Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Ballad of Black Tom

3.75 ⭐️

Holy shit! I still can’t quite comprehend what transpired towards the end (my dads limited knowledge of H. P. Lovecraft’s works somewhat helped)

Heavy trigger warnings though for racism, racial slurs (towards black people and Native Americans) and murder

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karina_dreamsinwords's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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bookish_slagathor's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was damn brilliant! I’ve got no words how amazing it was, I just wish it was longer and had more story.

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voidgif's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was one of my first times really engaging with Lovecraftian Horror and I think it’s a great entry point. As someone who also has conflicted feelings about H.P. Lovecraft and his work due to his beliefs I appreciate LaValle’s approach to the Lovecraft mythos.

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will_cherico's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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octopus_farmer's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

All I knew about the Lovecraft story it remakes is that it was a Lovecraft story. I liked the book - I found LaValle’s meditations on structural and individual racism poignant. I almost want to read the original. Not enough to actually do it though.

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amandaquotidianbooks's review

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I haven’t read the inspiration text, but I can imagine what LaValle did to subvert it. I loved how the cosmic horror elements were contracted with the horrors of racism and police brutality. Tommy Tester was such an interesting characters. His journey was devastating and empowering. I appreciated the detail that Detective Malone’s first name is also Thomas. And it was all wrapped up in a perfect bow. I’ll definitely be reading more from LaValle!

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doomluz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was pretty dark and powerful. I love that it tackles Lovecraft’s racism and creates a more “realistic” and fleshed out story and characters than any of Lovecraft’s writing I’ve read so far.

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