Description

The New York Times bestselling book behind the HBO Series from J.J. Abrams, Misha Green and Jordan Peele (Director of Get Out).

A blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism – the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

Journey into the depths of Lovecraft Country . . .

Chicago, 1954. In the starkly segregated Jim Crow America, Atticus Turner, a twenty-two year-old Army veteran, embarks on a road trip to New England to find his missing father, Montrose. He is accompanied by his Uncle George – publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide – and his childhood friend, Letitia.

As they travel, they encounter both the terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours. Their destination is the manor of Mr. Braithwhite: heir of the estate that once enslaved Atticus’s ancestor.

In this ominous realm, Atticus discovers his father in chains, imprisoned, a victim of a secretive cult named The Order of the Ancient Dawn. They have gathered to orchestrate a shocking ritual, with Atticus at its centre. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his – and the whole Turner clan’s – destruction . . .

‘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

Publisher Review

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