The Ballad of Black Tom

De: Victor LaValle

Narrado por: Kevin R. Free

People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.

Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his black skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their trained cops. But when he delivers an occult page to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.

A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?

“LaValle cleverly subverts Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos by imbuing a black man with the power to summon the Old Ones, and creates genuine chills with his evocation of the monstrous Sleeping King, an echo of Lovecraft’s Dagon… [The Ballad of Black Tom] has a satisfying slingshot ending.” – Elizabeth Hand for Fantasy & ScienceFiction

"[LaValle] reinvents outmoded literary conventions, particularly the ghettos of genre and ethnicity that long divided serious literature from popular fiction."
--Praise for The Devil in Silver from Elizabeth Hand, author of Radiant Days

loved it

great short story. really got the 1920's feel with the attitude of cops in NY. painted a beautiful tapestry of life in Harlem independent of what was going on in other parts of the city.

Awesome

Loved it, from start to finish I was enthralled. Compelling story and great execution by the narrator.

A fantastic recommendation from Quinn's Ideas

I feel it is rare to see an alternate pov on a lovecraft story. Specially one where the true horror is not on the supernatural but on the day-to-day society. A fantastic narration by Kevin R. Free!

Amazing performance

I loved everything about this. The narration pulled me in just as much as the plot did. A great short read for those who love the Lovecraftian lore

Fast Paced

all of Walter Mosley books to me are fast paced and it take the reader along a long ride... I've been trying to follow all of his character books for years and I'm so glad audibles is here now so that I can keep up... I'm not going to give away any secrets to the book like most people do in their reviews I'm just going to say.. listen to it... if you're a writer you learn so much about prose and style from his verbage... he and Chester Himes.. genius writers that actually suck you in to a novel and you forget your surroundings when you listen... just what I need

Wonderful book

The author manages to speak in more then one voice and adds meaning and structure to the original half baked narrative. He has improved on the original to the degree that this story should be the story.

Kid Cthulhu for the Win

I've never read much Lovecraft, but now I want to read ALL LaVelle. And I want Kevin R. Free to read ALL the audiobooks!

Cosmic horror for the modern reader.

The story builds pace rather quickly and grips the reader. Very unlike the slow burn lovecraftian horror I was expecting. However, it slows down towards the mid point but picks up again a little later.

The prose is fantastically written, Victor Lavalle's prose is like poetry but never feels over done.

The only gripe I have with this book, is that it kind of fizzles out and never does end properly. But then again, it's horror on a cosmic scale, us puny humans wouldn't get it anyway.

Great performance, uneven story

So many elements were so great, delicious for fans of Lovecraft Country. When the story takes a turn, I wasn't a fan of the POV switch.

Absolutely enthralled

I finished this in one sitting! The story and the voice actor was amazing!