Set in 1950s USA, this story makes murderous Jim Crow racism a horror against which all the paraphernalia of necromancy and associated sorceries seem Set in 1950s USA, this story makes murderous Jim Crow racism a horror against which all the paraphernalia of necromancy and associated sorceries seem pretty mundane. The plot is structured around members of the Turner family and its collaterals whose several enterprises - notably the compilation and publication of The Safe Negro Travel Guide - requires travel to distant parts of the country.
The scene is set by the abduction of Montrose Turner, the patriarch of the family, by a mysterious coven calling itself the Sons of Adam. Montrose's son, Atticus, accompanied by his Uncle George and Letitia, a one-time girlfriend - set off in the direction of the town of Ardham where they expect to find the older man. On arrival, finding out the purpose of the kidnap was to entice Atticus into the maw of the coven on account of his descent from its long distant founder and the value that his blood might have for their magic. But a power struggle within the sect pits the Caleb Braithwaite against his lodge master father leading to the total victory of the younger man. Montrose, Atticus, George and Letitia escape in the mayhem that follows.
From this point the plot breaks down into a sequence of short stories involving Letitia's purchase of the haunted Winthrop House; an escapade involving the members of George and Montroses' freemason lodge and the retrieval of a family heirloom; Hippolyta's (wife of George) journey through a portal to another planet; Ruby's (sister of Letitia) unwitting co-option by Caleb Braithwaite into supporting his activities; an expedition to the scene of a lynching; and Horace's (Hippolyta and George's son) torment at the hands of a devil doll. The final scene brings everyone together to participate in a final battle in Braithwaite's battle with his rival sorceries as to who will lead the united lodge of the Sons of Adam.
Whatever horrors Ruff conjured up in this story none came across as so abject and appalling as the racism that was pervasive across 1950s America. Anyone hoping for a prominent place for H.P. Lovecraft's monstrous creations will be disappointed, with only the shoggoths of R'lyeh getting a walk-on part. But perhaps what was intended was bringing the another component of Lovecraft's view of the world into centre stage - namely the racism which was possibly the midwife of his eldritch creations. ...more