Jason Pargin, also known as David Wong, is an author we reviewed a while back but haven’t returned to in some time. I recently got curious as to what he has been up to and found that he put out an entire trilogy while I wasn’t looking. Zoey Ashe is a dystopian cyberpunk trilogy about an unregulated capitalist hellscape that billionaires built in the American Southwest and the trailer park trash (Zoey) who ends up inheriting the key to the city. The series is a hyperbolic look at the direction American culture is headed and a window into what some might call the logical end state of our current society unless something changes. Also, Pargin seems to have had an identity crisis and dropped his pen name halfway through writing Zoey Ashe, so even though the series changes author names halfway through, please know they are all written by the same man. A man with a real eye for witty dialogue, cutting sarcasm, and a talent for dredging up depressing truths about human nature.
The principal conduit through which we get exposed to a firehose of raw capitalist propaganda is the titular Zoey Ashe. She’s the poor offspring of an optimistic exotic dancer and a billionaire father who knocked up her mom and never looked back. On his deathbed, Zoey’s father had a crisis of consciousness and left his entire criminal empire (and his team of henchmen) to the only person he thought was good in his life: his daughter he had never spoken to. Now Zoey must decide what to do with an enormous sweeping criminal enterprise, more money than the US defense budget, and proprietary technology so powerful she could fight god. Her inheritance also includes her father’s many enemies; what will she do with her windfall, and will she survive the ever-expanding gallery of weirdos who have it out for her?
The first thing about Zoey Ashe is that the series definitely gets better as it does. It starts out very respectably with Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (which we already reviewed independently). Book one is mostly about Zoey coming to terms with her newfound wealth and power and revolves around Zoey trying to decide which of the 50 criminals she just met are trustworthy and which are going to stab her in the back at the soonest opportunity. Each book has unique themes and messages, but all three spend a lot of time diving into feminist, capitalist, and political theories. The nuance in book one is the thinnest, with most of the morals and lessons of the story being heavy-handed (though still well articulated and well-argued). It took me a little bit of time to come around on the cast of characters (primarily because we don’t trust anyone by the nature of the plot), but by the end of FVaFS, I had grown attached to Zoey and her squad–which sets the series up very nicely for books two and three.
Book two is Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, a title that really evokes the subtlety and professionalism that is integral to the series. Book two is all about Zoey trying to figure out what she wants to do with her newfound power. It is a book about her pulling up the floorboards of the system she has inherited and examining, both inwardly and outwardly, how she feels about a number of ‘necessary evils’ that she finds underneath. ZPtFitD is a chaotic and turbulent book, but I do think it did a great job of digging into a number of ugly truths about how our society runs. Pargin has a very clear authorial voice that comes through loudly in the entire narrative. I don’t agree with every conclusion that he comes to, but I agree with most of them, and all of them are very well-argued and structured (especially in books two and three).
Book three, Zoey is too Drunk for this Dystopia, expands on the ideas and introspection of ZPtFitD and applies them to a situation hauntingly similar to our recent election. I read ZitDftD right after the election last month, and let me tell you, that was a wild ride. In book three, Zoey is trying to use her power and leverage to improve her city via a public election for mayor. This turns out to be a process that is basically nightmare fuel, and Pargin uses the simulacrum to both talk about the importance of struggling for a better world, the inevitability of the masses making dumb choices (the book came out last year), and what to do about it after. I wouldn’t describe the book’s attitude as hopeful, but it presents a relative plan of action that I found compelling. Book three’ ending is a bit open-ended potentially leaving room for another installment, but I can also see Pargin moving on to new things.
The sum of all of this is a trilogy that does a lot of things well. The premise and setting are interesting, with Pargin constantly bringing spectacle after spectacle to raise the stakes. The characters are flawed and likable, with small, well-paced arcs showing minor growth. Zoey’s introspections are interesting and refreshing. Yes, some of the paths she treads are well-worn, but when presented with impossible situations, her thoughts and ideas made me genuinely inwardly reflect on what I would do. The humor is well-measured for the heavier subject material, consistently making me laugh once in a while and never getting in the way of the substance. The pacing is fast, and the books are generally just a fun spectacle. The result is a series that is easy to recommend and a reminder that Pargin is doing interesting things and has a lot more books for myself and others to check out.
Rating:
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits – 7.0/10
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick – 8.0/10
Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
