Matt Ruff draws his readers into a different kind of alien world in 'Lovecraft Country'. It is the alien world of Jim Crow America, barely 70 years past that will be unfamiliar to many, and repressed from memory by others. It is different because that world reallly existed.
This vividly realised world is overlaid with elements of Lovecraftian horror, covens of sorcerors battling each other for dominance, stolen magical books, portals to distant planets, haunted houses and poltergeists, disastrous magic rituals, plus plans for revenge and redemption. That the heroes of the story are African Americans, even African American women might have that misogynistic old racist Lovecraft spinning in his grave is an added pleasure.
Most of all it is the story of a the extended Turner/Green family as they make the best of a difficult world. It would be hard enough to make ends meet if one only had to deal with corrupt policemen, prejudiced and discriminatory laws and irrational fears of frightened and ignorant white folks and their all too knowledgable leaders. Finding that ones ancestors are descendents of powerful warlocks, who need their blood, and are not particularly concerned whether they survive its extraction does not make for a happy life. How they come to deal with the challenge makes for a real page turner.
It is eligible for the Hugo award in 2017, and goes straight on to my longlist for best novel.
This vividly realised world is overlaid with elements of Lovecraftian horror, covens of sorcerors battling each other for dominance, stolen magical books, portals to distant planets, haunted houses and poltergeists, disastrous magic rituals, plus plans for revenge and redemption. That the heroes of the story are African Americans, even African American women might have that misogynistic old racist Lovecraft spinning in his grave is an added pleasure.
Most of all it is the story of a the extended Turner/Green family as they make the best of a difficult world. It would be hard enough to make ends meet if one only had to deal with corrupt policemen, prejudiced and discriminatory laws and irrational fears of frightened and ignorant white folks and their all too knowledgable leaders. Finding that ones ancestors are descendents of powerful warlocks, who need their blood, and are not particularly concerned whether they survive its extraction does not make for a happy life. How they come to deal with the challenge makes for a real page turner.
It is eligible for the Hugo award in 2017, and goes straight on to my longlist for best novel.