The Ballad of Black Tom

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, 151 pages
Charles Thomas Tester, living in  1930s Harlem,  recounts his journey from a hustler who is acquainted with the magic in and around the city, to a vengeful man at the nexus of the supernatural in New Yourk. As Tester grows closer to the center of the magic in New York, and closer to the Sleeping King, he adopts the title name, a name originally offered in insult. Along the way, as he learns more about the worlds around him, Tom fights with other New Yorkers seeking  power and with corrupt police. I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading the author's much-acclaimed The Changling.