# 18 Victor LaValle’s: The Ballad of Black Tom

It's 2023 and we decided to start the new year off on a slightly cosmic bend. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle follows a man named Charlie as he navigates Harlem, magic, racism, and a strange man's desire to awaken a cosmic entity known as The Sleeping King. For a short story, this book contains a lot of characterization and leaves the horror up to the imagination. The events blur together sometimes in this story in a dream-like way!  Next month's book is a graphic novel called: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu!   Come read along with us over at Twitter.Com/SharedPagesPod!