He's a great writer, funny and has lots of topics to tackle. This virtual reality thriller felt like an unenjoyable, complete waste of time. "88 Names" is a poor man's "Ready Player One." He's not prolific, and he doesn't have a formula. See our, Read a limited number of articles each month, You consent to the use of cookies and tracking by us and third parties to provide you with personalized ads, Unlimited access to washingtonpost.com on any device, Unlimited access to all Washington Post apps, No on-site advertising or third-party ad tracking. 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. Yes the plot’s different and this is more the current era, possibly a few years in the future with VR but this is definitely geeky, modern cyberpunk. March 17th 2020 When I finished the book, I felt almost like I was tricked into reading it, I suppose, analogous to the mc being tricked throughout. When it starts to look like the first client might be someone high up in the North Korean government, things get even weirder. 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.”, Goodreads Choice Awards 2020 (eligible for write-in only), This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey, Meet the Epic and Awesome Authors of Fall's Big Fantasy Novels. At Cornell University I wrote what would become my first published novel, Fool on the Hill, as my senior thesis in Honors English. I hate to call it a poor man’s Ready Player One but that’s pretty much what it is. I applaud Matt Ruff for his creativity and for the compelling concept, and I intend to give his work another chance. 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. It was a fun read as well, I enjoyed the plot line that the main character is being paid to show a person that he believes to be Kim Jong Un around the world of the game. As for the story, it’s ok, nothing earth shattering and the surprise at the end? 88 NAMES by Matt Ruff ... who hit the geek gold mine with Ready Player One (2011), Ruff (Lovecraft Country, 2016, etc.) Welcome back. There are great ideas here, and it's obvious he wanted to make it its own unique animal and not a ripoff of "Ready Player One." Luckily, he has a badass family to help. 88 Names is set in the near future (or maybe not so near: it's been at least eight years since a woman became president of the United States), with most of the activity taking place online. A more fair comparison would be with Neal stephenson’s reamde because this is about mmorpgs and how the economics of that word translates to the real one, complete with gold farmers, paid upgrades and hacking user accounts. 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. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. An Instant Post-Cyberpunk Classic about Computer Gaming from One of Our Finest Writers. many ways, Ruff has obviously modelled 88 Names on the novels of William Gibson, but he doesn’t have Gibson’s knack for deep characterization, nor his talent for obfuscating the book’s lack of destination. otherwise along the way. Review A professional critic’s assessment of a service, product, performance, or artistic or literary work. Fun, and quick. John's Sherpa, Inc. specializes in Call to Wizardry, "the most successful MMORPG in history", and a recent profile of him as: "John Chu, Sherpa to the Stars" in People means that business is pretty good and he is attracting a high-paying clientele. Some of the biggest books out this fall promise to be epics full of magic, adventure,... John Chu is a “sherpa", a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. I liked it. No drama or excitement, duh, since it’s virtual reality and not real. Oh, yes. No drama or excitement, duh, since it’s virtual reality and not real. I was born in New York City in 1965. It’s a page turner and entertaining and a pretty good way to while away a few hours. Received this book as a GoodReads giveaway, also downloaded from Edelweiss. That's always a tough place for an author to go, because if the BIG REVEAL is less shocking/surprising/satisfying than the audience hoped, it will leave the reader feeling kind of disappointed, even if the book as a whole was pretty entertaining. Start by marking “88 Names” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Long boring sections of info-dumps. takes his shot at a near-future gaming world that’s more grounded than most virtual-reality universes but also more complex. 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. The references are far less ham-fisted than Ready Player One (with a far more likable protagonist), but does not blow open the genre like Ruff's Lovecraft Country. The narrator runs a sherpa-business -- as in providing, for a fee, support and guiding players through massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), specifically: "allowing them to experience high-level game content that would otherwise require hundreds of hours to reach". I hate to call it a poor man’s Ready Player One but that’s pretty much what it is. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure. His life suddenly becomes more exciting when he is hired by a really wealthy man and consequences affect the real life as well. I was born in New York City in 1965. Tackles the MMORPG genre while dropping a handful of pop culture reference. It's not my typical read, but it seemed like a kind-of Ready Player One, so I thought it sounded interesting. The problem I have with this type of novel. There are books that you read that you love so much that you start looking for it again in other books to chase that high. I'm not one. 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. 88 Names: A Novel by Matt Ruff HarperCollins March 17, 2020 ISBN-10: 0062854674 ISBN-13: 978-0062854674 ASIN: B07T6938D1 302 pages Contact: Rachel Elinsky, Director of Publicity 212-207-7178 rachel.elinsky@harpercollins.com Paranormal and urban fantasy, Science fiction adventures, Technothrillers “I find this book quite entertaining. After a series of jobs gone wrong that might be the fault of a disgruntled ex-employee/girlfriend, John is approached by an anonymous wealthy client offering an outrageous sum, and making a set of outrageous demands. John Chu works as an online sherpa, guiding gaming newbies through virtual reality adventure games. A more fair comparison would be with Neal stephenson’s reamde because this is about mmorpgs and how the economics of that word translates to the real one, complete with gold farmers, paid upgrades and hacking user accounts. This content is currently not available in your region. This book belongs in the DNF pile. 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. My professor Alison Lurie helped me find an agent, and within six months of my college graduati. In this case, the protagonist John Chu is a ‘sherpa’, selling adventures in MMRPG to people with more money than sense. Summary: This was funny and gripping, but the ending was a let down and the social commentary wasn't profound or subtle. QUICK TAKE: perfect for those of you who loved READY PLAYER ONE...very similar world-building, with a dark streak running through the narrative. John Chu works as an online sherpa, guiding gaming newbies through virtual reality adventure games. I really enjoyed it! The other, Ray, apparently lives in California, but that's about all John has been able to figure out. Not that surprising. 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). I've read all of his novels. I can’t give it a one-star rating, since it was too blah to even infuriate me. 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. 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 just spacing his words weirdly himself. When it starts to look lik. This is immediately followed by an even larger offer from another mysterious figure who wants John to take the first job but report everything that happens. 88 Names is at its best in the depths of the online world, especially at the periphery of the games, the characters interacting and sounding each other out in a virtual world that allows them considerably more flexibility than real-world face-to-face interactions do.
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