Title: The Armageddon Rag
Author: George R. R. Martin
Type: Fiction
Page Count: 374
Rating: 4.25/5
This book’s been on my unread pile for a little while now and I’m not really sure why. I think it’s because the last time I read a GRRM book, it was the buddy read of Dying of the Light that I did with Todd the Librarian, and that wasn’t very good at all. I also knew that this particular edition has super tiny print and so that didn’t exactly endear it to me.
I actually didn’t know anything about this book when I picked it up, and I didn’t even notice the drum kit with the Eye of Sauron on the front cover, which probably would have given me a clue. It turns out that this book is pretty much perfect for me, because it follows a journalist investigating a series of crimes that befall the members of a 60s rock ‘n’ roll band called the Nazgul.
For me, it was a little bit of a strange read because there are a lot of similarities between this and my own current work-in-progress, which I’ve been describing as Lord of the Rings meets Spinal Tap. Luckily, despite the fact that Martin is clearly influenced by the fantasy genre (didn’t he write some famous series or other?), he doesn’t go all in on it here, and there are no elves and dwarves knocking around like there are in my book. My book is also supposed to be funny, while Martin’s is more of a hard-boiled detective.
That meant that I could read this one and enjoy it without having to worry too much about it putting me off from or losing faith in my own work. Better still, it brings together a whole bunch of different storytelling elements that I like and ultimately resulted in a book that was a true pleasure to read. Not bad really, considering it’s been sat on my shelves for ages and I thought I’d ran out of good stuff to read.
I’d recommend this one without hesitation, but especially if you’re a fan of the 60s and books about music. It was almost Joe Hill-ish. Good stuff!
