blair has traveled far from his radical roots in the ’60s—until the bizarre and brutal murder of a millionaire rock promoter draws him back. As Sandy sets out to investigate the crime, he finds himself on a magical mystery tour of the pent-up passions of his generation. For a new messiah has resurrected the once legendary rock band Nazgûl—but with an apocalyptic new beat that is a requiem of demonism, mind control, and death only Sandy may be able to change in time. . . .

Martin's other early novels (Dying of the Light, Windhaven and and the superb Fevre Dream), are now back in print as well, leaving only his 1986 novel Tuf Voyaging out of print, and I believe moves are afoot to bring that one back to the shelves as well (a limited edition by Meisha Merlin may also still be available).

 

[Finnien]

Been thinking of picking this up... I really enjoyed Fevre Dream, and was thinking of giving it a shot, but not so compelled that I'd run out blind without at least hearing a little feedback one way or another - the to-read pile is thick enough as it is. Anyone read it yet?

 

[Boaz]

the once legendary rock band Nazgûl

I'd almost take this for a joke, except that Wert posted it.

 

[Werthead]

I'd almost take this for a joke, except that Wert posted it.

And George wrote a novel about it

No, I haven't read it yet. Cash has been tight but hopefully I can get to ordering it off Amazon.co.uk in the next few weeks.

 

[mordantmonkey]

i got an old copy of that book a few years ago....btw, really hard to find. i remember it being good....worth the money if you're a big fan

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

I've just started reading it myself - about 4 chapters in.
It's interesting, not as immediately engaging as Fevre Dream but it feels more semi-autobiographical. I don't know how much of his own life experiences GRRM put into this but when I picture the main character, I do picture a younger George from his 'rock & roll' years

I'm enjoying it so far. A band called the Nazgul is pretty funny though - especially when he describes their album covers

 

[High Eight]

I've just started reading it myself - about 4 chapters in.
It's interesting, not as immediately engaging as Fevre Dream but it feels more semi-autobiographical. I don't know how much of his own life experiences GRRM put into this but when I picture the main character, I do picture a younger George from his 'rock & roll' years

I'm enjoying it so far. A band called the Nazgul is pretty funny though - especially when he describes their album covers

Depictions of the covers here: George R.R. Martin - Gallery - The Armageddon Rag Painted by Igor Kordej for the Croatian edition.

 

[BookStop]

leaving only his 1986 novel Tuf Voyaging out of print, and I believe moves are afoot to bring that one back to the shelves as well (a limited edition by Meisha Merlin may also still be available).

You can actually order Tuf Voyaging from GRRM himself on his website. He'll even sign it! We got it for my husband for Christmas. GRRM and I emailed a few times to make sure I got it and the inscription was ok, etc.

 

[Werthead]

Finished reading The Armageddon Rag today. I thought it was excellent:

Sandy Blair is a former rock journalist turned novelist whose latest project isn't turning out as well as it should. However, when the former manger of one the most vital rock bands of the 1960s - the Nazgul - is murdered in a satanic ritual, Sandy finds himself drawn into an investigation that leads him back to his roots and to some unsettling home truths. Meanwhile, an engimatic promoter is determined to reform the Nazgul for a reunion tour - difficult since their lead singer was shot dead a decade earlier - that will have a startling outcome.

Like A Song of Ice and Fire and Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag is only superficially a genre story. The SF&F trappings don't kick in until very late in the day (actually far later than either of the first two works; nearly three-quarters of the book go by before any SF or horror elements creep in at all), and once more the focus is squarely on the fascinating characters GRRM creates. There is more of a hint of nostalgia here though, as GRRM also grapples with the death of the ideology of the 1960s and 1970s amidst the rise of ultra-capitalism in the 1980s.

The book thrives on fascinating details: the carefully thought-out Nazgul album covers, the songs, the setlists. Creating a fictional band and making them feel 'real' is an incredibly difficult task, arguably only successfully achieved in parody (Spinal Tap being the obvious example), but GRRM pulls it off here. Knowing that 'The Armageddon/Resurrection Rag' and 'Ragin' don't actually exist doesn't stop the reader wanting to go and download them from iTunes.

Those familar with GRRM's work will draw a lot of enjoyment from seeing connections that are deliberately drawn: a band called the Fevre River Packet Trading Company or a Nazgul song called 'Dying of the Light', for example. There are also hints of what is to come in A Song of Ice and Fire: a father-son relationship that is reminiscent of the Tarlys, a giant hulking warrior (or in this case a bodyguard) and a similar mixture of pathos, nostalgia and cruelly unexpected plot twists.

There are a few minor faults with the novel: the events of the ending are ambiguous and one plotline is left seemingly dangling, although I suspect this was deliberate (either as a hook to a potential sequel or, more likely, simply so the book's conclusion wouldn't feel too neat and tidy). Otherwise The Armageddon Rag is an accomplished, satisfying novel that demonstrates the author's variety by producing a work that is as far from his later epic fantasies as is nearly possible whilst staying in the same genre, yet very nearly as compelling. Highly recommended.

EDIT: Many thanks to williamjm for pointing out the similarity to the Tarly storyline. It was so obvious I missed it!

 

[tangaloomababe]

This is great news. I tried to get a copy of this book awhile back with no success. I love Fevre Dream rates as one of my all time favorites, so I will be hunting down a copy again.

 

[High Eight]

Anybody else notice the similarty between Sandy's nightmare about half-way through the book and the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkle's 'Sound of Silence'?

 

[High Eight]

Anybody else notice the similarty between Sandy's nightmare about half-way through the book and the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkle's 'Sound of Silence'?

Evidently not.