Ruthanna Emrys | |
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 Emrys at a panel in 2018 | |
| Occupation | Author |
| Genre | Science fiction and fantasy |
| Notable works | The Innsmouth Legacy series: The Litany of Earth , Winter Tide , and Deep Roots |
| Website | |
| ruthannaemrys | |
Ruthanna Emrys is an American science fiction and fantasy writer best known for The Innsmouth Legacy series: The Litany of Earth , Winter Tide , and Deep Roots .
Emrys is a contributor to science fiction and fantasy magazines, including Strange Horizons , Analog , and Tor.com. [1] She has also written under the name R. Emrys Gordon. She has cited Geraldine Brooks, Octavia E. Butler, Marge Piercy, and Robert Anton Wilson as influences on her writing. [2]
She is best known for The Innsmouth Legacy series, which has Winter Tide as its first novel. In The Verge , Andrew Liptak discusses Winter Tide, writing "Along with a previous novelette called The Litany of Earth, it subverts Lovecraft's notorious racism by making his monsters - which were often thinly veiled stand-ins for people of color - sympathetic protagonists." [3] In a review of Winter Tide, Liptak further explains The Litany of Earth is "helpful to read before Winter Tide; it provides a bit of context for the world, and for Aphra's situation. It's free online, and included in the ebook edition." [4] With regard to Litany of the Earth, Noah Berlatsky writes for The Verge the "real horror in this story update isn’t fish-people; it's violent prejudice, as seen from the monsters’ perspective." [5]
In 2017, Emrys spoke with NPR, stating "In Winter Tide, I wanted to talk about how we rebuild community after genocide, and how rebuilt community is always changed from what we had before. And I wanted to talk about all those readers over the years who didn't question the Deep One concentration camps." [6] Publishers Weekly writes in its review of Winter Tide, "Emrys’s characters are more openly comfortable with the supernatural than Lovecraft's horror-struck mortals, and her sensitive comparisons of Aphra's experience to those of other confined and displaced peoples make the novel historically relevant and resonant." [7] Ana Grilo writes for the Kirkus Reviews blog that Winter Tide "offers a Lovecraftian tale with Lovecraftian mythos, without Lovecraftian racism." [8]
A review of Deep Roots by a librarian posted to the Los Angeles Public Library website states "Winter Tide and Deep Roots are complex and compelling works of fantasy that help illuminate not only where we’ve been, but also where we are. While they are based on the works of a known racist, these books feature characters that are diverse and inclusive." [9] In a review of Deep Roots for Booklist , Emily Whitmore writes, "Once more, Emrys is true to the world of Lovecraft, and fans will appreciate her attentiveness to the Cthulhu mythos even as she takes the world and flips it on its head to fit her needs." [10]
In a review of Imperfect Commentaries, a collection of 25 stories and poems, Publishers Weekly writes, "Emrys's tales abound with magic and marvels, but her focus is on the nuances that define the humanity of her characters, seen most perceptibly in "The Litany of Earth," which introduces the protagonist of her novels Winter Tide (2017) and Deep Roots (2018): a descendant of the amphibious race in Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth" whose persecution has echoes of the plight of contemporary refugees. The author's frequent feminist and queer spins on familiar fantasy tropes add an exhilarating freshness." [11] Jason Puckett writes in a review for Library Journal , ""Aliens" here means many things: literal serpentine extraterrestrials, but also strange gods adopting human form, and, most interestingly, semi-human outsiders assimilating into American culture and humans undergoing transformations into new or very old things." [12]
In 2022, Emrys published A Half-Built Garden – a first-contact novel set in a near-future world, where decentralized, self-governed watershed networks managed to replace corporations and nation states as the primary means of societal organization. While these networks managed to start a journey of recovery from climate change and environmental damage, the arrival of alien species threatens both this progress and the new balance of power. The novel is praised for its interesting solarpunk world-building. [13]
She lives near Washington, D.C., with her wife and children. [1]
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, this creature has since been featured in numerous pop culture references. Lovecraft depicts it as a gigantic entity worshipped by cultists, in the shape of a green octopus, dragon, and a caricature of human form. It is the namesake of the Lovecraft-inspired Cthulhu Mythos.
The Hounds of Tindalos are fictional creatures created by Frank Belknap Long and later incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos when it was codified by August Derleth. They first appeared in Long's short story "The Hounds of Tindalos", first published in the March 1929 issue of Weird Tales. Lovecraft mentions the creatures in his short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1931).
The Shadow over Innsmouth is a horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in November–December 1931. It forms part of the Cthulhu Mythos, using its motif of a malign undersea civilization, and references several shared elements of the Mythos, including place-names, mythical creatures, and invocations. The Shadow over Innsmouth is the only Lovecraft story that was published in book form during his lifetime.
Lovecraft Country is a term coined for the New England setting used by H. P. Lovecraft in many of his weird fiction stories, which combines real and fictitious locations. This setting has been elaborated on by other writers working in the Cthulhu Mythos. The phrase was not in use during Lovecraft's own lifetime; it was coined by Keith Herber for the Lovecraftian role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries, which are now associated with Lovecraftian horror as a subgenre. The cosmic themes of Lovecraftian horror can also be found in other media, notably horror films, horror games, and comics.
"Dagon" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in July 1917 and is one of the first stories that Lovecraft wrote as an adult. It was first published in the November 1919 edition of The Vagrant. Dagon was later published in Weird Tales in October 1923. It is considered by many to be one of Lovecraft's most forward-looking stories.
"The Thing on the Doorstep" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, part of the Cthulhu Mythos universe. It was written in August 1933 and first published in the January 1937 issue of Weird Tales.
"Nyarlathotep" is a weird fiction short story by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in 1920 and first saw publication in that year's November issue of The United Amateur. The poem itself is a bleak view of human civilization in decline, and it explores the mixed sensations of desperation and defiance in a dying society.
A Cthulhu Mythos anthology is a type of short story collection that contains stories written in, or related to, the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction launched by H. P. Lovecraft. Such anthologies have helped to define and popularize the genre.
Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire, was a writer of weird fiction and horror fiction based in Seattle, Washington. His works typically were published as W. H. Pugmire and his fiction often paid homage to the lore of Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraft scholar and biographer S. T. Joshi described Pugmire as "the prose-poet of the horror/fantasy field; he may be the best prose-poet we have" and as one of the genre's leading Lovecraftian authors.
Move Under Ground is a horror novel mashup by American writer Nick Mamatas, which combines the Beat style of Jack Kerouac with the cosmic horror of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. It is available as a free download via a Creative Commons license, CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 according to the License information in the CC version of the book.
Anders Fager Johansson is a Swedish game designer and horror writer.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a Mexican and Canadian novelist, short story writer, editor, and publisher.
The Litany of Earth is a 2014 fantasy/horror fiction novella by American writer Ruthanna Emrys, first published on Tor.com. The first work in her series "The Innsmouth Legacy", it revisits the H. P. Lovecraft story "The Shadow over Innsmouth"
This is a list of fictional creatures from the Cthulhu mythos of American writer H. P. Lovecraft and his collaborators.
This is a partial list of books for which American artist and illustrator John Jude Palencar was the cover artist or illustrated the cover and interior pages.
The Lovecraft Investigations is a mystery thriller/horror fiction podcast created, written and directed by Julian Simpson, based on several works of H. P. Lovecraft. Produced by Karen Rose and Sweet Talk Productions for BBC Radio 4, the podcast premiered on 2 January 2019, with further series published in November 2019, November 2020 and October 2023.
Winter Tide is a 2017 alternate history, fantasy and horror novel by American science fiction and fantasy writer Ruthanna Emrys. It is Emrys' debut novel, and the second book in her three book Innsmouth Legacy series, the first being the novella, The Litany of Earth (2014). The series is set in the Cthulhu Mythos universe created by H. P. Lovecraft, and builds on Lovecraft's 1936 novella, "The Shadow over Innsmouth".
Deep Roots is a 2018 alternate history, fantasy and horror novel by American science fiction and fantasy writer Ruthanna Emrys. It is the third book in Emrys' three book Innsmouth Legacy series, after The Litany of Earth (2014) and Winter Tide (2017). The series is set in the Cthulhu Mythos universe created by H. P. Lovecraft, and builds on Lovecraft's 1936 novella, "The Shadow over Innsmouth".
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