Ex Libris WWEnd: Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia by Jason Pargin

Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia by Jason Pargin
St. Martin’s Press | October 31, 2023

Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia is the latest installment in New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin‘s thrilling Zoey Ashe sci-fi series.

Zoey Ashe wakes up every day feeling like she’s trying to steer a battleship while tied to the propeller. The twenty-three-year-old heiress to a criminal empire is navigating a futuristic world of high-tech liars and cutthroats, forced to learn the rules of a devious game she never asked to play. Now she’s facing a crisis that is both bigger and stranger than all that came before:

The gleaming new city of Tabula Ra$a is hosting its massive annual music festival, which every year precedes the equally massive annual drunken riot. This is all organized by Zoey’s people, including the riot. As her advisors explain, the citizens need a little controlled chaos now and then. Zoey, however, fears the chaos will not stay controlled for long.

When a horrific crime is broadcast live on an all-seeing social network, Zoey and her team suspect a carefully-stage hoax arranged by one of the Tabula Ra$a’s shadowy power players. But in a city in which lies are always served in layers, even that explanation will prove far too simple.

Read the first chapter for free at Worlds Without End.

Praise for Jason Pargin and the Zoey Ashe Series:

“Pargin’s signature fluid style keeps the gonzo action moving as he uses Zoey’s predicament to explore themes of social justice, political necessity, and the sometimes-adverse correlation of wealth to happiness.” — Publishers Weekly

“Like Jonathan Swift for the internet age, [Pargin’s] novel offers an engrossing journey and razor-sharp wit inside of an uncanny prediction of an American future. His newest is only more proof that he will be remembered as one of today’s great satirists.” — Nerdist

“[Zoey Punches the Future] is at its best when [Pargin] explores the nature of wealth and power. In the character of Zoey, [Pargin] pushes against the fairy-tale cliché where the downtrodden (through supernatural means or otherwise) are rewarded a life of carefree prosperity.” — Locus Magazine

“[Pargin] once again achieves the perfect balance between sardonic humor and satirical digs at the digital age…” — Library Journal (starred review)

JASON PARGIN is the New York Times bestselling author of the John Dies at the End series as well as the award-winning Zoey Ashe novels. He previously published under the pseudonym David Wong. His essays at Cracked.com and other outlets have been enjoyed by tens of millions of readers around the world.