A review by krasmazov
The Armageddon Rag by George R.R. Martin
5.0
George R. R. Martin's "The Armageddon Rag" is something that I feel is on a sort of love it or hate it kind of spectrum. What I mean is by that is how this book seems to be about stuff that would only appeal to certain people. For instance I suspect one would really need to be into 1960s counterculture and classic rock to really get into the story. Also for a mystery/horror novel the horror elements really don't show up until the middle point and the final chapters. But before all of that how about a little summary.
Former journalist and now full time novelist Sandy Blair is in a bit of a rut. His latest book is going nowhere, his girlfriend is a bit of an ice queen, and the music today(1983) sucks. It isn't until his former partner calls him about the murder of Jamie Lynch, former manager of the band The Nazgûl, that Blair finally has some sort of purpose. Lynch's murder combined with the earlier murder of The Nazgûl's lead singer Patrick Henry Hobbins at a concert in 1971, and this spurs Blair to find a deeper meaning between the two murders. Meanwhile in the background the titular Armageddon Rag waits to be played in order to change the world.
If there is one universal praise for George R. R. Martin it is his worldbuilding. Even though "The Armageddon Rag" takes place in our world Martin is sure to make The Nazgûl not feel out of place in comparison to real life bands from the 60s. Original albums, songs lyrics, and posters have all been created to give The Nazgûl life. Near the end of the novel I could actually hear the music, maybe my brain was mixing up some bands I'd been listening to before, but I remember the beat of Gopher John's drums and the Hobbins' singing. I really must commend Martin because usually when I see song lyrics in books I just skip over them because they're boring and don't really contribute much to the plot. But not here the lyrics aren't mind blowing but they weren't just filler to make a certain page count or something.
One criticism I do have is how a lot of people, Blair included, complain about how nobody really understood "The Movement." It doesn't crop up often but when it does expect many passionate speeches about how Baby Boomers were only trying to make the world a better place, and how the establishment and the rest of society just ignored them. Every character is guilty of this especially the villains. For the villains it made me hate them a little bit more so points for that. This is really the only part of the novel that I actually had a problem with, and in retrospect the good parts most definitely outshine this one critique.
Speaking of good parts I love the inside story about The Nazgûl. It sort of reminds me of a mash up between the problems that The Beatles and Pink Floyd faced. Much like The Beatles internal conflicts inside The Nazgûl started to drain on the group cohesiveness, and like Pink Floyd the band found itself dominated by just one egotistical member. This just makes me love the book even more because I always found the inner working of rock bands so interesting, and this just adds to the setting and characters.
I know this review might seem like it's rambling but there's just so much in this book that I want to talk about. Like how every chapter begins with lyrics from classic rock songs or how the horror elements are actually a bit spine tingling. But to boil it all down if you're a fan of classic rock, horror, fantasy, and 1960s America then this book is perfect for you. If you're not a fan of all of those things then the book might be a bit harder to enjoy. "The Armageddon Rag" isn't flawless, but the good most definitely outweighs the bad.
Former journalist and now full time novelist Sandy Blair is in a bit of a rut. His latest book is going nowhere, his girlfriend is a bit of an ice queen, and the music today(1983) sucks. It isn't until his former partner calls him about the murder of Jamie Lynch, former manager of the band The Nazgûl, that Blair finally has some sort of purpose. Lynch's murder combined with the earlier murder of The Nazgûl's lead singer Patrick Henry Hobbins at a concert in 1971, and this spurs Blair to find a deeper meaning between the two murders. Meanwhile in the background the titular Armageddon Rag waits to be played in order to change the world.
If there is one universal praise for George R. R. Martin it is his worldbuilding. Even though "The Armageddon Rag" takes place in our world Martin is sure to make The Nazgûl not feel out of place in comparison to real life bands from the 60s. Original albums, songs lyrics, and posters have all been created to give The Nazgûl life. Near the end of the novel I could actually hear the music, maybe my brain was mixing up some bands I'd been listening to before, but I remember the beat of Gopher John's drums and the Hobbins' singing. I really must commend Martin because usually when I see song lyrics in books I just skip over them because they're boring and don't really contribute much to the plot. But not here the lyrics aren't mind blowing but they weren't just filler to make a certain page count or something.
One criticism I do have is how a lot of people, Blair included, complain about how nobody really understood "The Movement." It doesn't crop up often but when it does expect many passionate speeches about how Baby Boomers were only trying to make the world a better place, and how the establishment and the rest of society just ignored them. Every character is guilty of this especially the villains. For the villains it made me hate them a little bit more so points for that. This is really the only part of the novel that I actually had a problem with, and in retrospect the good parts most definitely outshine this one critique.
Speaking of good parts I love the inside story about The Nazgûl. It sort of reminds me of a mash up between the problems that The Beatles and Pink Floyd faced. Much like The Beatles internal conflicts inside The Nazgûl started to drain on the group cohesiveness, and like Pink Floyd the band found itself dominated by just one egotistical member. This just makes me love the book even more because I always found the inner working of rock bands so interesting, and this just adds to the setting and characters.
I know this review might seem like it's rambling but there's just so much in this book that I want to talk about. Like how every chapter begins with lyrics from classic rock songs or how the horror elements are actually a bit spine tingling. But to boil it all down if you're a fan of classic rock, horror, fantasy, and 1960s America then this book is perfect for you. If you're not a fan of all of those things then the book might be a bit harder to enjoy. "The Armageddon Rag" isn't flawless, but the good most definitely outweighs the bad.