Armageddon Rag

I went to the campus bookstore yesterday, to pick up a new spiral notebook, and swung by the fantasy & science fiction aisle. There I spotted a copy of George R. R. Martin’s The Armageddon Rag, one of the few works by GRRM I haven’t read. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Armageddon Rag has been out of print for a while, and was supposed to be reissued in 2004 along with GRRM’s Dying of the Light and Fevre Dream, but its release kept being pushed back, apparently due to complications involving the rights to the various song lyrics quoted in the book. I used to check online fairly regularly to see if it was out yet, but I finally gave up, and by 2007 I don’t think I honestly believed that it would ever come out. But there it was, so I bought it. Armageddon Rag sold very poorly upon its initial release, and essentially derailed GRRM’s fiction career at that time. I’ve heard him explain that the book is a mix of fantasy, science fiction, and rock & roll. He thought this would be great, that it would appeal to fans of all three. What he didn’t take into account, he says, is that there was too much fantasy for the science fiction fans, too much science fiction for the fantasy fans, and rock & roll fans don’t read. It seems that readers these days a bit more open to genre blending, and at any rate GRRM is so popular now that I’m sure the book will fare better this time around. I read the first couple chapters yesterday, and they’re terrific.