Review: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
Reviews / March 9, 2016

It wasn’t until I had finished reading The Ballad of Black Tom that I found out it was based on an H.P. Lovecraft short story called The Horror at Red Hook and that several of the characters have the same names. This would have been more interesting to me had I actually read Lovecraft’s story first, but I did enjoy going back afterwards and looking up the details (thank God for Wikipedia!). What’s much more interesting about LaValle’s take on it is that he’s turned Lovecraft’s famous xenophobia on its head and written a story about one man’s experiences with racism in 1920s New York City. I mean, think about it: an African-American author, writing a story that deals with racism, based on a story by a famous racist. It sounds crazy, but LaValle pulls it off, although I have to say I was more interested in the mechanics of what he was trying to do, rather than the story itself, which to me lacked cohesion. The Lovecraft elements are subtle, and unless you’re familiar with the story it’s based upon, you may not notice them at all until the end. What did scream “Lovecraft” to me, however, was the unsettling feeling that runs…

Upcoming Releases: February 14 – 20, 2016
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Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR     FANTASY             URBAN FANTASY     SCIENCE FICTION   HORROR               FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION           HORROR Son of the Morning Mark Alder 2/15/2016 Pegasus Chains of the Heretic Jeff Salyards 2/16/2016 Night Shade The Immortals Jordanna Max Brodsky 2/16/2016 Orbit Lovecraft Country Matt Ruff 2/16/2016 Harper Calamity Brandon Sanderson 2/16/2016 Delacorte Interior Darkness Straub, Peter 2/16/2016 Doubleday The Ballad of Black Tom Victor LaValle 2/16/2016 Tor.com