A review by nicobella
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

3.0

I feel the same about this as I do “The Chosen and the Beautiful” by Nghi Vo: it’s a retelling of a story (in this case Lovecraft’s “Horror at Red Hook”) and without having read it or any Lovecraft I did not appreciate this as much. I didn’t find this a solid novella and I think the storytelling in LaValle’s novel “The Changeling” is stronger. I liked the novel so much that LaValle’s other works are still on my TBR.