The Armageddon Rag
Encyclopedia
The Armageddon Rag, a novel by best-selling author George R. R. Martin
, was first published in hardcover
in 1983 by Poseidon Press. Simultaneously, a special signed, numbered, and slipcased collector's
limited edition
of 526 copies (of which 26 were lettered A-Z as presentation copies), was also published in hardcover by The Nemo Press; the Nemo edition was illustrated by '60s underground comix
and rock and roll
concert poster artist Victor Moscoso
.
The novel contains subdued and hidden fantasy elements and is structured in the form of a murder mystery; it is also a meditation on the rock music era of the 1960s (and its associated culture) and what became of both by the mid-1980s. Martin has described the book as probably his most ambitious and experimental novel but "a total commercial disaster" that almost destroyed his career. Nevertheless, The Armageddon Rag was nominated for both the Locus Award
and World Fantasy Awards in 1984. Despite its initial failure the novel remains in print.
novelist Sandy Blair becomes involved in the investigation of the brutal murder of rock promoter Jamie Lynch: the heart had been torn from Lynch's body. Lynch had managed several bands, including the legendary rock and roll group, the Nazgûl (named for the demonic creatures
in Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
). He was found dead on the tenth anniversary of the Nazgûl's break up, his bloody body placed on top of the band's West Mesa concert poster; during that concert at West Mesa, New Mexico, the Nazgûl's lead singer Patrick Henry "Hobbit
" Hobbins had been mysteriously murdered. Lynch's high-profile death soon opens the door for a Nazgûl reunion tour, which slowly begins to eerily mirror the events of their original West Mesa tour. Interviewing the surviving members of the band while tracking down his old friends from the '60s, Blair meditates on the meaning of the flower power
generation as he cris-crosses the U.S. He eventually becomes the Nazgûl's press agent and is soon swept up in the frenzy of their successful reunion tour and an oncoming supernatural
convergence, whose nature he must uncover in order to solve the murders of Lynch and Hobbins.
The novel is notable for the detailed account of the history and repertoire of its imaginary rock band, including concert set lists and album track timings. Each of the novel's chapter headings open with actual famous rock lyrics, whose meanings resonate throughout that chapter.
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
, was first published in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
in 1983 by Poseidon Press. Simultaneously, a special signed, numbered, and slipcased collector's
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
limited edition
Limited edition books
A limited edition book is a description of a book which is released in a limited print run quantity, usually much smaller than publishing industry standards, and connotes a level of scarcity or exclusivity...
of 526 copies (of which 26 were lettered A-Z as presentation copies), was also published in hardcover by The Nemo Press; the Nemo edition was illustrated by '60s underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
concert poster artist Victor Moscoso
Victor Moscoso
Victor Moscoso is an artist best known for producing psychedelic rock posters/advertisements and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and '70s....
.
The novel contains subdued and hidden fantasy elements and is structured in the form of a murder mystery; it is also a meditation on the rock music era of the 1960s (and its associated culture) and what became of both by the mid-1980s. Martin has described the book as probably his most ambitious and experimental novel but "a total commercial disaster" that almost destroyed his career. Nevertheless, The Armageddon Rag was nominated for both the Locus Award
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
and World Fantasy Awards in 1984. Despite its initial failure the novel remains in print.
Plot summary
Frustrated former hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
novelist Sandy Blair becomes involved in the investigation of the brutal murder of rock promoter Jamie Lynch: the heart had been torn from Lynch's body. Lynch had managed several bands, including the legendary rock and roll group, the Nazgûl (named for the demonic creatures
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
in Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
). He was found dead on the tenth anniversary of the Nazgûl's break up, his bloody body placed on top of the band's West Mesa concert poster; during that concert at West Mesa, New Mexico, the Nazgûl's lead singer Patrick Henry "Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
" Hobbins had been mysteriously murdered. Lynch's high-profile death soon opens the door for a Nazgûl reunion tour, which slowly begins to eerily mirror the events of their original West Mesa tour. Interviewing the surviving members of the band while tracking down his old friends from the '60s, Blair meditates on the meaning of the flower power
Flower power
Flower power is a slogan used by the American counterculture movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in...
generation as he cris-crosses the U.S. He eventually becomes the Nazgûl's press agent and is soon swept up in the frenzy of their successful reunion tour and an oncoming supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
convergence, whose nature he must uncover in order to solve the murders of Lynch and Hobbins.
The novel is notable for the detailed account of the history and repertoire of its imaginary rock band, including concert set lists and album track timings. Each of the novel's chapter headings open with actual famous rock lyrics, whose meanings resonate throughout that chapter.
External links
- The Armageddon Rag at Worlds Without End