The Ballad of Black Tom is a 2016 fantasy-horror novella by Victor LaValle, revisiting H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Horror at Red Hook" from the viewpoint of a black man.
| "The Ballad of Black Tom" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Victor LaValle | |
 First edition | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Historical fantasy |
| Publication | |
| Publisher | Tor.com |
| Publication date | February 16, 2016 |
| Pages | 149 |
Synopsis
editIn 1924 Harlem, Tommy Tester is a small-time hustler whose regular guise as a street musician brings him in contact with reclusive millionaire Robert Suydam, who wants him to participate in a nefarious scheme involving the Great Old Ones. Among the tools that Tester uses to thwart the scheme is the Supreme Alphabet of the Five-Percent Nation.
Reception
edit"The Ballad of Black Tom" won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award for best novella,[1] and was a finalist for the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction,[2] the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 2016,[3] the 2017 British Fantasy Award for best novella,[4] the 2017 Theodore Sturgeon Award,[5] the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novella,[6] and the 2017 World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction.[7]
Slate called it "riveting", "clever", and "compelling", and noted LaValle's comparison of "cosmic indifference" to targeted racist malice and brutality.[8] Vice described it as "tightly written, beautifully creepy, and politically resonant", and emphasized that despite its nature as a literary "rebuttal", it is still "a thrilling Lovecraftian tale of mystery, monsters, and madness".[9]
Nina Allan commended LaValle for "making (...) 'The Horror at Red Hook' (into) an actual story (...) featuring real characters with real motivations – a claim that can not safely be made for the original tale", but observed that — when compared to the vivid "lunacy" of Lovecraft's writing — LaValle's prose is "grounded and sound in both mind and body" and ultimately "pedestrian".[10] Conversely, the Philadelphia Inquirer preferred LaValle's "sharp and direct sentences" to Lovecraft's "spongy prose".[11]
Adaptations
editIn 2017, AMC announced that it was planning a TV adaptation of The Ballad of Black Tom, with LaValle as co-executive producer.[12]
References
edit- ^ 2016 Shirley Jackson Awards, retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ 2016 Bram Stoker Awards final ballot; at Horror.org; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ SFWA Announces 2016 Nebula, Norton, and Bradbury Award Nominees!, at Science Fiction Writers of America; published February 20, 2017; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ British Fantasy Awards 2017 – Shortlists, by Phil Lunt, at the British Fantasy Society; published July 14, 2017; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ Sturgeon Award finalists Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ 2017 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ 2017 World Fantasy Award Finalists, at Locus Online; published July 26, 2017; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ Lovecraft’s Black Monsters, by Tammy Oler, at Slate; published March 9, 2016; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ Victor LaValle’s New Novel Is H. P. Lovecraft, Without the Horrific Racism, by Lincoln Michel, at Vice; published March 2, 2016; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ #weird2016: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, reviewed by Nina Allan, at NinaAllan.co.uk; published April 23, 2016; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ 'Ballad of Black Tom' Out-Lovecrafts Lovecraft, by Ryan Teitman, in the Philadelphia Inquirer; published July 31, 2016; retrieved October 7, 2017
- ^ AMC’s “Ballad of Black Tom” Will Get Caught in a Lovecraftian Conspiracy, by John Squires, at Bloody Disgusting; published July 31, 2017; retrieved October 7, 2017
External links
edit- 'The Ballad Of Black Tom' Offers A Tribute To And Critique Of Lovecraft: Victor LaValle interviewed on National Public Radio's Fresh Air
- Excerpt from "The Ballad of Black Tom", at Tor.com
- GUEST INTERVIEW Ardi Alspach Chats with Victor LaValle About Lovecraft, Racism and THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM, at SF Signal
- The Big Idea: Victor LaValle, essay by LaValle on the process of writing the story, at Whatever