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Destroy All Monsters

The Last Rock Novel

Jeff Jackson

FSG Originals

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ISBN10: 0374537666
ISBN13: 9780374537661

Trade Paperback

384 Pages

$16.00

CA$21.00

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An epidemic of violence is sweeping the country: musicians are being murdered onstage in the middle of their sets by members of their audience. Are these random copycat killings, or is something more sinister at work? Has music itself become corrupted in a culture where everything is available, everybody is a "creative," and attention spans have dwindled to nothing?

With its cast of ambitious bands, yearning fans, and enigmatic killers, Destroy All Monsters tells a haunted and romantic story of overdue endings and unlikely beginnings that will resonate with anybody who’s ever loved rock and roll.

Like a classic vinyl single, Destroy All Monsters has two sides, which can be read in either order. At the heart of Side A, “My Dark Ages,” is Xenie, a young woman who is repulsed by the violence of the epidemic but who still finds herself drawn deeper into the mystery. Side B, "Kill City," follows an alternate history, featuring familiar characters in surprising roles, and burrows deeper into the methods and motivations of the murderers.

Reviews

Praise for Destroy All Monsters

"Destroy All Monsters rails against its own titular notion—it’s better to create than destroy. Its sharded optimism is a balm for these increasingly fractious times."—Michael T. Fournier, The Chicago Review of Books

"Punk rock in literary form, this activism allegory will draw fans of Chuck Palahniuk’s raw social commentary and Charlie Huston’s haunting, macabre symbolism."—Christine Tran, Booklist

"[Jeff] Jackson builds an anxious, deeply felt narrative probing a nationwide epidemic of murders of musicians . . . Infected with this eerie conceit, and expressed through gritty, sharp prose, [Destroy All Monsters] provides both deep character exploration and a nuanced commentary on music, creativity, and violence."—Publishers Weekly

Reviews from Goodreads

BOOK EXCERPTS

Read an Excerpt

DAY ONE


Nobody paid much attention to the account on the news of the first killing, but it made me feverish with anticipation and dread. I felt dizzy as I listened to the report of what had happened hundreds of miles away. My forehead...

About the author

Jeff Jackson

Jeff Jackson is the author of Mira Corpora, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Vice, and The Collagist, and five of his plays have been produced by the Obie Award–winning Collapsable Giraffe theater company in New York City.

Photo by Lydia Bittner-Baird