
Hard to believe The Mirage has only been out since last Tuesday. I’m having a crazy fun time so far. Here’s a quick recap of the highlights:
Reviews
- Publisher’s Weekly (STARRED REVIEW) — “Both entertaining and provocative, exactly what the best popular fiction should be.”
- io9.com — “An addictive, fascinating read, which keeps you guessing.”
- John Clute — “excellent”
- The Seattle Times— “One of the most daring 9/11-inspired novels to emerge after that horrific day more than a decade ago.”
- Locus magazine — “A Man in the High Castle for the age of global terror.”
- The Associated Press — “A unique and compelling read… the juxtaposition of realities provides keen insight into the real world.”
- The New York Post — “Like Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, in which Nazi-sympathizer Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR for president, the premise behind Ruff’s alternate-history novel is chilling.”
- Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing.net — “This is one of those books that you read while walking down the street and long after your bedtime, a book you stop strangers to tell about.”
- The Stranger — “Ruff is a world-class world builder who, perhaps better than any other writer, can create exotic, mysterious worlds and communicate their unique rules and consistent logics both clearly and concisely.”
Essays and interviews
- My Big Idea essay for John Scalzi’s Whatever blog
- My conversation with Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress.org
- Guest post for Seattle Public Library’s Shelf Talk blog
- Self-interview for the Schuler Books blog
- Interview for CBS News Author Talk
- Interview for the Islam and Science Fiction website
Finally, a reminder that I’ll be in Portland, Oregon at Powell’s City of Books (1005 W. Burnside) at 7:30 PM tonight, and at Murder by the Book (3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) at 7 PM tomorrow night. On Tuesday evening at 6 PM I’ll be at Sunriver Books & Music in Sunriver, OR. For more upcoming Mirage events, check out the appearances page.
Dear Mr Ruff,
congratulations to your new book! I was fascinated the whole time.
Two things I haven’t quite understood in the end: Who is the tall person Osama Bin Laden meets at the book’s conclusion? Which city is the destination of the three heroes? Is there an answer or will it stay a mystery?
Best regards
Holger Breme (The State of Israel? Northern Germany?)
Holger, for now I want to let readers make up their own minds what the answers are, but eventually I’ll have an FAQ up on the site.