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scheu's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable alternate history novel with an interesting premise (9/11 and its subsequent events, with American and Iraqi roles reversed). In the hands of someone like Harry Turtledove, this would have been a pretty terrible book. In Ruff's hands, however, it is surprising and a bit thought-provoking as well. I liked it much more than his previous book, Bad Monkeys. Actually, come to think of it, I enjoyed it more than any other AH book I've read in the past few years!
chilexi's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise, flip history but the characters' cores remain the same. I liked the book, but not nearly as much as some of the others from this author.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
When Christian fundamentalists destroy the Tigris and Euphrates towers on 11/9, the United Arab States declare a war on terror on the nations of North America. Eight years later, Homeland security officers Mustafa, Amal, and Samir stumble upon relics from another world, a world where America is a super power and the Middle East is a fractured region...
On the heels of [b:Lovecraft Country|25109947|Lovecraft Country|Matt Ruff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426040983s/25109947.jpg|44803674], I knew I had to read more Matt Ruff. This one sounded intriguing and it was definitely that.
The Mirage is an alternate history tale, one where the roles in the War on Terror are reversed, with the Arabians as the super power and the former United States as rogue territories. If I'd ever read [b:The Man in the High Castle|216363|The Man in the High Castle|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1448756803s/216363.jpg|2398287] instead of only knowing it by reputation, I'd say they were in a similar vein.
The Mirage is essentially a detective story with Mustafa, Amal, and Samir trying to get to the bottom of things, like the relics and who was really behind the 11/9 attack, before falling victim to the machinations of Al Qaeda, the UAS secret police in this tale. Interspersed are entries from the Library of Alexandria, an online Wikipedia type of resource in this world, giving us tantalizing glimpses at the world's history without infodumping them in the text.
While the detective aspect was pretty cool, the fun of the story was seeing where everyone ended up in this reality. Saddam Hussein is an underworld kingpin, Osama bin Laden is a senator, and Dick Cheney is head of the Texas CIA and known for eliminating his rivals in hunting accidents.
I wolfed this book down in three sittings. It was quite readable and I couldn't wait to see how things panned out. By showing the war on terror in the mirror universe, Ruff shows what a shit show the whole thing was.
This is my favorite quote from the book:
"So in the other reality, Osama bin Laden is an Iraqi?"
"No, he's still from Jeddah," Amal said. "A 'Saudi' Arabian."
"Then why the hell would America invade Iraq?"
"Because God put a Texan in charge!"
I don't have many bad things to say about this book. I almost gave it a 5 but I thought the characters were a little skimpy and the ending could have been better. Overall, The Mirage was a great read and an interesting look at how things might have went another way. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
On the heels of [b:Lovecraft Country|25109947|Lovecraft Country|Matt Ruff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426040983s/25109947.jpg|44803674], I knew I had to read more Matt Ruff. This one sounded intriguing and it was definitely that.
The Mirage is an alternate history tale, one where the roles in the War on Terror are reversed, with the Arabians as the super power and the former United States as rogue territories. If I'd ever read [b:The Man in the High Castle|216363|The Man in the High Castle|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1448756803s/216363.jpg|2398287] instead of only knowing it by reputation, I'd say they were in a similar vein.
The Mirage is essentially a detective story with Mustafa, Amal, and Samir trying to get to the bottom of things, like the relics and who was really behind the 11/9 attack, before falling victim to the machinations of Al Qaeda, the UAS secret police in this tale. Interspersed are entries from the Library of Alexandria, an online Wikipedia type of resource in this world, giving us tantalizing glimpses at the world's history without infodumping them in the text.
While the detective aspect was pretty cool, the fun of the story was seeing where everyone ended up in this reality. Saddam Hussein is an underworld kingpin, Osama bin Laden is a senator, and Dick Cheney is head of the Texas CIA and known for eliminating his rivals in hunting accidents.
I wolfed this book down in three sittings. It was quite readable and I couldn't wait to see how things panned out. By showing the war on terror in the mirror universe, Ruff shows what a shit show the whole thing was.
This is my favorite quote from the book:
"So in the other reality, Osama bin Laden is an Iraqi?"
"No, he's still from Jeddah," Amal said. "A 'Saudi' Arabian."
"Then why the hell would America invade Iraq?"
"Because God put a Texan in charge!"
I don't have many bad things to say about this book. I almost gave it a 5 but I thought the characters were a little skimpy and the ending could have been better. Overall, The Mirage was a great read and an interesting look at how things might have went another way. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
gula's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
benlundns's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, I loved this book from the very first chapter. It's amazing how different a world can look with just a few small tweaks here and there. I loved seeing how things were different in this world Ruff created. And the underlying story adds to you questioning what is the truth. It was great to have Library of Alexandria, (this worlds Wikipedia), entries at the beginning of each chapter to give the reader a quick rundown of some of the backstory. And altogether it was a really tight, well put together novel.
yourfriendryanj's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting concept, but honestly the concept is better than the story. It's one of those books where you have fun living in the world it presents, but looking back, I've honestly forgot how it ends? Would make a great TV series, but no way would it make it on American TV
mrninjaviking's review
3.0
I can go with three and a half stars with this. I do like alternate history novels. I do like the idea that this story goes with ... having the world changed, and many looking into that theory, and feeling that change. But there wasn't enough of that for me. Some of the things he did could be called gimmicky, but I did like how he was rather thorough with his world building. It was a good book. Especially if you're open to the fact that not all of a certain religion have complete hatred for another.
readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition
1.0
This book was really terrible. I am so disappointed because the concept was fabulous and I really looked forward to reading it. Unfortunately, the story was not very well executed, spending too much time away from the plot (christian fundamentalists who believed that 9/11 was the truth and carried around artifacts proving their theory correct while Arab Homeland Security agents investigated these claims). Why couldn't it have been more about that? Instead we spent time on the characters and their past lives and what their current thoughts were when I really just wanted to read the story about 11/9 really being 9/11. So that was frustrating. The last thing that really annoyed me was that the author clearly is very anti-Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. Now, while I mostly share these same feelings, I did not care to have the authors opinions shoved in my face. It really just detracted from the story and made it sound like the only point of this entire book was just to rant about it. Sadly, as the book progressed the number of stars I thought about giving the book continued to diminish to where I can not go any lower. I give it one star for the idea. That is all.
saszito's review against another edition
4.0
Es ist, wie viele der Ruffschen Werke, schwer einzuordnen. Wenn man der Aussage mit der Geschichtswiederholung von Marx halbwegs über den Weg traut, so können wir hier wohl zweifellos dem Abbild dieser These als Farce begegnen, bei der der Autor scheinbar mit links philsophisch ausschert und die Zwangsläufigkeit historischer Entwicklung anschneidet. Dabei ist ihm Logik, Plausibilität und derlei albernes Zeug reichlich egal. Schließlich begreift er sich doch in der Tradition der Scheherazade. Alles in allem ein vergnügliches Husarenstück welches ich jedem phantasiebegabten Lebewesen ans Herz legen möchte.
http://vivaperipheria.de/frisch-gelesene-buecher-mirage/
http://vivaperipheria.de/frisch-gelesene-buecher-mirage/