Sunday night marked the debut of “Lovecraft Country,” an HBO series based on Seattle author Matt Ruff‘s novel of the same title. The series is produced by a stellar team that includes Misha Green (who wrote the first episode) and Jordan Peele.
Here’s the summary of the show:
Based on Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, Lovecraft Country follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he meets up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.
Viewer response has been enthusiastic. On Monday, thegrio.com reported that the pilot had a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, under the headline “Black Twitter rejoices over ‘Lovecraft Country’ premiere.”
We bet that the series drives more reading! Here are some suggestions for books for in between episodes/ after you’ve watched the whole series:
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. The source material!
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.
And to preorder for October:
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark.