Future Fiction #191 – Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books

Welcome to Future Fiction, my reimagining of the Waiting on Wednesday meme! There are so many amazing new books coming out, that I can no longer pick just one. My goal with Future Fiction is to share at least three new books each week, a combination of recent cover reveals and books that I’ve recently added to my TBR pile. I’m still going to be linking up with Wishful Endings/Can’t Wait Wednesday, and I also want to give a shout out to Jill at Breaking the Spine for starting the original Waiting on Wednesday meme. I hope you’ll find some new books to add to your TBR piles, and as always, I look forward to hearing what YOU’RE looking forward to:-D


I did some digging and found three new-to-me horror novels, take a look:


In this thrilling adventure, a blend of enthralling historical fiction and fantastical horror, Matt Ruff returns to the world of Lovecraft Country and explores the meaning of death, the hold of the past on the present, and the power of hope in the face of uncertainty.

Summer, 1957.

Atticus Turner and his father, Montrose, travel to North Carolina, where they plan to mark the centennial of their ancestor’s escape from slavery by retracing the route he took into the Great Dismal Swamp. But an encounter with an old nemesis turns their historical reenactment into a real life-and-death pursuit.

Back in Chicago, George Berry fights for his own life. Diagnosed with cancer, he strikes a devil’s bargain with the ghost of Hiram Winthrop, who promises a miracle cure–but to receive it, George will first have to bring Winthrop back from the dead.

Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Horace Berry, reeling from the killing of a close friend, joins his mother, Hippolyta, and her friend Letitia Dandridge on a research trip to Nevada for The Safe Negro Travel Guide. But Hippolyta has a secret–and far more dangerous–agenda that will take her and Horace to the far end of the universe and bring a new threat home to Letitia’s doorstep.

Hippolyta isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Letitia’s sister, Ruby, has been leading a double life as her white alter ego, Hillary Hyde. Now, the supply of magic potion she needs to transform herself is nearly gone, and a surprise visitor throws her already tenuous situation into complete chaos.

Yet these troubles are soon eclipsed by the return of Caleb Braithwhite. Stripped of his magic and banished from Chicago at the end of Lovecraft Country, he’s found a way back into power and is ready to pick up where he left off. But first he has a score to settle. . . .

The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft County by Matt Ruff. Releases in February 2023 from Harper. OK I have to confess I still haven’t read Lovecraft Country, but when I saw this book it renewed my interest. I’d love to catch up in time for this release:-)


T. Kingfisher meets Cassandra Khaw in a chilling horror novel that illustrates the fine line between humanity and monstrosity.

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.

Detective Mills arrives at the scene of a gruesome murder: a family butchered and bundled inside cocoons stitched from corn husks, and hung from the rafters of a barn, eerily mirroring the opening of Bookman’s latest novel. When another family is killed in a similar manner, Mills, along with his daughter, rookie detective Samantha Blue, is determined to find the link to the book—and the killer—before the story reaches its chilling climax.

As the series of “Scarecrow crimes” continues to mirror the book, Ben quickly becomes the prime suspect. He can’t remember much from the night he finished writing the novel, but he knows he wrote it in The Atrium, his grandfather’s forbidden room full of numbered books. Thousands of books. Books without words.

As Ben digs deep into Blackwood’s history he learns he may have triggered a release of something trapped long ago—and it won’t stop with the horrors buried within the pages of his book.

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert. Releases in January 2023 from Crooked Lane Books. OK, I’ll admit it was the T. Kingfisher comp that initially caught my attention, but even without it this sounds really good! I love horror stories that deal with writers:-)


ONCE SHE HAS HER GRIP ON YOU, SHE’LL NEVER LET YOU GO.

At four months old, Olivia Dahl was almost murdered. Driven by haunting visions, her mother became obsessed with the idea that Olivia was a changeling, and that the only way to get her real baby back was to make a trade with the “dead women” living at the bottom of the well. Now Olivia is ready to give birth to a daughter of her own…and for the first time, she hears the women whispering.

Everyone tells Olivia she should be happy. She should be glowing, but the birth of her daughter only fills Olivia with dread. As Olivia’s body starts giving out, slowly deteriorating as the baby eats and eats and eats, she begins to fear that the baby isn’t her daughter at all and, despite her best efforts, history is repeating itself.

Soon images of a black-haired woman plague Olivia’s nightmares, drawing her back to the well that almost claimed her life―tying mother and daughter together in a desperate cycle of fear and violence that must be broken if Olivia has any hope of saving her child…or herself.

Baby Teeth meets The Invited in a haunting story of the sometimes-fragile connection between a woman’s sense of self and what it means to be a “good” mother.

Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe. Releases in May 2023 from Poisoned Pen Press. I know the release date is WAY far away, but OMG here’s another creepy sounding story about motherhood! And any story with a well in it is bound to be terrifying, lol.


What do you think of this week’s Future Fiction picks? Let me know in the comments!

Posted August 24, 2022 by Tammy in Future Fiction / 26 Comments

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26 responses to “Future Fiction #191 – Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books

  1. Matt Ruff is a totally new author to me so I haven’t read Lovecraft Country either but I went to check out the synopsis on Goodreads and it does sound really great. I’ll have to look into it and the author more!

    I actually have heard about The Nightmare Man before, which almost never happens. And it’s one I want to read as well. I just wish it had a spooky season release date instead of January. It would’ve been a perfect October read!

    Oooooh Graveyard of Lost Children sounds so scary! I absolutely agree that any story with a well in it will be terrifying. It all goes back to The Ring for me.
    Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire LegrandMy Profile

    • Tammy

      I guess publishers want to spread the horror out so they aren’t really worried which month the books come out:-)

  2. These do sound good. I never read Lovecraft Country but did watch the HBO series. Did you? If not, I highly suggest it. It’s pretty good. BTW and totally off topic. Are you still watching Riverdale. I just binged Season 6 on Netflix thanks to COVID and man, it’s getting out there. But I’m still addicted.

    • Tammy

      I actually have not watched Riverdale Season 6 yet, I think it just recently came on Netflix right? I’ve heard it’s CRAZY but I’ll probably start watching it soon!

  3. Wussy old me won’t be diving into any of these – but for horror fans they do look cool:)). I have been enjoying James Lovegrove’s Lovecraftian spin on the Sherlock Holmes adventures, though. It’s very well done.

  4. I love the cover for Lovecraft Country- I added it to my monthly post the minute I saw it! To be fair, I haven’t the foggiest idea what the *first* one is even about but. I saw it on Netgalley and it definitely piqued my curiosity! Graveyard of Lost Children DOES sound interesting, but mother-type horror is very hit or miss for me- I’ll see what you think first! The Nightmare Man I am also on the fence about, though I wholly agree that the Kingfisher comp has me interested, no question! Amazing picks as always !
    Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…Blog Tour Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie GarberMy Profile

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