Lovecraft Country Synopsis
Now an HBO(R) series from J.J. Abrams (executive producer of Westworld), Misha Green (creator of Underground), and Jordan Peele (director of Get Out and Us), this brilliant and imaginative novel by critically acclaimed author Matt Ruff makes visceral the terrors of Jim Crow America, melding historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror.
Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George--publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide--and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite--heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus's ancestors--they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.
A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism--the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.
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Matt Ruff Press Reviews
Wonderful from page one . . . Matt Ruff is one of the gentlest, wildest writers of fantastic fiction -- John Crowley, author of Little, Big
The slippery dialogue and suspense-soaked prose make Lovecraft Country - a challenge to one of the most recognizable legacies in science fiction - worth every dime -- Chicago Review of Books
Genuinely spooky . . . But the real horror is the reality of life for African-Americans in the Jim Crow era . . . sparks the imagination while also igniting the reader's empathy -- Library Journal
Nonstop adventure that includes time-shifting, shape-shifting, and Lovecraft-like horrors . . . Ruff, a cult favorite for his mind-bending fiction, vividly portrays racism as a horror worse than anything conceived by Lovecraft in this provocative, chimerical novel -- Booklist
Ruff 's worldbuilding is a blend of magic, researched realism, and adventure story -- LA Review of Books
Great fun. You can see why Lovecraft Country has been optioned by HBO for a TV series . . . None of the book's other-worldly encounters feel as dangerous as those moments when a black character runs afoul of a tired police officer or vicious sheriff -- Telegraph
Smartly subversive pulp horror . . . beautifully structured . . . what shines through is solidarity, conscience and not backing down in the face of wickedness -- Guardian
Lovecraft Country doesn't just race along, it tears, demanding that you keep turning its pages without interruption -- Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother
A brilliantly conceived story brilliantly executed -- Christopher Moore, author of Lamb and A Dirty Job
At every turn, Ruff has great fun pitting mid-twentieth-century horror and sci-fi cliches against the banal and ever present bigotry of the era - New York Times Book Review
Lovecraft Country takes the unlikeliest of premises and spins it into a funny, fast, exciting, and affecting read -- Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon
About Matt Ruff
Matt Ruff was born in 1965 in Queens, New York. He is the author of the award-winning novels Fool on the Hill, Set This House in Order and Bad Monkeys. His novel, Lovecraft Country, was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 2017 in the novel category and has been greenlit as an HBO series. Matt lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife.
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