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!

Entertaining

I liked the idea and the writing was good. The narrative and the voice seemed at odds in some passages. Those looking for Lovecraftian horror should pass on this one. it is a supernatural detective story with some light 'old gods' backstory.

Boring

Boring story but great audio. If you're listening this for recreational use you might fall asleep due to its poor plot.

That escalated quickly

Good Lovecraft inspired story, but it feels like it's missing a chunk of the story in the middle. Perhaps I missed it but it feels like it escalated and jumped ahead very quickly after a certain point. This could be due to the story being told from two different perspectives.

Overall it was a fun listen, performed very well. If you enjoy Lovecraftian stories, this is well worth the listen.