The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle Published by Tor.com on February 16th 2016
Pages: 160
Genres: Horror
Format: Paperback
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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?
About Victor LaValle
Victor LaValle is the author of the short story collection Slapboxing with Jesus, three novels, The Ecstatic, Big Machine, and The Devil in Silver, and an ebook only novella, Lucretia and the Kroons.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards including a Whiting Writers' Award, a United States Artists Ford Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the key to Southeast Queens.
He was raised in Queens, New York. He now lives in Washington Heights with his wife and son. He teaches at Columbia University.
He can be kind of hard to reach, but he still loves you.
I’ve heard a lot about LaValle over the years but have yet to pick up anything of his. I love a good interpretation of a time period already lived but with a magical addition. This short story is also his take on Lovecraft’s short story “The Horror at Red Hook” which I’m going to have to read before I get my hands on this one!
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