“My heart catches. The Ku Kluxes are moving! The big one sitting up, feeling at his caved-in chest. The portly one’s stirring too, looking to his missing arm. But it’s the lanky one that jumps up first, face half gone so that you can see bone showing. His good eye rolls around til it lands on me and he opens his mouth to let out a screech that ain’t no ways human. That’s when I know, things about it get bad.”Ring Shout is Clark’s entry in the revisionist Lovecraft genre, and I have to say, it ra...

Original Review available at Cemetery Dancehttps://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...I read a brief tagline for Ring Shout that was along the lines of, “a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan’s reign of terror” and I was sold. I love everything the tagline promises: Dark Fantasy. Historical Fiction. Novella. Supernatural. Give me all of those things.Ring Shout not only delivered on these promises, but it also flew past all of my expectations making th...

CAN I SQUEEZE IN ONE MORE SPOOKTOBER BOOK?I COULD!!!!***************************"Girl, every choice we make is a new tomorrow. Whole worlds waiting to be born."i liked this more than i didn't, with its strong female characters, its Lovecraft Country vibes, and that cover is DIVINE, but OOFA, it's a lot, and i know full well this is a dick thing to say, but honestly, this book shoulda been either longer or shorter. hear me out!i think i would have found it easier to take in if it had been either

4.5 ⭐No doubt about it, my friends, P. Djèlí Clark been gettin’ involved in some o’ that Lowcountry Voodoo! A ‘gator tooth here, a pinch of goofer dust there, season with a dash of sulphur and the blood of a Ku Klux and BOOM, you got it bruh rabbit, the genre-bending novella, Ring Shout. A tempestuous amalgamation of Fantasy, Horror, African-American folklore and Gullah culture, set in 1920s prohibition-era Georgia with an expository lens focused squarely on racism in the South, the hate that fe...

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark is the perfect fantasical horror story to pull you away from the real life one we’ve been living this week. Set almost a hundred years ago in Macon, Georgia, Ring Shout follows Maryse Boudreaux, a monster slayer who is hunting the KKK. Not just Klan members, though, but a particularly heinous type of demon that walks around in human skin. They’re called Ku Kluxes, and they have infiltrated one of the most hateful organizations in the last 100 years of American histor...

Well that was an amazing and clever mash up of history, horror and dark fantasy! There is a lot of action in this story as the hatred within people manifests into viscous demons (Ku kluxes) bent on ripping, killing and spreading their hate. Turning hateful ideology into literal demonic creatures was genius. The use of local vernacular added to the whole vibe, although my reading in these sections slowed to a crawl in order to make sure I understood everything. There was some incredible writing t...

It is weird how so many books are being published right now that were obviously written well before the current load of crap hit the fan, but which speak to global events with an urgency and a directness that seems quite prophetic.The plot of this novella can be summed up in a few lines: “D.W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash He...

I was a bit cautious approaching this novella, even after P. Djèlí Clark’s lovely The Haunting of Tram Car 015 captivated me earlier this year. First of all, this seemed quite horror-ish, and I’m a bit wary about that (shut up, I read Stephen King for the articles - I mean, character development and storytelling - not for the gory bits). Second, I’m always a bit cautious with fictionalization of actual historical events, let alone horrific things like KKK. But my caution ended up completely unfo...

I'm honestly blown away by the craftsmanship of this book. It is a textbook perfectly executed novella, and I am beyond delighted & impressed by how much plot, world building, character work, and thematic content Clark develops over the course of this story. I think if you read the description, you'll get a sense of if this a book that intrigues you, and if so-- just go ahead & read it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. With the ending, seems like there is a door for there to be a sequel, wh...

“What I have is beautiful music inspired by struggle and fierce love. What he got ain’t nothing but hateful noise. Not a hint of soul to it.” I've been meaning to check out P. Djèlí Clark's writing for far too long, and I'm so happy that I finally did, because Ring Shout absolutely blew me away and Clark is a new auto-read author for me, 100%. This novella was incredible! It's packed tight with action, intensity, history, and it all revolves around a trio of badass monster-hunting Black women

Revenge For What They DoneSlavery is the worst crime against humanity ever committed by a country now infamous for its successfully orchestrated coups around the world, its rather less successfully prosecuted wars, and its consistent support for oppressive regimes as long as they protected its business interests. So a bit of historical context for this novel is essential.Many consider the abolition of slavery in America a virtuous act. It wasn’t. The Emancipation Proclamation was an expediency o...

4+ stars. Review first posted on FantasyLiterature.com:In Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark melds two types of horror, Lovecraftian monsters and the bloody rise of the Ku Klux Klan in 1922 Georgia, as a group of black resistance fighters take on an enemy with frightening supernatural powers.As Ku Klux Klan members march down the streets of Macon, Georgia on the Fourth of July, Maryse Boudreaux, who narrates the story, watches from a rooftop with her two companions, sharpshooter Sadie and former soldier...

This was a tremendous horror story! It was extremely original, action-packed, yet well-paced, and not without a lot of heart and deep symbolism. Maryse Boudreaux is one kick ass female lead and I really found myself being genuinely invested in her character. Her struggles, traumas, anger, and ability to endure it all to fight was something that made me unable to put the story down. The details of all the various creatures and the hierarchy of the antagonists was very unique and well done, too. I...

FINALIST, BRITISH FANTASY AWARD: BEST NOVELLA, 2021! Winners announced at the Birmingham FantasyCon, 26 September 2021.FINALIST, WORLD FANTASY AWARD: BEST NOVELLA, 2021! Winners announced on 7 November 2021.DECEMBER 2020 UPDATE A TV SERIES IS ON THE WAY!! Starring the ineffably beautiful KiKiLayne, and produced by SkydanceTV, the people behind the Foundation adaptation, Grace and Frankie (seriously, does anyone not love that show?), and Altered Carbon (the first season was great, shut up)!Would

Ohhhhh, baby, this audiobook is so freaking good!!!The historical elements of Ring Shout are extremely well done. The SFF elements, fantastic. The body horror and gore, top notch. The narration, PERFECTION!Maryse Boudreaux is a Georgia-bootlegger, with a magic sword and a penchant for hunting monsters. The monsters in question, known as Ku Kluxes, are plotting to unleash hell on Earth, using D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation to channel their message of hate to the masses. Maryse, along with

“what we owe this world that so despises and brutalizes us? why lift a hand to save it when it ain’t never done a damn thing to save us?” macon, georgia, 1922. one year after the tulsa massacre.three black women stand upon a rooftop near a ku klux klan parade, having placed bait for a monster. maryse, our protagonist, spends her time waiting by browsing through a book of folktales; sadie, her hilarious sniper bestie, trades quips with chef, a lanky veteran with tales of europe and goo

Set in 1920's Georgia, Maryse, Sadie and Chef are a bad-a$$ monster-hunting trio. The release of the film Birth Of A Nation has opened a rift between worlds and hate-fuelled demons, known as Ku Klux, have crossed over and it's up to Maryse, her friends and her magical sword to stop them. RING SHOUT is a BRILLIANT concept. It uses real historical facts and blends them with fantasy to show how strongly hate breeds hate and creates monsters. It's well paced with tons of action but it also knows whe...

Phenderson Djèlí Clark always delivers. Period.Ring Shout is another excellent story, this time set in 1920’s Georgia, where three colored women are taking the fight to the (literal) monsters of the Ku Klux Klan.It is dark and imaginative, and violent, and very satisfying. It is also extremely cool, because of the once again amazing characters. Is there another (male) author that writes totally bad-ass female characters as perfectly as Clark does? I believe not.There are several influences that

3.5 StarsCreative and creepy. Definitely a take on the Klan I never would have expected. It combines some actual history with an occult, Lovecraftian, Clive Barker-ish twist. My 3.5 Stars means I enjoyed, but was not blown away. The story felt forced at times. At others it felt like the author was winking at me saying "see what I did there". Also, the way it was written made it a bit hard for me to get into it at times.However, I will say that I can tell a lot of horror fans are going to be real...

I really enjoyed this one! 4/4.5 stars!Ring Shout is about fierce black women that are living and surviving in Georgia during the 1920s. The movie The Birth of a Nation is showing across the land and white movements such as the Ku Klux Klan are becoming rampant again.Maryse, Chef and Sadie are hunting monsters called Ku Kluxes.Nana Jean, an old Gullah woman who’s all sass and magic is also helping with the hunt and selling her Mama’s Water during the prohibition.Ku Kluxes are part of the Klan bu...