Intelexual Media Book Club Vote #4 (Patreon)

For the month of December we're choosing between two historical fiction books that center black characters and the supernatural. I intentionally picked out two short books because I'll be going on my first vacation in two years this month (I'll be away from the office for 9 days) and I couldn't have anything too heavy on my reading list. No matter how you guys vote, I'll be reading both! They just sound so damned good. 

Option #1: The Ballad of Black Tom (Victor LaValle)

Synopsis: People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.

Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.

A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?

Pros: It's very short so it'll be a quick read.  It's set in Jazz-Age New York, which is definitely an interesting time period. While categorized as a dark fantasy novel, it's been touted as genre-bending.

Cons: It's so short that it might leave you wanting more.

Average Read Time: 4 Hours (236 Pages)

First Published: 2016

Average Pricing: $10 on Amazon, $12 on GoodReads,Free Audiobook with $9/month Scrib'd Subscription

Option #2: Lovecraft Country (Matt Ruff)

Synopsis: Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.

At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.

A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

Pros: It's being turned into a TV show produced by Jordan Peele. Cults, racism, malevolent spirits. This sounds thrilling and starts off in 1954 Chicago. 

Cons: White author writing black characters. 

Average Read Time: 5 Hours (372 Pages)

First Published: 2016

Average Pricing:$11 on Amazon

Book Club Tip: if you love reading, Scrib'd is an amazing online resource that grants you unlimited access to books, magazines, newspapers, and audiobooks. If you click this link, you'll receive two free months of Scrib'd! 

After mulling over the pros and cons, be sure to cast your vote by December 4th! If you're a $5+ patron and you'd like to be entered to win a copy of the selected book, simply leave a comment saying, "I Voted!"