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Matt Ruff

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88 Names: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Matt Ruff (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 300 ratings

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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.

Print length

309 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Harper
Publication date

March 17, 2020
File size

6495 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ruff’s newest technothriller is an exciting page-turner that delves into the online gaming world and should appeal to both veterans and newbies." — Library Journal

"Ruff remains on a winning streak with this seamless genre hybrid." — Publishers Weekly

“Following in the footsteps of Ernie Cline, who hit the geek gold mine with Ready Player One, Ruff takes his shot at a near-future gaming world. . . . Gamers for life who can pry themselves off the controller will certainly dig this digital-era whodunit.” — Kirkus Reviews

"Ruff’s fast-flowing, fascinating narrative is full of amusing topical and pop culture referents without being overburdened by allusiveness. His witty, often snarky dialogue crackles, and every aspect of the gaming experience is sharply rendered and explicated. . . . Any novel that can . . . appeal to gamers and literary fans alike is a treasure greater than the loot in a cyber-dragon’s cave." — Washington Post

"Matt Ruff is one of science fiction and fantasy's most consistently brilliant and innovative authors . . . . [88 Names] moves seamlessly through a series of beautifully rendered, imaginative virtual worlds, and a physical world that is recognizably our own future, while still being madcap in that unmistakably mattruffian way — boingboing.com

"Employing a diverse cast of characters and weaving historical facts with an abundance of pop culture references, Ruff’s richly imagined world of next-generation internet is plausible and a bit frightening. The action inside the virtual gaming world is sleek and exciting, but the extrapolation of identity, friendship, and human relationships makes the narrative shine." — Booklist (starred review)

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Matt Ruff is the author of the novels The Destroyer of Worlds, 88 Names, Lovecraft Country, Bad Monkeys, The Mirage, Set This House in Order, Fool on the Hill, and Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07T6938D1
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (March 17, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 17, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6495 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 309 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #563,528 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #954 in Fantasy TV, Movie & Game Tie-In
- #4,612 in Dystopian Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #13,830 in Science Fiction Adventures

Customer Reviews:
4.2 300 ratings

About the author

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Matt Ruff

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Matt Ruff was born in New York City in 1965. He is the author of seven novels, including Fool on the Hill, Bad Monkeys, Set This House in Order, The Mirage, and Sewer, Gas & Electric. His 2016 novel Lovecraft Country has been adapted as an HBO series by Jordan Peele, Misha Green, and J.J. Abrams. His latest novel, 88 Names, was published by HarperCollins on March 17, 2020.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

300 global ratings

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Victoria A. Matthews

Well done, once again!!!

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2021

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Matt Ruff has been my favorite author since about 1990. It was the summer before my senior year of high school when I stumbled across "Fool on the Hill" on a free book rack at my library. I spent the next few weeks devouring that magical book while sitting in a shaved ice shack parked in the lot of a grocery store. As 100+ degrees New Mexico sun baked the asphalt around me, Matt Ruff's tale of Stephen Titus George, Purple Bohemians, Rat Frats, Tolkien House, the Rubbermaid, talking dogs, Sprouted, and Mr. Sunshine and his monkeys brought joy beyond my understanding. Decades later, book after book....Matt Ruff continues to hold true. His books bring joy to my life. His imagination is magical and his writing style rivets and engages. 88 Names is as fantastic as his first book and all that have come between. Thank you, Matt Ruff may you always have a yellow polka dotted submarine to drive your dreams, an Ayn Rand lamp to converse with, a Lovecraftian imagination, and to always be willing to peer through the Mirage, handle those Bad Monkeys, whilst Setting Your House in Order.

6 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Excellent book, don't be discouraged by the "gets lost in the middle" reviews

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2020

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Pretty much what you'd expect from Matt Ruff --- he picks an interesting speculative fiction concept, and deconstructs/reconstructs it in a literary fashion. Very well written, lots of food for thought. This (short-ish) novel is not as tight as "Bad Monkeys" or as original as "Lovecraft Country" --- hence 4 stars.

It does sag a little in the middle (numerous VR detours that do not add much to the real-life plot), but quickly picks up the steam closer to the end.

I am not a gamer, and I found the corresponding infodumps to be useful, gracefully handled and generally unobtrusive. YMMV.

Overall, highly recommended --- precisely what I expected from a new Matt Ruff entry.

10 people found this helpful

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J. Milburn

Started strong but...

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2020

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This started like a more serious and focused ready player one. The gaming detail and the mystery were really good. You know the author writes from a place of respect. The last quarter really lost me though. The twist was not what I was hoping and made the whole thing more silly than I was hoping for.

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2020

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Loved it. It's Ready Player One with a One Word Kill feel. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Ruff. Original and a quick read. If you are reading reviews for this book, just stop, buy it and enjoy

One person found this helpful

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Vickie Woodard

ADVENTURES IN GAMING

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2023

I appreciated that the author defined gaming terms because I'm not a gamer... unless you count Jeopardy.
The ease with which the characters assumed different personas was amazing to me.
There's subterfuge, danger, gun battles (both real and virtual) and lies.

Helpful

A interesting game novel - better than Ready Player One

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2020

I liked 88 Names for a lot of reasons - characters, the New Devil's Dictionary, and the game settings (and how they were thinly disguised versions of stuff you can play now).
I also liked it because it _wasn't_ a love letter to 80's pop culture and avoided the missteps of Ready Player One. It's also a tighter, better written and better edited book.
If you liked Ready Player One, but want something with a different vibe, or could see the flaws, give 88 Names a try.

One person found this helpful

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Norm Zurawski

Better Than Expected

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023

Many years ago I read a book my Matt Ruff, Fool on the Hill. All of my friends loved it - I did not. I sort of put the author on the back-burner at that time.

A few days ago, I was looking for a SciFi audiobook and the author's name came up. I read the recap and was interested.

Solid, solid choice.

Some of the reviews mention some dead spots in the book. I listened to the audiobook (which had a solid reader, btw) and I really didn't find that to be the case. I never felt like the narrative was going nowhere.

Other comments mention similarities to Ready Player One, and I can agree with that. I felt it was better than Ready Player Two.

The story is easy to listen to as well as engaging. I had no problem making my way through this narrative. Good stuff

I'll likely pick up another book by the same author.

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R. Edman

falls apart in the middle

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2020

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This was an interesting and well-written story to almost exactly the halfway point of the writing. The book meanders through some lengthy detours and a not-even-slightly-fun foray into the cyber sex of the future before returning to the plot. By that time I had lost interest, but it did turn out into a bit twisty, but ultimately unimportant denouement.

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AJ

Pretty good book.

Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2021

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Read it after watching LoveCraft Country, and Ruff didn't dissapoint. Looking forward to his other books

KGBeast

Gelungener Cyberpunk der neuesten Generation

Reviewed in Germany on August 20, 2020

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88 – so viele Identitäten hat John Chu im Internet, was ihm immer mal wieder hilft, wenn er oder ein Mitglied seiner Firma Sherpa Inc. in Schwierigkeiten geraten. Denn die Sherpas, die als 'native guides' gut zahlende Kunden durch komplexe MPORGs führen, werden nicht von allen Spielebetreibern positiv gesehen und diese reagieren dann oft mit einer weitreichenden Identitätslöschung.

Nach einer turbulenten - und von seinem Team eher kritisch gesehen - Darla hat sich John wieder voll in die Arbeit gestürzt, wobei er auf einen Mr. Smith stößt, der für einen Mr. Jones arbeitet - und von dem John bald überzeugt ist, das er dem nordkoreanischen Diktator nahesteht - oder es sogar selber ist. Eine geheimnisvolle und sehr aggressive Mrs. Pang, die für den chinesischen Geheimdienst zu arbeiten scheint und John unanständig viel Geld bietet um an Jones herankommen zu können, macht dies noch plausibler, weswegen John seine Mutter einschaltet, die eine Cyberwar-Abteilung der amerikanischen Streitkräfte leitet - und die dies auch für plausibel hält. Bald geht es für John im Netz drunter und drüber - bis die Gefahr auch in sein reales Leben hinein reicht.

Interessanter Cyberpunk-Roman der neuesten Generation mit vielen überraschenden Wendungen, einem sympathischen - wenn auch teils etwas pedantischen - Ich-Erzähler, ungewöhnlichen Ideen und viel fröhlichem Nerdtum.

Ruff bleibt seinem erzählerischen und expositorischem Stil treu und schafft hier einen Cyberpunk-Roman, der Gibson und Stephanson und all den anderen Größen dieses Subgenres in nichts nach-steht.

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Abby Normal

Cyberthriller

Reviewed in Germany on August 27, 2020

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Matt Ruff ist einer der Autoren, die jedes Mal wieder überraschen. Jedes Mal beweist er mit einem einzigartigen Stil sein Können. Und jedes Mal wagt er sich in ein neues Gebiet vor. Dieses Mal geht es um die Cyber-Welt. Der Thriller spielt in den virtuellen Computerspielen. Hoch modern und am Puls der Zeit. Gleichzeitig ist die Story aber spannend und bietet unerwartete Wendungen.

Eigentlich ist die Cyberwelt nicht mein Ding. Daher war ich etwas skeptisch bei Ruffs neuem Roman. Doch dank seiner gekonnten Erzählweise, interessanten Charakteren und spannenden Plots fieberte ich von Anfang an mit. Bis zum Ende. Ich konnte das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.

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enbargo

naja

Reviewed in Germany on October 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

matt ruff für mich einer der besten autoren
aber bei diesem buch bin ich mit dem autor nicht ganz eine wellenlänge
schade
kann aber auch an mir liegen

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