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abookishtype's review against another edition
3.0
For me, this book is about hope and disillusionment. This book was originally published in the early 1980s, and the main characters are all survivors (some more than others) of the 1960s movements. Some characters have since gone mainstream, some are still on communes, some have gone crazy. But in the book’s present, most of the characters have given up their hopes and dreams from the 1960s. The first half of this book, before the music plot takes over, is a profoundly sad book...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
'The Armageddon Rag: Or, Old Man Martin Yells at Those Kids to Get Off His Lawn' is a pretty good book once you get past the bitter, out-of-touch quality the narrator and hero brings to the story. I'm all for celebrating the 60s, but when your former radical journalist everyman starts sincerely grumbling about the "green-haired teenyboppers" running around these days there's a huge problem. At times the whole book threatens to be subsumed by musty waves of regressive sentiment.
Sandy Blair gets a call from his former friend/colleague who still edits 'The Hedgehog', an alternative magazine that's not 'Rolling Stone', that is now a "Lifestyles" journal. It turns out a famous rock promoter has been ritually killed up in Maine and Blair is just the guy to write up the story.
Once up there, Blair finds evidence of a connection between the man's death and the end of a famous seminal hard rock group, Nazgûl, not Led Zeppelin, whose lead singer had been assassinated onstage ten years before and whose death symbolized the death of the sixties. His investigation leads him to revisit his past exploits in the "underground" in memory and in visiting his friends from those days as the mystery gets stranger and darker.
George R.R. Martin is kind of a big deal these days, what with the success of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and the 'Game of Thrones' series. I've read quite a bit of his other work so I was glad to come across this in a used bookstore. Martin's a good writer but I can see why 'The Armageddon Rag' wasn't a huge success when they reissued it to capitalize on Martin's resurgence in popularity. Martin sometimes creates a great atmosphere with real events and his imagined history, but its constantly undermined by reliance on stereotypical characters and cheap nostalgia. Blair is kind of a big idiot, prone to badly written sexual episodes and taking an awfully long time to figure out what to do at the end.
I wouldn't discourage anyone reading this book, Martin is a professional and the novel works on a couple levels, but it didn't take off the way I hoped it would.
Sandy Blair gets a call from his former friend/colleague who still edits 'The Hedgehog', an alternative magazine that's not 'Rolling Stone', that is now a "Lifestyles" journal. It turns out a famous rock promoter has been ritually killed up in Maine and Blair is just the guy to write up the story.
Once up there, Blair finds evidence of a connection between the man's death and the end of a famous seminal hard rock group, Nazgûl, not Led Zeppelin, whose lead singer had been assassinated onstage ten years before and whose death symbolized the death of the sixties. His investigation leads him to revisit his past exploits in the "underground" in memory and in visiting his friends from those days as the mystery gets stranger and darker.
George R.R. Martin is kind of a big deal these days, what with the success of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and the 'Game of Thrones' series. I've read quite a bit of his other work so I was glad to come across this in a used bookstore. Martin's a good writer but I can see why 'The Armageddon Rag' wasn't a huge success when they reissued it to capitalize on Martin's resurgence in popularity. Martin sometimes creates a great atmosphere with real events and his imagined history, but its constantly undermined by reliance on stereotypical characters and cheap nostalgia. Blair is kind of a big idiot, prone to badly written sexual episodes and taking an awfully long time to figure out what to do at the end.
I wouldn't discourage anyone reading this book, Martin is a professional and the novel works on a couple levels, but it didn't take off the way I hoped it would.
oligneisti's review against another edition
4.0
Rithöfundur berst við drauga róttækrar fortíðar og vonbrigði samtímans. Smá gúggl leiddi í ljós að ég væri ekki sá eini sem sá líkindin við The Big Chill sem kom út á næstum sama tíma. Tíðarandinn skín í gegn. En auðvitað gerólíkar bækur enda er þessi í raun fantasía.
Þetta var mjög spes tími til að lesa bókina, tíu ár frá Búsáhaldabyltingunni og ég upplifi vissulega sömu tilfinningu og sögumaðurinn að þetta hafi allt verið unnið fyrir gýg.
Þetta var mjög spes tími til að lesa bókina, tíu ár frá Búsáhaldabyltingunni og ég upplifi vissulega sömu tilfinningu og sögumaðurinn að þetta hafi allt verið unnið fyrir gýg.
dianawr's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome book if you like the music and history of the 1960s-1970s.
_barb's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book three years ago. The first time I tried reading it, I found it incredibly annoying and dnf-ed it. For some reason I gave it two stars here on Goodreads.
After that, I pushed it somewhere on my bookshelf and forgot about it.
The end of July sparked my interest for this book, mainly because I have been reading ASOIAF and I really wanted to give this one a second chance. So glad that I did.
From dnf it became one of my favorite books that I read this year. I even like it more than ASOIAF.
The main character, Sandy Blair, wasn't really likeable at first, but you can't help feeling sorry for him even if you know that it's only his own fault all those shitty things happened to him. He was very human and very complex character.
But I have to admit that my favorite in this book was Peter Faxon. Oh, and that beautiful description when they were in balloon was absolutely beautiful.
The big reveal near the end was shocking although one could see it coming. Looking back, it was heavily hinted by the author who was responsible for the murder and a few other horrible things that have happened.
But the one thing that I loved the most is the way Mr. Martin showed how times change even if we dob't like it.
This takes place in the 80s, but the story is filled with nostalgia. Sandy Blair keeps re-living his youth and has hard time accepting that 60s are long gone. In my opinion, it's something that made him very human, his inner conflict with himself, trying to find his place in this new era.
I believe it's something everyone can relate to.
5/5*
After that, I pushed it somewhere on my bookshelf and forgot about it.
The end of July sparked my interest for this book, mainly because I have been reading ASOIAF and I really wanted to give this one a second chance. So glad that I did.
From dnf it became one of my favorite books that I read this year. I even like it more than ASOIAF.
The main character, Sandy Blair, wasn't really likeable at first, but you can't help feeling sorry for him even if you know that it's only his own fault all those shitty things happened to him. He was very human and very complex character.
But I have to admit that my favorite in this book was Peter Faxon. Oh, and that beautiful description when they were in balloon was absolutely beautiful.
The big reveal near the end was shocking although one could see it coming. Looking back, it was heavily hinted by the author who was responsible for the murder and a few other horrible things that have happened.
But the one thing that I loved the most is the way Mr. Martin showed how times change even if we dob't like it.
This takes place in the 80s, but the story is filled with nostalgia. Sandy Blair keeps re-living his youth and has hard time accepting that 60s are long gone. In my opinion, it's something that made him very human, his inner conflict with himself, trying to find his place in this new era.
I believe it's something everyone can relate to.
5/5*
theemberland's review against another edition
3.0
Well written, brilliant mythology, but sort of lacking in actual plot.
mikelmas's review
5.0
An even tempod introspective work that defies description. You can read about the plot anywhere, so I'll leave it with this:
As ever, George RR Martin knows how to pace a story. For the first half, I would read a chapter, and put it down to do other things. Partway through the second half, the tempo started picking up, the picture started becoming clearer, and the music swept me away.
As ever, George RR Martin knows how to pace a story. For the first half, I would read a chapter, and put it down to do other things. Partway through the second half, the tempo started picking up, the picture started becoming clearer, and the music swept me away.
stilbe's review
5.0
Engaging storyline, well developed and strong characters, dash of mystery, and an immersive world. Very fun read and hard to put down!
kat_nor's review
5.0
The more I read of George R.R. Martin's novels, the more I feel it's unfair to him as an author to always be mentioning A Song of Ice and Fire. His writing is so much more than that popular series of books. "The Armageddon Rag" is an amazing story of the power of music and belief, and what happens to people who lose their faith. I have to say, though the rock band that is an integral part of the story is fictional, I am fairly sure I would love it and the music.
The story builds up, the tension is almost palpable, you can feel it all speeding towards the inevitable. But of course, this wouldn't be a GRRM novel if it was predictable. And believe me, it is most definitely a GRRM novel. I closed the book with a half-shouted "YES!" on my lips. As will you.
The story builds up, the tension is almost palpable, you can feel it all speeding towards the inevitable. But of course, this wouldn't be a GRRM novel if it was predictable. And believe me, it is most definitely a GRRM novel. I closed the book with a half-shouted "YES!" on my lips. As will you.