-
Lovecraft Country
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Destroyer of Worlds
- A Return to Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1957. Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina to mark the centennial of their ancestor’s escape from slavery, but an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a life-and-death pursuit. Back in Chicago, George Berry is diagnosed with cancer and strikes a devil’s bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure—but only if George brings Winthrop back from the dead.
-
-
I Love This Book!!
- By Berdine Menchaca on 03-08-23
By: Matt Ruff
-
Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
-
-
An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
-
The Kolchak Collection
- By: Jeff Rice, Joe Gentile, C. J. Henderson
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, Jeff Rice's novel The Night Stalker introduced Carl Kolchak to the world. This spine-tingling novel of supernatural terror became an instant best seller and served as the basis for the film of the same name. After The Night Stalker became one of the highest rated television movies of all time, a sequel, The Night Strangler, was released the following year to great acclaim. Now, after more than three decades out of print, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler are together in one volume.
-
-
Mostly Good
- By DobieChuck on 11-18-16
By: Jeff Rice, and others
-
Norse Mythology
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people.
-
-
A Comedy-Tragedy of Gods Giants Dwarfs & Monsters
- By Jefferson on 02-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
way better than the movie
- By Ms. Blacq on 10-13-19
By: Alice Walker
-
The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Andrew Leman, Sean Branney
- Length: 51 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time ever, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced an audio recording of all of Lovecraft's stories. These are not dramatizations like our Dark Adventure Radio Theatre - rather, this is an audiobook of the original stories, in all-new, never-before-heard recordings made by the HPLHS' own Andrew Leman and Sean Branney exclusively for this collection. This collection spans his entire career from his earliest surviving works of childhood to stories completed shortly before his death. All tales include original music by HPLHS composer Troy Sterling Nies.
-
-
Best Lovecraft Collection on Audible!
- By Aransas R. on 04-30-19
By: H. P. Lovecraft
-
The Destroyer of Worlds
- A Return to Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1957. Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina to mark the centennial of their ancestor’s escape from slavery, but an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a life-and-death pursuit. Back in Chicago, George Berry is diagnosed with cancer and strikes a devil’s bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure—but only if George brings Winthrop back from the dead.
-
-
I Love This Book!!
- By Berdine Menchaca on 03-08-23
By: Matt Ruff
-
Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
-
-
An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
-
The Kolchak Collection
- By: Jeff Rice, Joe Gentile, C. J. Henderson
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, Jeff Rice's novel The Night Stalker introduced Carl Kolchak to the world. This spine-tingling novel of supernatural terror became an instant best seller and served as the basis for the film of the same name. After The Night Stalker became one of the highest rated television movies of all time, a sequel, The Night Strangler, was released the following year to great acclaim. Now, after more than three decades out of print, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler are together in one volume.
-
-
Mostly Good
- By DobieChuck on 11-18-16
By: Jeff Rice, and others
-
Norse Mythology
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people.
-
-
A Comedy-Tragedy of Gods Giants Dwarfs & Monsters
- By Jefferson on 02-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
way better than the movie
- By Ms. Blacq on 10-13-19
By: Alice Walker
-
The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Andrew Leman, Sean Branney
- Length: 51 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time ever, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced an audio recording of all of Lovecraft's stories. These are not dramatizations like our Dark Adventure Radio Theatre - rather, this is an audiobook of the original stories, in all-new, never-before-heard recordings made by the HPLHS' own Andrew Leman and Sean Branney exclusively for this collection. This collection spans his entire career from his earliest surviving works of childhood to stories completed shortly before his death. All tales include original music by HPLHS composer Troy Sterling Nies.
-
-
Best Lovecraft Collection on Audible!
- By Aransas R. on 04-30-19
By: H. P. Lovecraft
-
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
- By: Grady Hendrix
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patricia Campbell's life has never felt smaller. Her ambitious husband is too busy to give her a goodbye kiss in the morning, her kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she's always a step behind on thank-you notes and her endless list of chores. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime and paperback fiction. At these meetings they're as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are marriage, motherhood, and neighborhood gossip.
-
-
Not my cup of tea
- By NorthernPerson on 04-21-20
By: Grady Hendrix
-
My Soul to Keep
- By: Tananarive Due
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jessica marries David, he is everything she wants in a family man: brilliant, attentive, ever youthful. Yet she still feels something about him is just out of reach. Soon, as people close to Jessica begin to meet violent, mysterious deaths, David makes an unimaginable confession: More than 400 years ago, he and other members of an Ethiopian sect traded their humanity so they would never die, a secret he must protect at any cost.
-
-
A Book I Can't Keep
- By Mistsofjade on 07-19-20
By: Tananarive Due
-
Lovecraft's Monsters
- By: Neil Gaiman, Ellen Datlow - editor
- Narrated by: Bernard Clark
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prepare to meet the wicked progeny of the master of modern horror. In Lovecraft's Monsters, H. P. Lovecraft's most famous creations--Cthulhu, Shoggoths, Deep Ones, Elder Things, Yog-Sothoth, and more--appear in all their terrifying glory. Each story is a gripping new take on a classic Lovecraftian creature. Contributors include such literary luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Karl Edward Wagner, Elizabeth Bear, and Nick Mamatas.
-
-
PURPLE WARMTH
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-04-17
By: Neil Gaiman, and others
-
The Sandman
- By: Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus - the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination - is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has deteriorated in his absence.
-
-
absolutely Epic!
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 07-16-20
By: Neil Gaiman, and others
-
Bad Monkeys
- A Novel
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann, Emily Woo Zeller, Greg Tremblay
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder. She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons - "Bad Monkeys" for short. This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail’s psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy, or playing a different game altogether.
-
-
Young Adult novel..
- By k :) on 10-06-20
By: Matt Ruff
-
The Ballad of Black Tom
- By: Victor LaValle
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his black skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their trained cops. But when he delivers an occult page to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic.
-
-
“I’ll take Cthulhu over you devils any day”
- By Jefferson on 11-16-19
By: Victor LaValle
-
Kill Creek
- By: Scott Thomas
- Narrated by: Bernard Setaro Clark
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country's most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
-
-
UNUSUAL PREMISE, COULDN'T STOP LISTENING
- By Linda Likes to Learn on 12-02-17
By: Scott Thomas
-
The Fisherman
- By: John Langan
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other's company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story.
-
-
The Horror of Loss
- By Jim N on 04-20-17
By: John Langan
-
The After Party
- By: A.C. Arthur
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Venus McGee, Draya Carter, and Jackie Benson are coworkers with a lot in common. They’re smart, independent, driven, and deserving of recognition - certainly more than they’ve been handed by a demoralizing boss. He’s the topic of conversation at their impromptu get-together after the company holiday party, where the threesome fantasizes about a life without him. There has to be an alternative to taking a deep breath and sucking it up. There is. It’s just not the one they expected. When morning comes, Venus, Draya, and Jackie are blindsided by murder....
-
-
I am only a few chapters in and I cannot . . .
- By Dee Mitch on 11-15-21
By: A.C. Arthur
-
Rootless
- A Novel
- By: Krystle Zara Appiah
- Narrated by: Clifford Samuel, Diana Yekinni
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a Spring afternoon in London, Sam hops the stairs of his flat two at a time. There’s £1,300 missing from his and his wife, Efe’s, shared bank account and his calls are going straight to voicemail. When he finally reaches someone, he learns Efe is nearly 5,000 miles away as their toddler looks around and asks, “Where’s Mummy?”
-
-
Tried Something New
- By Sasha on 11-07-23
-
Dracul
- By: Dacre Stoker, J.D. Barker
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury, Vikas Adam, Saskia Maarleveld, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's - and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here....
-
-
So Well Done
- By DobieChuck on 01-01-19
By: Dacre Stoker, and others
-
Glimmers of Glass
- A Glimmers Novel #1: Cinderella
- By: Emma Savant
- Narrated by: Gillian Rose
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hidden in the city of Portland, Oregon is a shimmering world of magic--one faerie Olivia Feye doesn't want to touch with a ten-foot wand. She'd rather study biology, or garden, or floss her teeth, or do literally anything except pay attention to the Glimmering world and her internship at Portland's premier faerie godparent agency.
-
-
Unique Cinderella Story With a Twist
- By Adriana B on 01-03-18
By: Emma Savant
Publisher's summary
Now an HBO® 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.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Lovecraft Country
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rocky Davies
- 07-17-21
Disappointingly not what I expected...
I came into this audiobook not really knowing much about it. I read the synopsis and thought is sounded pretty cool, and plus, some people had been recommending the tv series. Given the title, and even the cover, I thought it was going to be more "horror" with cool Lovecraft monsters and such. I thought it would be an engrossing tale into madness or something. More supernatural and "action."
This book is none of those things.
First off, I'm not a fan of anthologies. This book is an anthology of five or six different character pieces. I just don't like short little bites of bigger things. I like a long, in depth, arching story with character development. This book started off with an interesting setup, I was excited to see where that would go and develop with what I thought was the main character gaining arcane powers. Nope. That went no where. It then spun off into various characters getting little bite size stories that never really amounted to anything.
It's like they would each start some potentially entertaining story that started to wander off into fantasy, but then stopped. They came back to the boring real world. The characters never grew or developed. They never did anything interesting with this supernatural world that just sat on the edge of the book. It was quite disappointing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Derrick
- 05-03-21
Truly Wonderful
An absolute banger. My only complaint is the narrator's inflection is, from time to time, a little strange. Otherwise, it's an absolute must-listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
21 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin Potter
- 10-11-21
Save your disappointment and watch the HBO series
First, the narrator.
I am forced to admit that many of the voices sound very similar, and there is almost no emotional inflection present, almost as though the narrator is just reading off the page with no effort to make it a performance. With that in mind, however, his voice does work for the subject matter.
Now, a slight disclaimer.
I saw the TV series before listening to the audiobook, so my reactions may have been colored somewhat by that.
Now, I did go into it with certain expectations. I already knew it was (more or less) a collection of interconnected short stories, so there are challenges to its contiguousness.
That being said, there is an interesting premise here. I like the idea of a black-led cast fighting racism on the backdrop of a Supernatural underworld in the 50s.
Based on the title, of course, I was expecting a LOT more Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos influence, but the reality is there is almost none. There are references, based almost entirely on major characters who are fans of Lovecraft, but that's really a far as the HPL references go.
The Sorcery, as it were, bears no resemblance to anything in HPL's work. There are no Lovecraftian creatures or gods, no Supernatural horror (even calling it dark fantasy is a bit of a stretch), and the extremely slight references to insanity are limited to one character and not presented in any way that remotely resembles anything believable.
Now, I'm not a Lovecraft purist who thinks that everything with any claim to being Lovecraftian or Mythos needs to be a carbon copy of what HPL did, but I do think that if you're going to put "Lovecraft" in the title of a book, that book should at least be inspired by something of that man's work.
This book is not. Not in any discernible way, at least.
However, moving past the unfortunate title, there are some fun things done here. I myself would have been happier with a story focusing a tad more of the Supernatural and a pinch less on the real-world racism, but I do understand that was the point of the book.
I don't want to put too bold a point on this, but I feel it should be mentioned that while I do find it odd that a white guy who grew up in the 70s wrote a book with this premise, I do find the portrayal of the cast and period more realistic and fleshed out than I would have expected.
Unfortunately, because of the episodic nature of this book (which I've gathered, based on information from his Wikipedia page, is an ongoing problem for this author) combined with its skipping around between several main characters, none of them are really as fleshed out as I would have liked, so I really didn't have the time to fully connect with any of them.
They each do have their own distinct drives and goals, the just don't ever rise far enough off the page (or speaker, as it were) to fully feel like real people.
And my final issue lies in the plot. It honestly just doesn't feel that well developed. The story is extremely straightforward with very few twists and no surprises.
In closing, this was a decent attempt at an interesting premise, but unless you're really set on reading the original source material I would strongly recommend ditching the book and just watching the HBO series. It's a much more satisfying and cohesive experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia Carr
- 04-28-21
love it
love it :)
it was an amazing book overall. 10/10. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cal
- 01-20-22
Lovecraft monsters, mythology? NOPE!
Story gets redundant. Lot of racist stuff happens and NO MONSTERS. The name gives you the sense that this would have a strong connection to Lovecraft stories and more importantly the LOVECRAFT monsters, mythology, etc... NOPE! There's more action in the first episode of the tv show than in the whole book. No Lovecraft monsters. I repeat. No monsters. Hard PASS.
The story is really about a group of "colored people" (author's words) vs a bunch of warlocks who are less magical and more dumb, racist, idiots than anything else. There's a couple of easter eggs in there, I'm guessing to sell that there REALLY, REALLY, REALLY is a connection to LC... but there really isn't. After the first act, the book really becomes 2-3 short stories and then an ending.
I'd have returned the book but for some reason, Audible said I couldn't.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 03-21-23
Racism More Pernicious than Lovecraftian Horror
In Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country (2016) the eight stories make a composite novel about the African American Turner and Berry families and their friends as they encounter the malign Adamite Order of the Ancient Dawn, an organization of white natural philosophers (call them wizards or alchemists at your peril) scattered across the USA in big cities like Chicago and tiny towns like Ardham (not Arkham!). The Turners et al have to deal especially with the descendants of the Order’s 18th-century founder, Titus Braithwhite, namely the amoral mad occult scientist Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb (pretty “likeable for a white guy” but may be the devil incarnate). Each story features a different point of view protagonist and a different supernatural challenge. Initially bemused by the supernatural, the characters quickly accept it and try to deal with it. After all, they have grown up in Jim Crow America, always having to be very careful around white people, whose natural dangers have prepared them for the supernatural ones.
Here is an annotated list of the stories:
The novella “Lovecraft Country” reveals to Atticus Turner, a 22-year-old African American Korean war vet, the existence in 1954 Jim Crow America of weird things like those he’s read of in H. P. Lovecraft stories: a mysterious silver car, an unseen powerful noisy thing in the woods, a community of serfs living around a manor house, an occult cult of natural philosophers, and a portentous ritual. But maybe the scariest and most dangerous things are everyday white people like racist policemen. In addition to Atticus, the story features his wise uncle George Turner (publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide!), his feisty childhood friend Letitia Dandridge, and his spicy father Montrose.
4 stars.
After Letitia buys the very haunted Winthrop House in a white neighborhood in Chicago in “Dreams of the Which House,” she then stubbornly attempts to get the white ghost if not the neighborhood to accept her (You don’t want to play poker? How about chess?). This real estate deal can’t have some connection with Caleb Braithwaite, can it?
4 stars.
“Abdullah’s Book” concerns a notebook of back wages (plus interest) owed a family slave ancestor, Caleb Braithwaite, a scary and comedic Chicago Museum of Natural History heist of an occult Book of Names attempted by some members of the Prince Hall Freemasons (including George, Montrose, Atticus, and a small and eager dentist), and a surprising and almost satisfying conclusion.
4 stars
In “Hippolyta Disturbs the Universe,” Hippolyta, “a giantess and a negress” and a scout for husband George’s The Safe Negro Travel Guide, as well as an amateur astronomer, visits Warlock Hill in Wisconsin to check out the observatory of the somewhat deceased Order of the Ancient Dawn member Hiram Winthrop and finds herself looking through a telescope at another world and then having to decide whether or not to jump through a “doorway” into it. Some strange, sublime sf: “She steadied herself and turned around, to find Ida staring at her from several feet and thrillions of miles away.”
4 stars
In “Jekyll in Hyde Park,” Letitia’s sister Ruby (an accepting and deferring doormat) comes in for some serious temptation by learning firsthand how much easier her life would be white. Is the mysterious and creepily clean-cut Caleb Braithwhite “the devil”? Or just “a man who knows what he wants and how to get it?” The story is my least favorite, partly because I can’t believe pious Ruby would do what she does in it.
3 stars
“The Narrow House” is devastating. Caleb B makes another offer that can’t be refused, sending Montrose and Atticus to find Hiram Winthrop’s son Henry Winthrop, who ran away to be with a black maid, with whom he had a son of his own, so they can retrieve some potent books from the guy. This story highlights “the horror, the most awful thing, to have a child the world wants to destroy it to know you’re helpless to help him” in the context of racism and the horrifying Tulsa Massacre.
4 stars
To get intelligence on his mother, in “Horace and the Devil Doll” the Chicago branch of the Order targets Horace, the sweet, creative, imaginative, and asthmatic twelve-year-old son of Hippolyta and George Berry. It features a nasty spittle curse and a creepy pygmy African witchdoctor devil doll. Can Caleb B help? At what cost?
3.5 stars
8. The Mark of Cain
This story depicts the climactic showdown between rival members of the Order of the Ancient Dawn from Chicago and Ardham trying to wipe each other out, with Atticus as the prize, without reckoning on the formidable interference of the Turner and Berry and Dandridge families plus a few of their friends. I found it a bit over the top, unconvincing, and convenient.
3 stars
The audiobook reader Kevin Kennerly does a fine job without over-dramatizing his voice for kids or women or old people or white or black people. He understands the story and reads it with enough enthusiasm and intelligence to enhance it.
I enjoyed the book: it’s scary, funny, moving, and exciting. Ruff writes a straight-forward page turning story with teeth and heart. I like the references to Barsoom, Bradbury, and Lovecraft et al. (“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.”) I got a kick out of Horace’s homemade comics about Orithyia Blue (inspired by his mother). I like the different main characters and their relationships. The descriptions are vivid, the plots tight, and the dialogue often funny, especially via Montrose, like when he nails John Carter for being a Confederate officer or says things like, “You want me to go to Philadelphia and pick up the trail with my special Negro powers?” I like (painfully) all the touches about racism in the US, which was worse in pre-Civil Rights era USA (e.g., in 1921 and the Tulsa massacre, which shaped the Turner and Berry families, and in 1954, when the story takes place, and, for example, black realtors couldn’t join the national realtor association) and which Ruff (as a white guy) has researched and thought and felt and imagined a lot about, and which also tell us a lot about how it’d feel to be a person of color today, because although things are better now, they are definitely not fair or equal either.
By the way, in its depiction of a world in which the supernatural horrors are not worse than the discriminatory dangers the characters of color face in the USA, it resembles Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation books, though Ireland, unlike Ruff, is African American, and she’s writing supernatural alternate history while he writes supernatural historical fiction. And Victor Lavelle's The Ballad of Black Tom is more Lovecraftian than Ruff's novel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LauraMh
- 03-10-22
THE BEST!
One of the betterbppks that I've read--on audio book, ebook or paperback. Recommend very highly, but it is disturbing. Not the fantasy bits, but the all too real descriptions of the black experience in the 50's.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Jernstedt
- 02-09-22
I enjoyed it
I like the book better than the show. Well written and well performed. Easy to follow along even though it's kind of a collection of stories.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DJuana P. Drew
- 07-07-21
Different
Alot different than the HBO Series, but still a good book. Creepy and unnerving concerning all the sorcery and demonic themes. Yet, interesting twists with the time travel and Jekyll/Hyde.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ben Stoehr
- 10-24-21
Very strong start with a drop off and a plateau.
I'd give it 3.5 stars. The first story was great, and if it had been stretched into a novel on it's own it could have made it to five stars. Unfortunately the rest of the book is decidedly 3 star.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Destroyer of Worlds
- A Return to Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1957. Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina to mark the centennial of their ancestor’s escape from slavery, but an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a life-and-death pursuit. Back in Chicago, George Berry is diagnosed with cancer and strikes a devil’s bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure—but only if George brings Winthrop back from the dead.
-
-
I Love This Book!!
- By Berdine Menchaca on 03-08-23
By: Matt Ruff
-
Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Julien Allouf
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Voyage au pays des monstres et du Ku Klux Klan. Chicago, 1954. Quand son père, Montrose, est porté disparu, Atticus, jeune vétéran de la guerre de Corée, s'embarque dans une traversée des États-Unis aux côtés de son oncle George, grand amateur de science-fiction, et d'une amie d'enfance. Pour ce groupe de citoyens noirs, il est déjà risqué de prendre la route. Mais des dangers plus terribles les attendent dans le Massachusetts, au manoir du terrible M. Braithwhite.
By: Matt Ruff
-
The Nightmare Man
- By: J. H. Markert
- Narrated by: David Bendena
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.
-
-
The Nightmare Man
- By Kate Miffitt on 03-19-23
By: J. H. Markert
-
Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
-
-
An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
-
The Grand Dark
- By: Richard Kadrey
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison - a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos. The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair.
-
-
Kadrey does it again!
- By Lilah Quinn on 06-14-19
By: Richard Kadrey
-
Unbury Carol
- A Novel
- By: Josh Malerman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carol Evers is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times...but her many deaths are not final: They are comas, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death, each lasting days. Only two people know of Carol's eerie condition. One is her husband, Dwight, who married Carol for her fortune and - when she lapses into another coma - plots to seize it by proclaiming her dead and quickly burying her...alive. The other is her lost love, the infamous outlaw James Moxie. When word of Carol's dreadful fate reaches him, Moxie rides the Trail again to save his beloved.
-
-
Interesting Concept, Poor Execution
- By Susanna on 04-25-18
By: Josh Malerman
-
The Destroyer of Worlds
- A Return to Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1957. Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina to mark the centennial of their ancestor’s escape from slavery, but an encounter with an old nemesis leads to a life-and-death pursuit. Back in Chicago, George Berry is diagnosed with cancer and strikes a devil’s bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure—but only if George brings Winthrop back from the dead.
-
-
I Love This Book!!
- By Berdine Menchaca on 03-08-23
By: Matt Ruff
-
Lovecraft Country
- By: Matt Ruff
- Narrated by: Julien Allouf
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Voyage au pays des monstres et du Ku Klux Klan. Chicago, 1954. Quand son père, Montrose, est porté disparu, Atticus, jeune vétéran de la guerre de Corée, s'embarque dans une traversée des États-Unis aux côtés de son oncle George, grand amateur de science-fiction, et d'une amie d'enfance. Pour ce groupe de citoyens noirs, il est déjà risqué de prendre la route. Mais des dangers plus terribles les attendent dans le Massachusetts, au manoir du terrible M. Braithwhite.
By: Matt Ruff
-
The Nightmare Man
- By: J. H. Markert
- Narrated by: David Bendena
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.
-
-
The Nightmare Man
- By Kate Miffitt on 03-19-23
By: J. H. Markert
-
Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
-
-
An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
-
The Grand Dark
- By: Richard Kadrey
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison - a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos. The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair.
-
-
Kadrey does it again!
- By Lilah Quinn on 06-14-19
By: Richard Kadrey
-
Unbury Carol
- A Novel
- By: Josh Malerman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carol Evers is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times...but her many deaths are not final: They are comas, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death, each lasting days. Only two people know of Carol's eerie condition. One is her husband, Dwight, who married Carol for her fortune and - when she lapses into another coma - plots to seize it by proclaiming her dead and quickly burying her...alive. The other is her lost love, the infamous outlaw James Moxie. When word of Carol's dreadful fate reaches him, Moxie rides the Trail again to save his beloved.
-
-
Interesting Concept, Poor Execution
- By Susanna on 04-25-18
By: Josh Malerman
-
When Things Get Dark
- Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson
- By: Ellen Datlow - editor
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Cassandra Campbell, Erin Moon, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A chilling anthology in tribute to the genius of Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant, and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and listeners. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, brings together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.
-
-
Come for the Oates, stay for the rest!
- By Rebecca Rowland, author on 12-23-21
-
Pack
- A Novel
- By: Mike Bockoven
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cherry, Nebraska, population 312, is just off the highway between the sticks and the boonies. It’s where Dave Rhodes and his friends have lived all their lives. They own businesses, raise families, pay taxes, deal with odd neighbors, and, once or twice a month - just like their fathers before them - transform into wolves.
-
-
Had high hopes
- By Maya K. on 05-08-19
By: Mike Bockoven
-
Dracul
- By: Dacre Stoker, J.D. Barker
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury, Vikas Adam, Saskia Maarleveld, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's - and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. It is 1868, and a 21-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here....
-
-
So Well Done
- By DobieChuck on 01-01-19
By: Dacre Stoker, and others
-
Guilty Pleasures
- An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
- By: Laurell K. Hamilton
- Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Published almost 10 years ago, Guilty Pleasures marked the debut of a writer who was destined to grow from cult favorite to a major bestselling author. Now, for long-time Anita Blake aficionados and newfound fans, Guilty Pleasures makes its debut in downloadable audio
-
-
Narration is just plain awful!!!
- By NiceGirlsBkBlog on 09-03-09
-
The Chalk Man
- A Novel
- By: C. J. Tudor
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning, the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl. In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man — the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body.
-
-
Sufficiently interesting and fast paced
- By Aquakittie on 01-16-18
By: C. J. Tudor