Matt Ruff | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

SFF Author: Matt Ruff

(1965- )
Matt Ruff writes a blend of urban fantasy, science fiction, and mainstream literature. Fool on the Hill was nominated for a Mythopoeic Award for Adult Fantasy Literature. Learn more at Matt Ruff’s website or the Bad Monkeys website.

Bad Monkeys: A funny, dark and twisty thriller

Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

Bad Monkeys, by Matt Ruff, is a funny, dark and twisty thriller. I was hooked on Page Five, when a woman who is being held in the nut-job wing of a Nevada jail says to the doctor evaluating her, “I think it all started when I figured out my high school janitor was the Angel of Death…”

Jane Charlotte, the woman in question, says she works for a secret organization called, well, the organization. This organization has a unit called “The Division for the Final Disposal of Irredeemable Persons” — nicknamed Bad Monkeys.

Lovecraft Country: Here there be monsters

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

If the recent television adaptation of Lovecraft Country (2017) is anything like the source material, I think I’m going to enjoy it immensely. Matt Ruff’s novel of interconnected tales is well-written, compelling, horrifying (all the more so because the Lovecraftian horrors experienced by the novel’s African-American characters are not that much worse than the everyday evil of Jim Crow-era America), insightful, and, at times, even funny.

Korean War veteran Atticus Turner, a fan of pulpy sci-fi and horror novels written by the likes of H.P.

Lovecraft Country: Book and TV show

One commenter with a USA mailing address will get a trade paperback edition of Lovecraft Country.

I watched Season One of HBO’s adaptation of Lovecraft Country before I read Matt Ruff’s original novel-in-stories. I liked each of them, for different reasons. I will be comparing and contrasting here.

Ruff’s book came out in 2016. It embraces and honors the pulp era of speculative fiction, especially short fiction, especially the weird (the title is a clue). Ruff wanted one important difference from the weird fiction and comic books of the 1950s—he wanted Black main characters.

SFF Author: Matt Ruff

Bad Monkeys: A funny, dark and twisty thriller

Lovecraft Country: Here there be monsters

Lovecraft Country: Book and TV show

Subscribe to all posts:

You can subscribe to our new posts via email, email digest, browser notifications, RSS, etc. You can filter by tag, keyword, post author, etc. We won't share your email address with anyone and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.

Support FanLit

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

Subscribe to all comments: