Fiction at its best lets us experience a life different than our own. It expands our perspective and allows us to practice empathy. If we’re mindful, we can learn about the marginalized, about the oppressed, and about those who struggle daily to survive. A good story can show us the survival mechanisms that others need to get through life. In Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom, the tropes and set decoration of a Lovecraftian horror story dress up a story about the African American experience. Horror as a genre is never really about the scary monsters; the stories are about the monstrous things humans do to each other. The Ballad of Black Tom shows the monstrous treatment of African Americans in an excellent revenge story set in jazz age New York.

TL;DR: Excellent lovecraftian story focused around a likeable protagonist. Highly recommended.

From the publisher:

One of NPR’s Best Books of 2016, winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, the British Fantasy Award, the This is Horror Award for Novella of the Year, and a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Awards

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 skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome 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?

The Ballad of Black Tom works well as a period piece. The writing, as expected from a Tor.com book, is top notch. When I think of Lovecraft, I think of highly ornate, purple prose. Victor LaValle chose to go the opposite route. It’s clear, precise language that doesn’t outshine the story. The world building was an efficient balance of description and atmosphere. It was easy to see New York in that time. The Ballad of Black Tom hooked me quickly; I read it in two settings, which is a sprint for me. Charles Thomas Tester, the main character, is likable, and his point of view carries most of the mystery. How he acted depended on where he’s located in the city and to whom he’s talking. It’s as if society forced him into having a split personality. The way he navigates New York and the social conventions of the time is fascinating and heartbreaking. The fact that African Americans still have to do this is even more heartbreaking.

H.P. Lovecraft is a giant of the SFF genre, but I’ve not read much of his work. And not because of his repugnant, retroactive views on anything not WASP. I just never got around to reading his mythos being aware of it for a long time. For such a problematic starting point, the mythos has captured people’s imagination and grown beyond Lovecraft’s wildest dreams. Or maybe, at this point, nightmares. People who would have terrified him are playing in his sandbox. Some critics and readers say these newer interpretations are better. Due to my lack of knowledge, I can’t confirm this. What I can confirm is that Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom is an excellent story all on its own. For those more well read in the Cthulhu mythos, Mr. LaValle weaves the horror of humanity with the cosmic terror of the Lovecraftian canon.

At 150 pages, this is a quick read. I think it’s the right length. While I have no doubt that Mr. LaValle could expand the world, could detail more of the terrifying experiences, it packs a solid punch at its current length. The ending was truly epic with a twist of the knife as an exit. To me, The Ballad of Black Tom says a lot about anger in humans. When we are pushed and degraded and debased, it is really a surprise that we lash out? Sometimes, we lash out in anger, and the consequences are hell to deal with.

The Ballad of Black Tom is a quick, easy read but not a light one. The book puts the reader face-to-face with horrible human behavior. In current day America, this behavior seems to be making a comeback. There’s a lot to learn in this book, and I’ll revisit it. Horror isn’t a genre that I read regularly, but if the genre is this strong, then I’ll have to read more of it. The Ballad of Black Tom is an excellent look at the everyday horrors of humanity and what happens when humans are pushed to their limits. Highly recommended.

8.5/10