§Synopsis
01"When [Charles Thomas Tester] delivers an occult book to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, [he] opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping"--Page 4 of cover.
"When [Charles Thomas Tester] delivers an occult book to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, [he] opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping"--Page 4 of cover.
"When [Charles Thomas Tester] delivers an occult book to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, [he] opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping"--Page 4 of cover.
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Find The Ballad of Black Tom Victor LaValle in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Ballad of Black Tom Victor LaValle in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
4 books in catalog
Speculative horror and dark fantasy fiction often blend psychological realism with classic folkloric terror, as demonstrated in the award-winning novel The Changeling. Victor LaValle has established a notable body of work that reimagines traditional fairy tales, gothic monsters, and cosmic horror through modern social frameworks and urban settings. His writing spans short stories, novels, novellas, and comic books, earning accolades across both literary and genre fiction.
Born on February 3, 1972, in Manhattan and raised in Queens, New York, by his Ugandan mother and grandmother, Victor LaValle developed an early passion for horror literature and comic books. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University. LaValle debuted in 1999 with the short-story collection Slapboxing with Jesus, followed by his debut novel The Ecstatic in 2002. He went on to write four additional novels—Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, The Changeling, and Lone Women—alongside novellas such as Lucretia and the Kroons and The Ballad of Black Tom, as well as comic series including Victor LaValle's Destroyer and Eve.
In addition to his career as an author, LaValle serves as a professor and Fiction Concentration Head at Columbia University. His fiction has earned numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, Shirley Jackson Awards, a World Fantasy Award, and a British Fantasy Award. His work has also expanded into screenwriting and adaptation, including the television adaptation of The Changeling for Apple TV and his role as creator and showrunner for the adaptation of The Devil in Silver.
LaValle's narrative style combines eerie supernatural elements with acute social commentary on race, mental health, isolation, and family dynamics. Drawing inspiration from classic creators like Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and H.P. Lovecraft, he frequently subverts established genre tropes by placing marginalized characters at the center of supernatural encounters. The Changeling operates as a dark fairy tale designed to evoke fear through anxiety surrounding parenthood and modern technology, while The Ballad of Black Tom reinterprets classic cosmic horror to critique historic racial oppression.
4 books in catalog
Speculative horror and dark fantasy fiction often blend psychological realism with classic folkloric terror, as demonstrated in the award-winning novel The Changeling. Victor LaValle has established a notable body of work that reimagines traditional fairy tales, gothic monsters, and cosmic horror through modern social frameworks and urban settings. His writing spans short stories, novels, novellas, and comic books, earning accolades across both literary and genre fiction.
Born on February 3, 1972, in Manhattan and raised in Queens, New York, by his Ugandan mother and grandmother, Victor LaValle developed an early passion for horror literature and comic books. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University. LaValle debuted in 1999 with the short-story collection Slapboxing with Jesus, followed by his debut novel The Ecstatic in 2002. He went on to write four additional novels—Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, The Changeling, and Lone Women—alongside novellas such as Lucretia and the Kroons and The Ballad of Black Tom, as well as comic series including Victor LaValle's Destroyer and Eve.
In addition to his career as an author, LaValle serves as a professor and Fiction Concentration Head at Columbia University. His fiction has earned numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, Shirley Jackson Awards, a World Fantasy Award, and a British Fantasy Award. His work has also expanded into screenwriting and adaptation, including the television adaptation of The Changeling for Apple TV and his role as creator and showrunner for the adaptation of The Devil in Silver.
LaValle's narrative style combines eerie supernatural elements with acute social commentary on race, mental health, isolation, and family dynamics. Drawing inspiration from classic creators like Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and H.P. Lovecraft, he frequently subverts established genre tropes by placing marginalized characters at the center of supernatural encounters. The Changeling operates as a dark fairy tale designed to evoke fear through anxiety surrounding parenthood and modern technology, while The Ballad of Black Tom reinterprets classic cosmic horror to critique historic racial oppression.
