Ring Shout
Books | Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
4.1
(329)
P. Djèlí Clark
Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns with Ring Shout, a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror“A fantastical, brutal and thrilling triumph of the imagination...Clark’s combination of historical and political reimagining is cathartic, exhilarating and fresh.” —The New York TimesA 2021 Nebula Award WinnerA 2021 Locus Award WinnerA New York Times Editor's Choice Pick!A Booklist Editor's Choice Pick!A 2021 Hugo Award FinalistA 2021 World Fantasy Award FinalistA 2021 Ignyte Award FinalistA 2021 Shirley Jackson Award FinalistA 2021 AAMBC Literary Award FinalistA 2021 British Fantasy Award FinalistA 2021 Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award NomineeA 2020 SIBA Award FinalistA Goodreads Choice Award FinalistNamed a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Library Journal | Book Riot | LitReactor | Bustle | Polygon | Washington PostIN AMERICA, DEMONS WEAR WHITE HOODS.In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die.Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful's brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up.Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Horror
Fantasy
AD
More Details:
Author
P. Djèlí Clark
Pages
112
Publisher
Tor Publishing Group
Published Date
2020-10-13
ISBN
1250767016 9781250767011
Community ReviewsSee all
"Fantastic short read. Intensely rich and fleshed out, and very interesting ideas brought together here! Must read!"
C
CaitVD
"Incredibly creative!"
C B
Christie Biggers
"Ring Shout is a small book that really packs a punch! This is a creative and intense novella that blends elements of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction. The storytelling hooks you from the beginning, and it's a very visual story. It took me a little bit to grasp what was going on, but I was fully invested once I figured it out. Ring Shout has some great body horror, and I would really love to see more horror stories from this author. It's woven together really well with both heartbreaking and amusing storylines, and this is a book you don't want to miss in the fall!"
"It wasn’t really for me, but if you love fantasy and horror, you will LOVE it! This book is very cleaver and a interesting read!"
M
Melani
"This novella is something of a masterpiece of cosmic horror and folk horror.
Set in 1925 in Macon, Georgia, Ring Shout pits a cast of badass Black women against the KKK and the other, even more dangerous occult horrors that lurk among them. In this imagining of the American south, the Klan has used an arcane summoning to invite eldritch entities to join their ranks, and the incendiary film the Birth of a Nation was their biggest conjuring.
The protagonist Maryse is part of a team of monster hunters defending folks from these entities, called Ku Kluxes. The rest of their team includes:
Sadie Watkins, a country-born sharpshooter;
Cordelia Lawrence, a queer woman who passed as a man in order to serve with the Harlem Hellfighters in the First World War;
Molly, a scientist whose family was enslaved by the Choctaw, and her two Afro-Indigenous assistants
Emma Krauss, a German Jewish widow who has an anthropological interest in the music of the African diaspora
and Nana Jean, a Gullah-Geechee root conjurer, bootlegger, and the brains behind the operation
Clark blends dark fantasy, cosmic horror, and folk horror inspired by African diasporic cultures into a clever, creepy, and very fun take on the good-guys-vs-evil-monsters premise.
It reads like the Dunwich Horror, except instead of a dismal vision of Massachusetts beset by fish people (who represent immigrants, because Lovecraft was a dick), you have a vibrant vision of 1925 Macon full of both racist oppression and Black resilience, and the monsters represent the hate that eats away at a racist's soul.
And here I'll make a recommendation that I've never made before: THIS IS A BOOK BEST ENJOYED AS AN AUDIOBOOK. Channie Waites' performance is incredible. It's dynamic and truly does justice to the specific accents, colloquialisms, and the Gullah dialect that make the book feel so authentic."
"This was PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!! The writing was Beautifully fast paced but not too fast!!!!!!! The banter between the characters was my FAVORITE!!!!!!! And I grew so SO attached to the characters in such a short time!!!!!!! Also the whole concept was just So original that it hooked me Instantly!!!!!!!! Highly recommend!!!!!!!"
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