Wasted opportunities pave my way to the early grave

I just finished reading The Mirage by Matt Ruff, speculative fiction set in a bizarro world where the United Arab States is the dominant world power.

On November 9, 2001, Christian fundamentalists hijack planes and destroy the Tigris and Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad. The Arab States invade the fractured, evangelical kingdoms of North America, establishing a Green Zone in Washington D.C. and deposing dictator Lyndon B. Johnson. Eight years later, in the capital city of Riyadh, Homeland Security agent Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogates a captured suicide bomber, who claims the world around them is a mirage. In reality, he says, America is the true superpower, and an inexplicable copy of The New York Times from September 12, 2001, found in his apartment, supports his assertion. [source]

The Mirage started out as a television series pitch, and reminded me of Fringe. It is clever and entertaining, but not wholly satisfying at the end.

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