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doomluz's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
matthewclan's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Violence and Blood
billyjepma's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Intoxicatingly excellent. In barely a 100 pages, LaValle tells a story that upends the grotesque xenophobia of H.P. Lovecraft and exposes how real evil isn’t found in the cosmic unknown, but in the very known prejudices and violences American society uses against its own people.
This isn’t a horror story, at least not in the traditional means, but it is a horrifying story. The Lovecraftian elements are fantastically unsettling, and are easily elevated by LaValle’s crisp, humanistic, almost poetic writing style. It’s that writing that makes the all-too-familiar racism and violence—spearheaded by society’s elite, the police force, and the foundation of our country— cut so deep, too. I wish the it had a little more meat to it, because there’s so much left to mine, but I can’t wait to read a helluva lot more of LaValle’s work.
This isn’t a horror story, at least not in the traditional means, but it is a horrifying story. The Lovecraftian elements are fantastically unsettling, and are easily elevated by LaValle’s crisp, humanistic, almost poetic writing style. It’s that writing that makes the all-too-familiar racism and violence—spearheaded by society’s elite, the police force, and the foundation of our country— cut so deep, too. I wish the it had a little more meat to it, because there’s so much left to mine, but I can’t wait to read a helluva lot more of LaValle’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence
dominicangirl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
ren_dragon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, and Gore
bibilly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
por mais escritores que tirem a paz do Lovecraft no túmulo.
a escrita tem umas finalizações ou às vezes vai por caminhos que enfraquecem o que ela mesma constrói (como aquele último diálogo e sua amostra de arrependimento); e achei que as relações do Tommy com o pai e principalmente o amigo foram pouco exploradas. mas podemos por isso na conta da preferência (porque pra mim, em termos de escrita, menos é sempre mais) e do formato (há um limite do que se pode esperar de uma novela). o que realmente importa é o comentário social, o arco do Tommy Tester/Black Tom e a caracterização do detetive Malone, que tornaram horror cósmico e o universo lovecraftiano minimamente atrativos pra mim, apesar de em nenhum momento eu ter ficado tão assustada/maravilhada quanto os personagens frente a esse terror em específico. de qualquer forma, este livro é superior a tudo que já li do Lovecraft*, e seu breve Cthulhu, muito mais icônico.
*único conto dele que realmente gostei até agora foi A Cor que Caiu do Céu.
a escrita tem umas finalizações ou às vezes vai por caminhos que enfraquecem o que ela mesma constrói (como aquele último diálogo e sua amostra de arrependimento); e achei que as relações do Tommy com o pai e principalmente o amigo foram pouco exploradas. mas podemos por isso na conta da preferência (porque pra mim, em termos de escrita, menos é sempre mais) e do formato (há um limite do que se pode esperar de uma novela). o que realmente importa é o comentário social, o arco do Tommy Tester/Black Tom e a caracterização do detetive Malone, que tornaram horror cósmico e o universo lovecraftiano minimamente atrativos pra mim, apesar de em nenhum momento eu ter ficado tão assustada/maravilhada quanto os personagens frente a esse terror em específico. de qualquer forma, este livro é superior a tudo que já li do Lovecraft*, e seu breve Cthulhu, muito mais icônico.
*único conto dele que realmente gostei até agora foi A Cor que Caiu do Céu.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Racism
cjblates's review against another edition
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, and Murder
cassys's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Cursing, Body horror, and Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM is a Lovecraftian retelling which transforms the original story from a litany of racism to a story of a 1920's Brooklyn Black man's existence in that racist miasma, and bloody revenge after a murder by the police.
The world-building dances a delicate line of conveying the racism of the 1920's while using only as much explicit racism as is needed to show the attitudes of the various characters. There's a scene which is all the more stark and impactful for using phrases still wielded today against Black people who have been murdered by police. I don't know if those exact phrases are anachronist or not, but if they are then the "authentic" 1920's version would involve a lot more slurs, and I have no quibbles with the author's choice of language here.
I love the first half where Tom is narrator, and at the end when he reprises the role. It's evocative and emotionally powerful, and to me it's the heart of the story. The section with the detective was good, I didn't like it as much because I don't like the detective, but it's really well written, and it shows how racism and xenophobia skews his impression of what's happening around him.
This is amazing on its own and I wish I'd just left it there. In order to review this in its full context as a retelling of THE HORROR AT RED HOOK by H.P. Lovecraft I read the source material. That was a terrible decision, I have regrets, it's so bad that it doesn't get a separate review, it's just bad. Almost all of the text is a litany of racial slurs and xenophobia with the barest thread of a plot. THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM is amazing and deserves to stand on its own, just forget about the original.
The world-building dances a delicate line of conveying the racism of the 1920's while using only as much explicit racism as is needed to show the attitudes of the various characters. There's a scene which is all the more stark and impactful for using phrases still wielded today against Black people who have been murdered by police. I don't know if those exact phrases are anachronist or not, but if they are then the "authentic" 1920's version would involve a lot more slurs, and I have no quibbles with the author's choice of language here.
I love the first half where Tom is narrator, and at the end when he reprises the role. It's evocative and emotionally powerful, and to me it's the heart of the story. The section with the detective was good, I didn't like it as much because I don't like the detective, but it's really well written, and it shows how racism and xenophobia skews his impression of what's happening around him.
This is amazing on its own and I wish I'd just left it there. In order to review this in its full context as a retelling of THE HORROR AT RED HOOK by H.P. Lovecraft I read the source material. That was a terrible decision, I have regrets, it's so bad that it doesn't get a separate review, it's just bad. Almost all of the text is a litany of racial slurs and xenophobia with the barest thread of a plot. THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM is amazing and deserves to stand on its own, just forget about the original.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism
CW for major character death.