88 Names

by Matt Ruff

The critically acclaimed author of Lovecraft Country returns with a thrilling and immersive virtual reality epic—part cyberthriller, part twisted romantic comedy—that transports you to a world where identity is fluid and nothing can be taken at face value.

John Chu is a “sherpa”—a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. For a fee, he and his crew will provide you with a top-flight character equipped with the best weapons and armor, and take you dragon-slaying in the Realms of Asgarth, hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in the zombie apocalypse.

Chu’s new client, the pseudonymous Mr. Jones, claims to be a “wealthy, famous person” with powerful enemies, and he’s offering a ridiculous amount of money for a comprehensive tour of the world of virtual-reality gaming. For Chu, this is a dream assignment, but as the tour gets underway, he begins to suspect that Mr. Jones is really North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, whose interest in VR gaming has more to do with power than entertainment. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, Chu also has to worry about “Ms. Pang,” who may or may not be an agent of the People’s Republic of China, and his angry ex-girlfriend, Darla Jean Covington, who isn’t the type to let an international intrigue get in the way of her own plans for revenge.

What begins as a whirlwind online adventure soon spills over into the real world. Now Chu must use every trick and resource at his disposal to stay one step ahead—because in real life, there is no reset button.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2020

About the author

I was born in New York City in 1965. I decided I wanted to be a fiction writer when I was five years old and spent my childhood and adolescence learning how to tell stories. At Cornell University I wrote what would become my first published novel, Fool on the Hill, as my senior thesis in Honors English. My professor Alison Lurie helped me find an agent, and within six months of my college graduation Fool on the Hill had been sold to Atlantic Monthly Press. Through a combination of timely foreign rights sales, the generous support of family and friends, occasional grant money, and a slowly accumulating back list, I’ve managed to make novel-writing my primary occupation ever since.

My third novel, Set This House in Order, marked a critical turning point in my career after it won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, a Washington State Book Award, and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, and helped me secure a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. My fourth novel, Bad Monkeys, also won multiple awards and is being developed as a film, with Margot Robbie attached to star. My sixth novel, Lovecraft Country, has been produced as an HBO series by Misha Green, Jordan Peele, and J.J. Abrams. It will debut on Sunday, August 16.

In 1998 I married my best friend, the researcher and rare-book expert Lisa Gold. We live in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the setup of this and the fact that a significant chunk of the story takes place in VR is going to get this book compared a lot to Ready Player One, but I think if we're going to go down the rabbit hold of comparisons, I'd say its appeal is closer to that of The Martian- it's lighter on fast-paced, exuberant action, and heavier on methodical cleverness.

It also has an engaging, snarky tone, but unlike either of the above titles, it doesn't contain any of the careless white dudebroness that I've grown so wary of. This is mostly down to the fact that Matt Ruff is good at writing marginalized folks- he writes his characters with care, but not self consciously so. He writes stories that are inclusive but understands that that doesn't mean you have to sanitize the characters to the point that they become cardboard cutouts 100% representing liberal ideals 100% of the time.

Like here's this real, flawed person, doing dumbass stuff and saying offensive shit. It's not right, but it's real. And there is a big difference between showing the reality while making it clear that the story/author isn't condoning it or thoughtlessly reproducing harmful norms.

So. Yes, I loved how Ruff writes his characters in general, and I loved the tone of this particular narrator, who's a very unsentimental, pragmatic sort. There are times when the story lulls into this feeling that you're just listening to a dude tell amusing stories, but it's so entertaining that I could forgive them for the info dumps that they are. Like I KNEW they were info dumps as I was reading them but I didn't care.

There is a certain point as you near the end, though, when the methodical pace starts to beg for some excitement, and the charm of the info dumping starts to grow a little thin. I feel like it breaks away from the VR too late in the story and I started to long for some real danger, some actual, compelling stakes. They do arrive eventually, but it definitely had me not as excited to pick the book up for a while.

I struggled with how to rate this, but I'm landing on 3.5 stars. I REALLY enjoyed the first two thirds or so of this, and while I did like the last chunk, I didn't find myself super compelled to finish it. And since that's kind of a big issue, I'm rounding down to 3 stars overall.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps a gamer will get more out of this. I'm not one. 3 of 10 stars

[Sidney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out strong and then steadily lost its appeal as it continued to offend me pretty consistently as it went on.

First of all, kudos for the author for inclusive casting, the main character is hapa and theres POC and women and gays and disabled people. However, as a strait white cis male he hit the nail on the head a little too hard, and it came across as offensive. For example, theres a couple times he tries to discuss the racial stereotypes of different ethnic minorities, I'm assuming to prove his wokeness, but it made me bristle a little as he is not in the position to fully understand what its like to be racially profiled, much less muse on it for a few ethnicities. The racial inequities he brings up are tertiary concerns that can easily be brushed off by the characters as beneath them to consider, which is both a total misunderstanding and an invalidation of the struggle many POC face. It felt cheap and gross. He also used the phrase "I don't want to seem racist but I was surprised she was hispanic" and kept identifying characters only by their race, as in "the asians" or "the Japanese guy."

Furthermore, the main character is a young man who works and lives in the world of VR gaming, and I will say that parts of that were kinda cool and fun to read, but it definitely had an "old guy totally out of touch trying to fit in with the young kids" vibe. For example, the MC tries to check out the Facebook page of a girl he has a crush on (insert eye roll). Im a millenial, Facebook was invented for my generation, and even I don't use it anymore, especially not for stalking. And if this character was so well versed in the internet, wouldn't he have better resources than FACEBOOK?

Additionally, theres a part where the MC is in Los Angeles driving "on Sunset near Dodger Stadium" and then "pulls in to an Arby's." Now this is a small thing but Sunset Blvd turns into Cesar Chavez Ave well before it gets to Dodger Stadium, and there are about 5 Arby's in CA and none of them are in LA. This is a small gripe but it reinforces the obvious, which is that this is an ill researched book playing on peoples ignorance of slightly esoteric mediums (like gaming).

I forgot to mention that the MC gets graphically sexually assaulted twice in a VR game (think: groped, flashed, covered in ejaculate), and both times he describes it as feeling “violated yet aroused.” Seriously? Now I don’t get offended easily and I even rolled my eyes and moved on about the race stuff but this is REALLY offensive. Is this how the author thinks people feel in regards to sexual abuse? Is this a fucking joke to him? It PHYSICALLY pains me to think of how callously the author introduces this and then brushes it off.

To top it all off the writing was juvenile at best. The two stars are for the originality of the story and the attempt of representation, but it got so bad that I skimmed the last 20% and didn't even read the epilogue. Sorry Matt Ruff, but maybe you should find another job.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a gamer or well knowledgeable in that area but O found the blurb intriguing. I actually ended up enjoying the audiobook quite a lot. It was an very intriguing story

[TraceyL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my second attempt at reading this author and will be my last. My first was when I DNF'd Lovecraft Country. Something about the writing doesn't work for me, and I don't seem to connect to his characters.

The world in 88 Names was very familiar to me. As a former World of Warcraft player/addict, I lived this life. I will say that the author got all of the details of playing a MMORPG right. It gave me flashbacks to completing specific dungeons and quests and in-game events. It was a good dose of nostaglia. I just could not care less about the characters or any plot points. There was weird commentary about virtual sex within games which felt out of place. It read more young-adult to me. Just blah.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neither the name nor the plot description interested me, but I can always trust Matt Ruff to tell a good story. I've read all of his novels. They are all different, and they are all very entertaining. (Though this one is a little bit like Bad Monkeys.)

Much of the story takes place inside virtual reality video games. Since the laws of physics, and other laws, can be violated in such settings that sort of story can become confusing. It is also a story of espionage and counter-espionage, which can also become confusing. But I was never lost or very confused. Well done!

[Nicole D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Ruff is an author I will always read. He's not prolific, and he doesn't have a formula. He's a great writer, funny and has lots of topics to tackle. I like that about him - you never know what you'll get.

This book was about video games - simplistically - on a deeper level it was about society, gender, race, technology, identity and cyber-life. All those topics tackled in what feels like a love letter to video games, specifically "Massive Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games" MMORPG's.

It's no surprise that Ruff has been involved in gaming for many years, though I'm not sure if he'd call himself a gamer. It was hard to tell from the authors note. Not being a gamer myself I don't know if all the game play he described was made up or derivative, but whatever it was, it was fun!

This is not another version of Ready Player One, though there are obviously aspects. It's more like a suspense/thriller set in video games.

I completely enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down.

[Alle Bücher müssen gelesen werden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Videospiel 101, und genau zwei Handlungsstänge die am ende zusammenlaufen, zusammengehalten von genau 2 Seiten Zufallselementen.

Danach noch eine Moral Von Der Gescicht und ein unhappy End.

20 Euro waren zuviel dafür.

[Senf Dazu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6/5 - Äußerst unterhaltsam für mmorpg Fans wie World of Warcaft.
Den Vergleich zu Ready Player One kann ich verstehen, allerdings ohne die Retro 80er Anspielungen. Ausserdem ist 88 Namen kein Jugenbuch mMn, auch wenn der Protagonist 22 (?) Jahre alt ist.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...der böse Hacker wird geschnappt und läuft zur guten Seite über."

Nein, es ist nur ein Zitat aus dem Buch.
Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass diejenigen, die selber gerne zocken, mit diesem Buch den meisten Spaß haben.

[reherrma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Ruff hat mit diesem Buch einen unterhaltsamen Roman über Identität im Zeitalter der Online-Rollenspiele geliefert. Da ich selbst kein Gamer bin, konnte ich jedoch diesem, auf dem Backcover gefeiertem "Geek-Gold" nicht so viel abgewinnen, wie es ein echter Fan der "Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games" (MMORPG) es wohl tun würde. Dennoch konnte ich mich auch nicht der Faszination dieses Romans, der, auch vom Autor im Roman so erwähnt wurde, eine Mischung aus "Ready Player One" und "Der König und Ich" sein soll. Die Handlung kann eigentlich kurz umrissen werden; John Chu und seine Kollegen von Sherpa Inc. begleiten Kunden in die Welt der Online-Rollenspiele. Anfänger, die keine Lust haben, Wochen in die Entwicklung ihrer Spielfigur zu investieren, können bei John einen High-End-Charakter mieten und entsprechend ausgerüstet in den virtuellen Kampf ziehen. Andere Kunden kaufen die Profis von Sherpa Inc. als Privatarmee ein, wenn ein besonderer Feldzug ansteht. Als eines Tages John für einen Spezialauftrag angefragt wird, geraten die Ereignisse aus dem Ruder. Der mysteriöse "Mr. Jones" zahlt gut. So gut, dass John sich bald fragt, wen er dort durch virtuelle Welten führt. Als er ahnt, dass es sich um den Nordkoreanischen Diktator Kim Jong-un handeln könnte wird aus Spaß blutiger Ernst...
Wie bereits bemerkt, dürften sich die Gamer von Ruff ernst genommen fühlen. Aber auch alle anderen nimmt Ruff mit. Jedem Kapitel stellt er Einträge aus imaginären Lexika voran. Auch wenn "88 Namen" in einer nicht allzu fernen Zukunft spielt, kommentiert der Autor hier immer wieder Phänomene, die uns leider nur zu bekannt sind. Ein Eintrag über das "Opium des Volkes" endet mit dem Satz: "Modernere Kandidaten sind Twitter, Amercian Football, Marihuana und Virtual Reality."
Ob die Protagonisten um John Chu, deren Charaktere der Autor gut gezeichnet hat, den Stress, den der neue Kunde in ihr Leben bringt, unbeschadet überstehen, bleibt bis zum Show-down offen. Identitäten werden gefälscht, gewechselt und multipliziert. E-Sports trifft auf Spionage-Thriller und Cybersex auf Verschlüsselung.
Der Spruch ("Im Internet weiß niemand, dass du ein Hund bist") schreibt Matt Ruff schlitzohrigerweise Mark Twain zu. Der hatte natürlich so viel Ahnung vom Internet, wie Schiller vom Fernsehen. In Wirklichkeit stammt der Spruch aus einem Cartoon des Zeichners Peter Steiner im Magazin „New Yorker“ von 1993. Damit tut Ruff hier das, was im Internet schon lange Volkssport ist: "Zitate falsch zuordnen".
Der Roman mit seinem humorigen Stil und guten Dialogen kann mit leichter Hand gelesen werden, er macht Spaß und bleibt bis zum Schluss spannend. Mit diesem Roman hat Matt Ruff wieder mal seinen Ruf als Kultautor (Fool on the Hill, Mirage, G.A.S., Lovecraft Country, etc.) unterstrichen...

[Katzenkindliest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich bin ein bisschen unentschlossen bezüglich meiner Bewertung. Insgesamt fand ich es nicht schlecht, aber...
Und von den "abers" gibt es einige. Zu viel "Gamersprache". Wenn auch alles erklärt wird, aber als Nicht-Nerd ist es doch ziemlich anstrengend. Für meinen Geschmack auch zu viele mega-blutige (weil virtuelle) Kämpfe. Und die Auflösung am Ende fand ich auch seeeehr weit hergeholt.
Trotzdem hat das Buch es geschafft mich bis zum Ende zu unterhalten. Deshalb gebe ich 3 Sterne - den dritten allein schon dafür, dass ich dran geblieben bin... ;)

[Richard Derus]

MARCH 2020 NEWS Author Ruff will have a Reddit AMA on the 27th! https://www.reddit.com/r/books/commen...

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I love reading fiction about online gaming and VR experiences so I was eager to check out this newest one. I always assume these kinds of books would be read by geeks so I was surprised how much time the author spent explaining gamer terms. I appreciated the diversity with characters with different ethic backgrounds. However, I found the plot itself to be rather underwhelming. The story was quite slow with a fairly bland delivery. The ending should have been surprising but it used a twist from another popular VR book that made it super predictable. So this was a fairly interesting, quick read, but not particularly memorable.

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This virtual reality thriller felt like an unenjoyable, complete waste of time. I can’t give it a one-star rating, since it was too blah to even infuriate me. When I finished the book, I felt almost like I was tricked into reading it, I suppose, analogous to the mc being tricked throughout. No interesting plot. No drama or excitement, duh, since it’s virtual reality and not real. Long boring sections of info-dumps. If, like me, you sometimes check in to goodreads to see if a stalled novel will pick up, be forewarned. This book belongs in the DNF pile. I wish I had DNFed it 1/3 through instead of finishing it.

Oh yeah, does “88 names” refer to anything?

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now, IDGAF about playing MMORPGs myself, but I do like reading about them, and Matt Ruff's fast-paced novel 88 Names definitely delivers the goods on that score. There's a handy "quick-start guide" at the back of the book, too, in case you need a gentle introduction to what massively-multiplayer online role-playing games are all about.

Ruff obviously had a lot of fun writing this one, but overall it did seem rather self-indulgent, and I'm not entirely sure what the right target audience for this one would be. I suspect that experienced gamers would find the introductory approach a little tedious, while complete non-gamers would see it as overwhelming. I myself was not quite in the sweet spot for this one either, as it turns out—although I always enjoy Matt Ruff's work, this one ended up not being my favorite, despite the inspired sarcasm of lines like this one:

"The thing is," I told her, using that know-it-all voice that women find endlessly endearing{...}
—p.147

Ruff explains the title of 88 Names at the end of its first chapter, too—and no, it's not at all about the racist code, although Ruff is almost certainly aware of how this particular number's been coopted, and he isn't at all shy about dropping in offensive terms now and then himself, when it's in service to the story—see, for example, what the term "J.T.T.O." means, on p.100: it stands for—ugh—an unpleasant gang of griefer gamers calling themselves "Jews to the Ovens".

*

While Walter Jon Williams has also written a few novels dealing with the intersection between these immersive games and (so-called) real life, 88 Names seemed most Strossian to me, somehow—I came to think of it as Ruff's version of Rule 34 crossed with Halting State. Quite a lot of this novel is NSFW, too—see, for example, this passage about something Ruff calls "BJML":
The acronym stands for "Blow Job Markup Language":

The obvious solution—getting to know people before you fucked them—didn't fit with the "quick, no-strings" part of the program, so the Men opted for a brute-force approach instead. They created male and female versions of the software, and went to absurd lengths to try to ensure that only people with actual vaginas could use the female version. Saner members of the community pointed out that this was an impossible goal, but it was like trying to convince politicians that there's no such thing as a crypto back door that only good guys can use: The fanatics kept insisting that with enough nerd power, anything is possible.
—p.190

Or this one (and I should note that 88 Names is set in the future; as of this review's posting, the term "late" does not apply):

It was the late New York Times columnist David Brooks who famously observed that "you can't kiss in cyberspace." Like a lot of declarative statements made by old people, this isn't strictly true{...}
—p.193

*

In 88 Names, as in pretty much all of Ruff's previous work, he is unafraid to take on controversial topics—some of which seem irrelevant to the plot, such as the passengers with their duelling T-shirts, on the train trip that starts Part Three. However, this passage seems perfectly relevant to me:

When the thing standing between you and your heart's desire is another person with their own wants and needs, the answer is never as simple as just laying down the law. We all understand this when someone else tries to tell us what we can and can't do, but conveniently forget it when it's our turn to give orders. This blind spot is common to people on all parts of the political spectrum, which is one reason why I don't like arguing politics much.
—p.242

*

88 Names builds to a rousing climax, based on... well, I'm not gonna say. Just know that it's been set up well... and that there's more than one boss fight in store.

I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if I were any kind of gamer—but even without that connection, it was undeniably compelling and, ultimately, another satisfying Matt Ruff novel.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so damned fun that I read through it in two days. It’s like Ready Player One except it’s not stuck in the 80s and has a diverse protagonist and interesting supporting characters. I really enjoyed it!

[Andreas · Rating 2 out of 5]

John is sherpa who guides his paying clients through MMORPGs so that they can enjoy the good stuff without doing the grinding for leveling up a character or figuring out the right strategy for boss fights. His life suddenly becomes more exciting when he is hired by a really wealthy man and consequences affect the real life as well. And then there is a revengeful ex-girlfriend...

After reading the summary and knowing Matt's excellent books Fool on the Hill and Set This House in Order my expectations skyrocketed. What could go wrong? A lot, actually...

Let's start with the good things. I liked the characters in the book and the play with gender and prejudices in a virtual reality. You never know what kind of person you are facing. The cybersex approach was also ... interesting.

Then there is the world of Call to Wizardry. First everything is fresh and cool, but this wears off quickly. I find reading about adventures in an online world pretty boring unless there is some additional meaning or second layer like in Ready Player One or The Three-Body Problem. And no, countless references to pop culture doesn't make it better. It's hard to relate to something that is completely virtual and has no consequences in real life. There are highlights here and there but not enough so the restricted scope of the novel ultimately made it a fail for me.

The events that are hinted at in the summary don't play a big role until very late in the book. A lot of setup is needed to make the plotline work and I found the end rather underwhelming.

Without the badass characters I probably would never have finished the book. It's a pity that Matt Ruff didn't want to tell a bigger, more sophisticated story.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big Matt Ruff fan. Start with Sewer, Gas, Electric, and then move on to Set This House in Order, and you'll be one, too. The dude is just a crazy-good writer.

I say that because I hate that this is a three-star book. It starts off well, with good characters and a killer premise, and Ruff maintains a tension throughout while also having that "Just one more chapter!" sense of pacing, but then it kinda falls apart at the end. For all that buildup, I was a bit stunned at the reveal. And not in a good way.

I did enjoy the book, and I think if I hadn't read SGE and STHiO (and The Mirage, and Fool on the Hill, and Lovecraft Country, and...), I'd like it more than I did. I just know what Ruff CAN do, and this isn't quite at that level. I know it's bad form to judge a book based on what came before, but I think even if I were new to Ruff, I would have been disappointed.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book as a GoodReads giveaway, also downloaded from Edelweiss. It's not my typical read, but it seemed like a kind-of Ready Player One, so I thought it sounded interesting.
It's a decent book, although it gets a bit too bogged down in the gameplay aspects rather than the core story for my liking. The "mystery", such as it is, is pretty easy to figure out and not surprising in the least. If you are a hardcore gamer, or if you were in the 80s/90s, then this book will definitely appeal, because it is an homage to gamers everywhere. Overall it took me way too long to get through it, and the cybersex portions kind of icked me out, but it's an entertaining book if you don't want to think too hard.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Chu works as a Sherpa (guide for newbies who can afford to pay) in virtual reality computer games, with a tight crew who work for him. It's against the rules in some of the games, but the risk is part of the job. He gets in over his head in what appears to be international espionage bleeding over into games. Luckily, he has a badass family to help.

I loved reading this book, as expected with any Matt Ruff book. It pulled me right in, and I read it in one day. It would be five stars, but the ending was a bit of a letdown. It was also a bit of a letdown for John Chu, so it may be that the ending, letdown and all, was part of the charm of the book. Still, it brought it down by one star for me.

[Stormee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, it’s a fine book.

Sometimes some of the details got a little drawn out. I didn’t really care for the political parts to come into it but I could see why you’d want the main guy to believe that something big is happening.

But I pretty much guessed who the anonymous person was right after it all started.

There was so many other parts that pretty much told you “this person sucks” that it didn’t make sense for it to be anyone else.

If you like gaming, you may enjoy it. I’m a casual gamer and did enjoy the nerdy aspects of it, don’t get me wrong. But it also dragged at points.

[Jordan (Jordy’s Book Club) · Rating 4 out of 5]

QUICK TAKE: perfect for those of you who loved READY PLAYER ONE...very similar world-building, with a dark streak running through the narrative. The ending was a little convoluted, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed 88 NAMES.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

"88 Names" is a poor man's "Ready Player One." "Lovecraft Country" is one of my all time favorite books (as is "Ready Player One") so this was a huge let down. I'm not ready to give up on Ruff though and I'll try some of his other works.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This was funny and gripping, but the ending was a let down and the social commentary wasn't profound or subtle.

"John Chu is a 'sherpa'—a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. For a fee, he and his crew will provide you with a top-flight character equipped with the best weapons and armor, and take you dragon-slaying in the Realms of Asgarth, hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in the zombie apocalypse." (source) Everything seems to be going well for John until he begins to suspect that his new, mysterious client might be Kim Jong-Un; the woman threatening him to get him to spy on his new client might be a spy herself; and either of them might be part of a prank by his ex-girlfriend Darla. Soon John finds himself entangled in intrigue and facing threats that aren't confined to his online life.

I picked this book up because I wanted something fun and light to read and it definitely delivered. I couldn't stop reading, trying to figure out exactly what John hadn't gotten himself into and what would happen next. John's narration was funny and sarcastic and I enjoyed seeing him both skewer racist tropes and show up trolls. I also had a lot of fun seeing the culture of MMORPGs captured so accurately. Reading about game mechanics and even the trolls was a delight, because it felt so true to life.

One of the cover blurbs from my ARC suggested that this book would, in addition to being fun, explore interesting themes of identity and 'the fluidity of self'. This got my hopes up that there would be some smart social commentary in this tale of adventure. Unfortunately, pretty much all the author had to say about identity was that 1) we judge people based on their perceived race and gender and 2) not everyone is who they seem to be online. Neither of these observations struck me as particularly profound. They were also things the author directly told us, via his narrator, not ideas his story made me consider more deeply. There was some additional political commentary too, given as an inner monologue by John during some downtime. While he wasn't preachy or offensive, his opinions were so lukewarm that I didn't think they added anything to his character. They certainly didn't need several paragraphs of plot-irrelevant exposition.

My only other complaint with this book is that I found the ending was a bit of a let down. Otherwise, this was a perfectly serviceable, fast-paced, escapist reads - exactly what I was looking for. Just don't go into it expecting anything more thoughtful than that.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey

[Nadine in California · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this storyline isn't my cuppa, I'll go anywhere with Matt Ruff, one of my favorite speculative fiction writers. His books are all wildly different, but they all share a vivid imagination, surprising plot turns and a deeply humane and often playful narrative voice. This novel takes place mostly in a VR game called 'Call To Wizardry", although it spills out into the real world as the plot unspools. Ruff does an amazing job bringing a VR massive multi-player role play game to life on the page with a minimum of geekiness, although his VR world must be far more advanced than what exists today. Ruff's virtual and real worlds aren't white bro places - there's not a bro to be found amid his usual broad swath of humanity. I suppose this book could be compared to Ready Player One, but it goes much deeper into human nature and tells a much less gimmicky story. For me, it's closer in sensibility to a fantastic short story by Charles Yu, Hero Absorbs Major Damage.

Each chapter starts with a quotation from a fictional reference book - plus one that attributes the 'on the internet no one knows you're a dog' meme to Mark Twain ;) This quote is a sample of Ruff's voice, attributed to "The New Devil's Dictionary":

"theory of mind -A controversial hypothesis that other human beings are sentient and possess thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and goals that are different from our own. In its most radical form, the theory posits that while these differences may make other people's behavior hard to understand, the question "What the fuck are you thinking?" has a real answer which reason and empathy can discover.

'Reason and empathy' are the calling cards of Matt Ruff's writing for me. Plus fun.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh...not bad, but definitely not great either. Too far into the weeds with the video game detail, so probably better appreciated by gamer readers, (my younger son is also listening to this, and enjoying it much more than me). Also personally found the ending very disappointing, and both my son and I felt the audio narration was very choppy - not something technical; just the narrator spacing his words weirdly himself.

Meanwhile, I have recently read this and 48 Hours, 36 Righteous Men, 13 Hours and watched the movie "27 Bridges." So I think I'm gonna avoid stuff with numbers in the title for a while...

[Gabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the prose, that's what the stars are for. But the story itself (espionage in RPG environment) did absolutely nothing for me. It lacked a structure I could appreciate.

[arm applesauce · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun gamer book <3

[Petergiaquinta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sitting here looking at my screen and wavering between two and three stars for this thin but fun book about gaming in the metaverse that starts off so well and then kind of fizzles. Or, maybe more fairly, never quite meets the potential we are set up for at the beginning. I'd give it three stars for the nostalgia the book elicits for someone like me who spent way too much time in Azeroth about fifteen years ago and now often longs to revisit. And I kind of feel like giving it three stars just to balance out the two-star reviews here with the most likes because some of the petty complaints in those reviews are just whiny bullshit.

But I'm sticking with two stars because much like Ruff's two Lovecraft Country books, this earlier novel skims along the surface of its material and never really gets down into the nitty gritty. All three of these reads feel pretty superficial--plot, characters, theme--just really thin. I don't need Neal Stephensonian-style info dumps of extreme minutia, but I definitely need more, and the subject matter (imagine Ludlum meets Gibson and you'll have a good idea about what this book aspires to be) really lends itself to a deeper dive that never happens. Clearly, Ruff owes a debt of inspiration here to Stephenson, and two much better books by that author come to mind: Snowcrash for the book that first imagines the metaverse, and Reamde for a novel that mixes gaming with spy craft and plays out against the background of a World of Warcraft style game. Or read The Nix by Nathan Hill, which really has little in common with what Ruff is doing here, but it does have a pretty hilarious look at someone who spends too much time playing a WoW knockoff.

Still, I did enjoy Ruff's take on the Cave of Onyxia, and maybe in the future the author can return to the cast of characters he introduces us to here and do something more interesting with them in a second novel that gets more in-depth treatment.