"A unique and compelling read." -- The Associated Press "Like Philip Roth's The Plot Against America , the premise behind Ruff's alternate-history novel is chilling." -- The New York Post "An unnerving but intriguing premise forms the backbone of Matt Ruff's latest novel, The Mirage , one of the most daring 9/11-inspired novels to emerge after that horrific day -- The Seattle Times "Ruff embraces his twisty concept with an attention to detail that suggests many months, more likely years, of fervent research. He 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." -- The Stranger "A funhouse-mirror mash-up where H.G. Wells and Graham Greene collide with The Arabian Nights and The Matrix . Ruff dizzies and dazzles the reader with a fantastic-and fantastical-story.
" -- BookPage "Sci-fi/fantasy/post-cyberpunk cult author Matt Ruff imagines an alternate world in which Arabia becomes the earth's dominant superpower and America is a dictator-led, fundamentalist backwater. More than half the fun here comes from discovering all of the intricately clever consequences Ruff derives from that simple premise." -- Details "The alt-historical framework is in many ways the best and most entertaining part of the book, and you want it to expand beyond the mere 400 pages of The Mirage ." -- Seattle Weekly "Furious entertainment. It echoes Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union or Steven Barnes's Lion's Blood , but more comparisons will be made to Philip K. Dick's World War II reimagining The Man in the High Castle ." -- The Onion's AV Club "If you amalgamated the methodical, punctilious, world-building skills of Ian McDonald with the reality-distortion powers of Philip K. Dick and then folded in the satirical, take-no-prisoners savagery of Norman Spinrad, you might be able to produce a book approximating The Mirage .
" -- Barnes and Nobles Review "That The Mirage shares DNA with airport-kiosk genre exercises is nothing to be ashamed of. A good thriller is hard to pull off. The ingredients are clear enough: propulsive action, sympathetic characterization, and enough detail to ground the story without slowing things down." -- The Philadelphia City Paper "This book quite successfully challenges the ideas of Christian moral supremacy and the unchallenged political agenda of superpowers. It is a deeply satisfying novel which excites hopes of a long and productive career for this young writer." -- Examiner.com " The Mirage is an intriguing addition to the genre . Ruff spices up his tale with a wealth of arresting details.
Ruff keeps you reading, [out of] eagerness to see what twist he'll think of next." -- The New York Times Book Review "An audacious new novel. The Mirage is a topsy-turvy tour de force, another winner from a truly inventive and unpredictable storyteller." -- The San Francisco Chronicle.