Matt Ruff

A Novel

Lovecraft Country

Gregor Gross

Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two 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. At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn - led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb - which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his - and the whole Turner clan's - destruction. 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.

Lovecraft Country. TV Tie-Im

I never felt attached to any characters and despite touching on some really interesting concepts, the story never went anywhere for me.

Joe Mccaffery 

Elizabeth Nolan

The critically acclaimed cult novelist makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. 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. At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction. 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.

Colleen

3.5 Stars

*An interesting twist on Lovecraft with mixed results*


I was unintentional that I ended up reading two Lovecraft-meets-Jim-Crow stories in short concession, but I did. So I couldn’t help but compare them while reading. My husband actually picked out Lovecraft Country because he saw the preview for the TV show. I was excited to read it too. 

I had just read Ring Shout, and my main complaint about it was how darn short it was. So when I started Lovecraft Country, I thought I was getting a thicker story to sink my teeth into. Unfortunately, I had totally missed that fact that this is actually a collection of short stories. I was really into the first story then quickly got confused when it wrapped up and a totally different story started. Once I realized that it was just a set of loosely connected short stories, it was fine. But I was still disappointed, because I expected a novel.

The stories revolve around one family’s interactions with a Lovecraft-inspired supernatural cult set against the stark realities of 1950’s racism in America. 


  “The real reason he’d keep running into monsters was because he was black, and when you’re black in America, there’s always a monster. Sometimes it’s Lovecraftian Elder Gods; sometimes it’s the police, or the Klan, or the Registrar of Voters.” 

The beginning of the book felt much more atmospheric, but I lost that feeling towards the end. And admittedly, my interest waned a bit too – though I couldn’t say which was the cause and which the affect. Nevertheless, it took me a while to get through the whole book. I often have that problem with anthologies of short stories: because there isn’t the “One More Chapter” affect, I’m perfectly fine reading one short story then setting the book aside for days at a time. Although the stories tied together, the overarching plot was not engaging enough to provide any sense of urgency to finish the story. And the way each story focused on a different family member hindered deeper character development.

The writing style was also inconsistent. While Ruff did emulate Lovecraft on certain things, his writing style was much more economical and almost brusque at times. The matter-of-fact tone and short, simple sentences made Lovecraft Country feel more like eighties mass market fiction. The variations in the writing made my interest ebb and flow. Part of it were creepy, but I never got the spine-tingly feeling of really amazing horror stories.


  “But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though."


Overall, the stories were good and the concept was a creative twist, but it did not finish as strongly as it started. I liked it but didn’t love it.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Matthew Royal

So good! I loved these stories as Lovecraft-inspired fantasy, and I loved the perspective woven through them: the constant anxiety and tension of facing immense, inimical mystery which has no regard for your life combined with the similar psychological tensions and existential dangers experienced by black Americans during Jim Crow.

Told as a series of short stories, or the experiences of different members of a family, with a common thread of traveling for the Safe Negro Travel Guide. That mission and danger is always in the back of your mind, and it's so compatible with cosmic horror, that its use is electric and obvious and perfect.

Gillian Rose

Solid horror book. Though not all of it was due to made-up creatures.

SOON TO BE A NEW HBO SERIES FROM J.J. ABRAHMS, MISHA GREEN AND JORDAN PEELE (DIRECTOR OF GET OUT) 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. At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn-led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb-which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his-and the whole Turner clan's-destruction. 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.

Ryan LaFerney

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is a pulpy series of interlinked fantastic supernatural horror stories that also deal with the horrors of the Jim Crow era. The stories in particular play with the mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft a renown author known for both his cosmic horror stories and his, unfortunate, racism. I personally thought the first couple of stories were great (I especially enjoyed Hippolyta Disturbs the Universe) but also thought the later half were just so-so. I thought all the characters are likable and I wanted to spend more time with each one. Atticus Turner however was the character we were went to identify with the most, as he too is a sci-fi genre nerd. While this is labeled as "horror" it really is a variety of genres from mystery to sci-fi to adventure to horror.

If anything, this book is truly about the horrors of racism. While supernatural things do occur, the most disturbing things are almost always what other humans say or do to others. That's true horror.

I'm looking forward to watching the TV adaptation.

Siya S

★★★★☆ 3.75 CREEPY-AS-F*** STARS 

Sorry for being a bit bold, but that's just what this story really is. 


  
    Dozens of pale tentacles shot out, wrapping around the man’s limbs, torso, neck, and head, and yanking him forward to be swallowed whole before he could cry out.
  


Well, like I said, creepy as fuck.



Lovecraft Country follows the lives of an extended African-American family on their encounters of strange incidents involving ancient cult, their scientific experiments and paranormal activities. Also the highlight is that it's set in 1950s, and therefore the segregation has played quite a major part in our stories. 

The book has been divided into 8 chapters, each read like an essay that all connected into one giant plot of mysteries. Imagine watching The Twilight Zone but reading, well you get the idea. 


 
The story began with Atticus Turner, a war veteran coming home to find a mysterious letter left by his father, Montrose, who was last seen getting into an expensive looking car with an unknown white man. The letter hinted something about Lovecraft Country, which one would not easily find it on the map. 

Well, things could only get weirder after that. 

With the help of his uncle George Berry, a renowned author of The Safe Negro Travel Guide, and Letitia Dandridge, his childhood friend, the trio would soon embark on a journey that brought them to the darkest family secret hiding in the very nest of the beast, leading to a series of strange events that would haunt them til the final conclusion. 


  She continued to look at the stars, most often through the windshield of a car, but it would be a long time before she saw Pluto again.


My most favorite segment is 
  Hippolyta Disturbs the Universe
. It talks about dreams and sacrifices and what it's like being a wife and a mother. Hippolyta Berry who liked astronomy more than anything, and her dreams to discover new planets would bring her to the mysterious observatory in the dead of the night. What she found would be up to you to decide it it's a stuff made of rainbows or pure nightmare. This chapter has the most Lovecraft element (in my opinion), so mark my words that there will be at least a Cthulhu replica and gore. 

Also equally interesting segment is 
  Jekyll in the Hyde Park
, in which Letitia's sister Ruby Dandridge ran into a mysterious yet charming Caleb Braithwhite, who granted her an offer too tempting to be refused. All she need to do was drink the potion, and see her life changing before her eyes. But for the better or for the worse? Maybe Ruby's privileged white alter ego, Hillary, could answer you that. 
 

  That’s the horror, the most awful thing: to have a child the world wants to destroy and know that you’re helpless to help him. Nothing worse than that. Nothing worse.


I like this book, I really do. But I don't love it, which might not be a bad thing since I'm a prude and a wee bit hard to please even on my good days. To be fair, this book will definitely give you all kinds of feelings. It will make you laugh, it will make your eyes teary, and it will make you feel uncomfortable as hell. Terrible things will happen, and in Lovecraft Country, terrible things don't limit to just the work of monsters. Sometimes man's worst enemy is a fellow human being. So brace yourself for racism, hate crimes and the unfairness of the world. 

Find out more at:
https://thebleedingeyes.wordpress.com/

Kaya

Sabetha Danes

Discovered this book through the show, wanted to read it before I watch it. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone that loves occult woven into the fabric of our reality. The description was fantastic. Each scene was well crafted, and felt as if it came out of the time period. From clothes, to speech to how people treated each other. All well researched and described. 

The occult aspects were fantastic, I loved the way the author mixed political intriguing in with a long standing secret underground of alchemists. Plus family drama, we all know any organization that thrives on lineage is going to have it's fair share of family drama. While I did not see the ending for the alchemist coming, I loved how it wrapped it all up. And the message the books left us with. 

Where the story feel short for me was in the presence of emotion. Each chapter in this book could be dripping with emotion. The characters are going through their day to day, discovering mind blowing occult things, plus dealing with hate that is still dealt with today. But the book doesn't do the best job of capturing this emotion. It hops from one charged scene to the next with no time for the characters to unpack what happened. No one having a breakdown, or falling apart over what they just went through. Just a recap for the time jump.

Some of the jumps are months, where as some are days or weeks. But with zero reflection or emotion. Just the scenes as an onlooker would describe them as they unfold.

I would not say "if you love Lovecraft you'll love this book" because I wouldn't say that the book is Lovecraftian at all. And while that author is mentioned in the book, it's not the writing style etc. Just adding that in case anyone is scanning reviews looking for that information specifically. 

You'll love this book if you enjoy a touch of fantasy set in a historically accurate period of American history.

Lauren Attaway

I have not read as much H.P. Lovecraft as you think a horror/sci-fi junkie like me would have. I think my mother kept him off of her recommendations list (I'll have to check, but thanks Mom). Growing up black in America, I did not need to read a story with casual hatred tossed in.It happened plenty of times anyway, with the books and films schools and the general population have decided are allowed to be classically racist. 
But back to Lovecraft Country and what I think this book does best. What are the horrors of monsters and the macabre when real life is so fucking awful to you? In some ways, Lovecraft Country reads like a short story collection, beginning with Atticus Turner on a search for his missing father, and growing into a series of stories on race and segregation alongside the supernatural. I did foolishly expect more literal monsters but the racist ones dot plenty. In spite of the heaviness and horror, and I so enjoyed the injections of humor throughout.

Christina M Masters

So, this book kept popping up on recommendation shelves for me, and I never really took notice because I had friends that were big into H.P. Lovecraft but I wasn't all that into him (although now I am pretty intrigued). I have to admit what finally got me to read the book was the trailer for the HBO series that is coming out later this year and I am so glad I did! This book was fantastic. I am not going to say too much because I think you all just should read it, but it was H.P. Lovecraft mythos intertwined with Jim Crow era America. And I have to say, I thought it would be scarier than it was, and there were definitely some creepy moments and if I read it in the evening, which I typically did, I had the wildest dreams, but overall I think even non-horror lovers might enjoy this book.

Paulina 

Wiedziałam, że dotrę do tej książki i dlatego wstrzymałam oglądanie serialu, aby przeżyć, to bez żadnych naleciałości. I cóż to była za jazda po Ameryce lat 50tych, pełnej rasizmu i tajnych stowarzyszeń. Choć głównym bohaterem jest Atticus, to historie kradną kobiece postacie - Letycja, Hippolita, a przede wszystkim Ruby. Jest mrocznie, przewrotnie i porywająco.

Pam Sartain

Lovecraft Country is a look back at 1954 America for African Americans, with an added Lovecraftian twist. There is a lot of racism, along with the horror of the unknown, and it makes for an unsettling read, but one that shows you so much truth, with only a little fantasical horror.

It's broken down into chapters, with a different person as your starting point each chapter, and it is one story overall, even if it does feel a bit disjointed in the middle. As you get towards the end, you see the overarching story.

I thought it was really good, and a very fitting October read.

Soon to be a new 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. --Charlie Jane Anders, The Amazon Book Review

Lovecraft Country [movie Tie-In]

Kyra Ann Dawkins

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. The imagery was precise and compelling. The pacing was charged, but not overwhelming. And of course, I love how Matt Ruff subversively made Black protagonists the center of Lovecraft-inspired narratives, undermining Lovecraft's legacy of white supremacy. I hope that Lovecraft is writhing in his grave somewhere. 

With all of that being said, all throughout the novel, I couldn't help but think that Lovecraft Country was supposed to be a TV show. I mean, I know that it is a TV show on HBO now, but I intentionally didn't watch any of the episodes until I finished the book. Though I enjoy the structure of episodic writing, I couldn't shake the notion that the stories in Lovecraft Country were being presented in the wrong medium. Maybe I'd be less inclined to think this if the TV show didn't already exist. After doing some research, I discovered that Matt Ruff actually meant for Lovecraft Country to be a TV pitch before writing the novel. I felt this tension of the stories reaching for the TV medium throughout reading the book, which was unsettling. Perhaps there is a new genre emerging of books being shaped by TV reciprocating the ways that TV is shaped by books. My opinion may change as I read more books directly inspired by TV, but right now, I think I prefer it when stories make the most of the mediums that they are in, making the feats of adaptation all the more intriguing. 

A good friend of mine put it best when he said that the book felt like a first draft for the show. Is Lovecraft Country a good book? Yes, it's a great book, but it seems to not be content with itself within the novel form, stretching to self-actualize on TV screens.

Anastaciya

It's a well written book. Informative. Scary in the sense that reality is often worse than fiction. But if you're a Lovecraft (and horror) fan, this book is not quite it. Still something I can recommend for those who want to learn about some of the horrors in America's history

Witch

Casie Blevins

Interesting but odd. It was like the author was holding back, like he met his quota for the supernatural fairly early on and then only offered it in stops and starts. Like he was a shy virgin for the supernatural, afraid of ruining his reputation with the fantastic. In some parts, he just walked away, maybe with his hands over his eyes and we were left guessing instead of knowing for sure. The ending was a little Scooby doo-ish in exposition. 
It does have one of the coolest covers I've seen in a long time. 
Still, despite some hiccups it was seriously entertaining--a four star read. I've already started the tv show and am pleased that the producers tossed off the brakes for the supernatural and occult and we are off properly on our journey.

Ben Nathan

Matt Ruff has solidified himself as one of my favorite writers ever with this brilliant piece of work. Great job with the history, politics, tensions, magic, everything. This is just brilliant. Funny thing is that with giving it 5 stars and I think it might be the third best book of his that I've read. SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD!

Andrew Marti

After reading about the horrors of living in Black America, this work of fiction takes these indignities and turns them into horror scenes. Normal activities, like driving across America, eating in a diner, finding a job, buying a house each become horror scenes — turning the monstrosity of racism into literary monsters. It’s a brilliant concept, that doesn’t quite come together as a riveting novel.

Yanni Wilson

CAWPILE 8.57/10 I read this book because I’ve been waiting for the show to be released ever since the trailer dropped. I’m glad I picked this up. There was so much that I loved about the book from the slight humor from the characters and the fast-pace mini adventures that lead to a ultimate big event at the end.

Bryan Alexander

A fascinating, moving, and unusual novel, Lovecraft Country mixes together American horror fiction (not just HPL) with real-world racism in the 1950s.

More notes tk.

Lovecraft Country A Novel

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