#Zoey Ashe

[ryumako]

I read the Zoey Ashe series casually over like five weeks in the spring, it almost gave me fandom brain again, and at the very least restored my faith in my ability to get lost in books. Definitely gave me the confidence to buy physical copies of all four John Dies at the End books while knowing nothing about them aside from Jason Pargin's brain being behind the curtain. I'm now basically done with the fourth volume in less than three weeks and I already feel the void coming. Gonna to have to fill it with other satire that probably won't hit as hard. Gonna have to write the author and tell him what his stuff has done for me. I haven't been fixated on any media in years at this point but I wanna live in the JDATE world!!

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

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[artbyblastweave]

Purchased the new Jason Pargin novel and took note of the fact that he’s stopped publishing under the David Wong pseudonym. I get why he had to drop the bit, but I really did appreciate it- really great understated joke/characterization beat, sorta a great synedoche for the JDATE’s protagonist’s whole life situation.

[saturn-sunshines]

it's been a while since a) I was obsessed with a book and b) I was obsessed with something relatively underground. there's hardly any fan art😭😭😭 I need somebody to draw will chasing after zoey's stupid cat

[livingfictionsystem]

""Humans have eyes that face forward like any predator," Will said, in a tone like this was a classic axiom rather than something a serial killer would say while chasing you through a lair full of mannequins."

Dude, Jason Pargin is my author hero frfr.

-Sparrow

[thelaughingspaceman]

"We need to break up my sense of impending dread. Budd, tell a joke."

"Ah, well, I don't have one ready at the moment. Something embarrassing did happen to me, though. This morning, my wife asked me to get her lipstick, I accidentally gave her a glue stick instead. She hasn't spoken to me since."

"Okay, well, let me know when you think of one. Will, do we have time for me to crawl into a bathtub and disassociate for about thirty minutes?"

Will looked at his watch. "If you start running the water now."

- Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia by Jason Pargin

[thelightfluxtastic]

Zoey's Villain Arc

I want to get this theory out and on paper before reading/finishing Zoey Is Too Drunk for this Dystopia. This will reference plot points from the first two books in the series and contain nothing from the third.

I believe the ultimate arc of the Zoey Ashe series is her slide into villainy. And that this will happen without her internally feeling like a more callous or bad person. It will be an example of the political idea that there is no ethical way to be a billionaire, and that privilege inherently corrupts in a way that can't be fixed by putting a "good person" into power.

In the first book, Zoey doesn't want Athur's money, power or privilege. She's forced into situations at the threat of her life, and spends 99% of the book just trying to survive. At the end, it's only vaguely hinted she might stick around instead of just going back home. But there's scenes and hints of her changing things- like the pizza scene in squatterville. It's something of a left-leaning/liberal power fantasy. If a poor (or at least "average") person got access to billions of dollars, they'd fix the system, they'd be more humane, they'd use that power for good.

Then there's book two. And arguably, Zoey is fixing things. She's a lot less directly violent in her business than Arthur ever was. She's arranging public transit for folks who need it. She's divesting from unethical practices.

Except.

The entire point of the book is how much bigger the machine is than her. There's a running joke (/not a joke) that Zoey owns several businesses without knowing what they are or what they do. That her innocuous actions (like asking about a noise in the AC) have drastic ripple effects. She's doing better than Arthur, but hey, Arthur's dad was even worse...

I see the opening scene (and the conversation with Shae afterwards) as super critical to this. The young woman is as terrified of being in the Livingston house as Zoey was in book 2 (this is explicitly stated). And Zoey tries to reassure her with all the things the reader knows/is likely to think at this point: Will isn't that bad, they're trying to improve things compared to Arthur. But critically, Shae doesn't buy into it. As she points out, Will is still terrifying to the average person (and not seeing that says something about Zoey). And in terms of cleaning up the business, Zoey has kept the suits around, AKA the people that did all of the worst things for Arthur. After all, as Zoey points out, they're the ones that know how to run things...

So yeah, that's what I mean by villain arc. Not becoming the cannibal caricature that Zoey's harassers assume her to be, the cartoon villain. But I don't think the philosophy of these books can really allow Zoey to become a "good billionaire" and fix the system from the inside.

[sashasparrow]

zoey ashe is The female lead of all time. she's fat. she's hairy. she's weird and awkward and eats wet crackers. she's got a cat that smells so bad it has its own bedroom. she even has a six foot tall beanbag chair.

[scp372]

Zoey Punches The Future In The Dick but i give you no context

[c4rtoonnerd]

Zoey ashe drawings I did ages ago

[sammyloomis]

Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia - Jason Pargin

[ghost-orion]

NEW ZOEY BOOK UP FOR PREORDER AAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[artbyblastweave]

I was about to send you a message saying "oh wow you read the Zoe Ashe books? I never see other people say they've read those. Have any thoughts on the series?" and then remembered that I originally followed you because you posted JDatE stuff so I guess that's not surprising at all is it

I thought the first one was really really really good and also an incredibly effective takedown of the Tony Stark archetype for something that's not actually explicitly a superhero work despite being in deliberate conversation with it. I thought the second one was also pretty good. Have yet to read the third one. I will say that "Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits" is the only one of the three books that has anything remotely approaching a good title. The JDATE titling sensibilities did not transfer to this series without friction

[libraryofbaxobab]

Mar 20, 2021:

I feel drained and conflicted. About power, responsibility, and the morality of money, the politics are surprisingly nuanced in a way that is satisfying but I don't think I necessarily agree with. Entertaining, but... meh? We love a fat protagonist tho 5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

[livingfictionsystem]

-Sparrow 🧷

[thelaughingspaceman]

"That sounds broken to me, considering what my people go for this company. Especially in light of what we just discussed. All that stuff should be free."

"We tried that. Once. You know what happened? One enterprising young lady finished her shift, pushed the buttons over and over until the whole machine was empty, put it all in a box, and went up and sold it in the mall's food court. Then she bought weed with the money. The stuff she didn't sell, she threw in the trash. If you give anything away for free without limits, you're automatically setting it at the wrong price and the market will adjust. The cost isn't due to greed, it's to make sure you value the sandwich enough to actually eat it. And these sandwiches aren't five hundred dollars, they're five dollars, anybody can afford that."

Axol looked to Zoey. "Will here, and the other guys in suits, they all meet at your office?"

"What? Uh, yeah. I mean, it's at my house."

"And if they ask for something to eat or drink, from your wet bar or what have you, do you charge 'em for it?"

"You know she doesn't," interjected Will wearily.

"Because everybody involved is rich enough that you don't have to worry about them abusing it, right? So we give away free stuff based on how much you don't need it. Interesting."

Zoey said, "We'll make the machines free. If they have to be restocked more often, fine."

Axol smiled and looked back to Will, "Oh, you should bring her along every time you visit. I like this dynamic." They looked back to Zoey. "He can't say no to you, can he?"

"I'm his boss, so, no."