Matt Ruff

Our book club is hosted by a different bookseller each month, and each book selection will focus on a different genre. The book club is open to everyone and it’s the perfect opportunity for readers to branch out and find new favorites while getting to know your booksellers! Come in and grab your copy of this month’s selection (Jaclyn’s pick) The Mirage by Matt Ruff. The next selection will be announced at the meeting. Book club members receive 20%

As a special treat, Matt Ruff will be skyping in to discuss The Mirage with our reading group! Don't miss this chance to talk to Matt!

Location: Street: 2810 Artesia Blvd. City: Redondo Beach, Province: California Postal Code: 90278 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

On Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, Mysterious Galaxy will be hosting dozens of authors in our booth on the grounds of the University Park Campus as part of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Mysterious Galaxy’s booth location is Booth #372. Mystery fans will be particularly pleased to note that we are adjacent to the Southern CA Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime booths.

For more information about the Festival and directions, etc. visit the official website.

The most up to date information on Booth #372 is in the flier at the bottom of the page. See you there!

Authors scheduled to appear in our booth include: Avery Aames, Rochelle Staab, Lisa Brackmann, Laura Levine, Joanne Fluke, Joseph Wambaugh, Holly Goldberg Sloan, Les Klinger, Stuart Woods, Whitley Strieber, John Scalzi, Jeri Westerson, Stephen Jay Schwartz, DeAnna Cameron, Alex Shakar, Denise Hamilton, Cara Black, Richard Kadrey, Linda O. Johnston, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Robert Ward, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Kelli Stanley, Matt Ruff, Joanna Philbin, Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan, Gary Phillips, James Conway, Philip Kerr, Nancy Holder, Jeffrey Mariotte, Stephen Blackmoore, S.G. Browne, Amelia Gray, Seth Grahame-Smith, Greg Bear, Kendare Blake, Carol Tanzman, and John Joseph Adams.

... and other festival-attending authors might stop by as well.

A downloadable Schedule can be found at the bottom of this page. Attachment Size Signing Schedule for LATFB 2012.pdf 48.15 KB

Location: Street: Exposition Blvd Additional: University of Southern California Campus City: Los Angeles, Province: California Postal Code: 90089 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

What if the sides in the Iraq War were switched? What would we make of them then? The Mirage is Matt Ruff’s attempt to tell a 9/11 story unlike any other. Set in an alternate reality, this brilliant new novel turns everything we think we know about the War on Terror on its head, and takes the notion of "What if?" to a whole new level.

Matt Ruff marries his knack for dizzying plot twists to the most timely and relevant of topics. The multilayered narrative incorporates conspiracy theory, political and moral intrigue, gripping human drama, thrilling action, and an international cast of characters—including such real-life figures as Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, reimagined for a radically different Middle East. Matt Ruff is the author of the award-winning novels Bad Monkeys and Set This House in Order, as well as the cult classics Fool on the hill and Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife, Lisa Gold.

Location: Street: 1200 11th St City: Bellingham, Province: Washington Postal Code: 98225-7015 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

The Mirage, by Matt Ruff

November 9, 2001: Christian fundamentalists hijack four jetliners. They fly two into the Tigris & Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad, and a third into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourth plane, believed to be bound for Mecca, is brought down by its passengers.

The United Arab States declares a War on Terror. Arabian and Persian troops invade the Eastern Seaboard and establish a Green Zone in Washington, D.C….

Now, several years later, the war in America is winding down. In Iraq, an Arab Homeland Security agent named Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogates a captured suicide bomber. The prisoner claims that the world they are living in is a mirage—in the real world, America is a superpower, and the Arab states are just a collection of “backward third-world countries.” A search of the bomber’s apartment turns up a copy of the New York Times, dated September 12, 2001, that appears to support his claim.

This is not an isolated incident. Other captured terrorists have been telling the same story, and other “artifacts” have been found. The president wants answers, but Mustafa soon discovers he’s not the only interested party. The gangster Saddam Hussein is conducting his own investigation. And the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee—a war hero named Osama bin Laden—will stop at nothing to hide the truth. As Mustafa and his colleagues venture deeper into the unsettling world of terrorism, politics, and espionage, they are confronted with questions without any rational answers, and the terrifying possibility that their world is not what it seems.

Matt Ruff decided he wanted to be a novelist at the age of five. His first novel Fool on the hill became an underground cult hit in both the United States and Germany. Ruff followed up with the science-fiction satire Sewer, Gas & Electric. It too attracted a cult following.

It was with his third novel, Set This House in Order, that Ruff began to receive broader critical recognition. Set This House in Order was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book and won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, and a Washington State Book Award. It was also nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In 2006, while he was writing his most recent novel, Bad Monkeys, Ruff received a Literature Fellowship in Prose from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ruff lives in Seattle with his wife, Lisa Gold.

Location: Street: 157 Winslow Way E. City: Bainbridge Island, Province: Washington Postal Code: 98110 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Matt Ruff reads from The Mirage.

A reverse of history – or is it? On Nov., 9th, 2001, Christian fundamentalists from North America hijack four Arabian jetliners and carry out a daring and audacious attack on Muslim targets. War is declared, American is invaded and DC is captured, becoming a Green Zone for the United Arab States. Years later, while interrogating a captured suicide bomber, an Arab Homeland agent is told something startling: the Arab’s world is a mirage, America is the true superpower and a newspaper from that year backs up the story. Stranger still, other agents have been told the same thing and other artifacts have been found. Is what they live in a mirage? Whose reality is wrong? He will be on hand to sign books and speak informally to his fans. All we ask is you purchase one of his new books at our store, so we can continue to host these great events! (seattle mystery book)… (more)

On Valentine’s Day we are doing something entirely different. A Tuesday author event at 6:00 PM. And this author is going to give you plenty to talk about later in the evening over an intimate dinner. Matt Ruff will give a presentation on his latest book, The Mirage. What if the Twin Towers were not in New York but in Baghdad? 11/9/2001 Christian fundamentalists hijack four jetliners and slam two of them into the Tigris and Euphrates World Trade Centers in Baghdad. The third Jetliner crashes into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. Courageous passengers bring down the fourth jet before it can reach its intended target, thought to be the Holy city Mecca. In 2009 Homeland Security is dealing with suicide bombers while the Marines are trying to subdue the insurgents wrecking havoc in Virginia. Yet there are nebulous hints that this world is all a mirage. Mustafa al Baghdadi, a Homeland Security Agent, keeps hearing odd stories when he interrogates suicide bombers. All the usual suspects show up: Sadaam Hussein, Bushes 1 and 2, Osama, and there is a marvelous cameo with Lyndon Baines Johnson. Bold, brash and brilliant, Mirage turns the world upside down and gives it a good shake. I liked the characters a lot! Mustafa is a sympathetic, intelligent man. Amal is a woman working in a very male dominated society, she is whip smart, an integral part of Mustafa’s team but has her own battles to fight. This is the best sort of book, a great story that keeps you turning pages, makes you laugh at times, and definitely makes you think. Matt Ruff’s other books include Bad Monkeys, Set This House in Order, Fool on the Hll, and Sewer Gas & Electric. Matt is an inventive, talented author, and I think this is his best book!

Author events are free and great fun. Refreshments will be served and there will be drawings for door prizes. Sign up to attend by calling 541-593-2525, e-mailing sunriverbooks@sunriverbooks.com, or stopping by Sunriver Books & Music.

Location: Street: PO Box 1990 Additional: Sunriver Village Building 25C City: Sunriver, Province: Oregon Postal Code: 97707 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Ballard resident Matt Ruff is the critically acclaimed author of Bad Monkeys and Set This House in Order, among others.

His new book is a thriller that, quite literally, turns the political reality of the post 9-11 world as we know it, upside down. But don't let the geopolitical intrigue fool you into thinking Matt Ruff has some sort of political agenda to push forward. He does not. He is a brilliant novelist and he's come up with another stunner worthy of your attention, whether you're a Christian fundamentalist or part of the Arab Defense Ministry. Or someone in between.

Matt's site is here.

Location: Street: Ballard Public Library Additional: 5614 22nd Ave. N.W. City: Seattle, Province: Washington Postal Code: 98107 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)