This book is written so tightly it feels as if not a single word is wasted. Maryse takes us on a journey to the south and along the way teaches us the folk tales that give her power. This story is about the power of hate in a fantastical world that looks like our own USA. The hate in our world is real and this book can teach us something about how to fight it.

This novel is set in 1920s Georgia and follows the journey of Chef, Sadie and Maryse as they fight off the demonic Ku Kluxes. An interesting book that is science fiction and fantasy but has history mixed in throughout. It makes you think a lot about the systematic racism that still exists today. Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ring Shout is the commanding new alternate history novella from P. Djèlí Clark. Set in 1920’s Macon, Georgia, Ring Shout tells the unforgettable story of Maryse Boudreaux, her magic sword & a group of badass Black women fighting racist monsters!

It all starts with the 1915 propaganda film, Birth of a Nation, by the sorcerer D.W. Griffith. Casting a spell over white people in America, the film stirred up immense hatred, evolving the Klan from brutal humanity into something even worse than ever before – Lovecraftian demons known as Ku Kluxes – the physical embodiment of racism. Unlike people, they are incapable of growing, of change. 25-year-old Maryse is our main protagonist & leader of the resistance fighters. She wields a deadly mystical sword that sings, holding the voices & memories of dead slaves, fueling her rage. She is able to communicate with spirits & sees the Ku Kluxes for what they really are, which is something very few can. She also has a serious choice to make.

Ring Shout is a ferocious story that careens through a world populated with demonic monsters, hate & violence. Filled with righteous anger & absolutely gut-wrenching moments, it’s also wickedly entertaining, deliciously laced with banter & gloriously dark humor. Plus insanely awesome women that don’t take any shit! This book is literal Black Girl Magic & I AM SO HERE FOR IT!

Similarly to Lovecraft Country & The Ballad of Black Tom, Ring Shout twists fiction with historical events, blending fantasy, horror & folklore with staggeringly powerful commentary on racism that is relevant to the world we currently live in.

Unbelievably paced, brilliant characters, intense action scenes & undeniably captivating storytelling. Ring Shout is a thrilling beast of a book contained within a novella-sized package. It’s bold, it’s fierce & it’s one of the best books of 2020! There isn’t a story out there like Ring Shout & I cannot recommend it more. Oof.

CW: Body horror on another fucking level, gore, murder, white supremacy, trauma, racial violence, PTSD, references to rape, dogs used as bait, systemic racism.

There's nothing better than a good revisionist history where somebody gets to fulfill the dream we all have about punching evil in the face. That's what I thought I was getting into. The real story is even better: sorcerers, the sons of slaveowners, sold their souls to call up monsters called Ku Kluxes who hide within the bodies of angry white folk. It's up to three brave black women and one mystical sword to take them down.

The plot, as you can see, is kick-ass. More than that though, the writing and especially the dialog are just lovely. And this cover is probably the best of 2020. Yeah, I'm calling it.

This alternate historical tale is set in 1922. There’s a lot of references to real-life things such as the 1918 flu and the massacre in Tulsa. But at the same time, the Ku Kluxes have been changed into literal monsters. Our narrator stands poised to fight them. First, though, she must battle against her own inner demons.

This book contains a scene with a dog chopped into pieces. It was in the beginning, and it almost made me stop reading. I’m glad I didn’t because the references to how white people act hateful toward others who aren’t a threat were very well stated. The usage of ‘The Birth of a Nation’ as a way to rile up the Klan was also well done.

Speculative fiction at its absolute best. This book is stunning and definitely makes my top five of 2020. P. Djèlí Clark's novella is just under 200 pages of action-packed historical fantasy of the darkest and deepest nature. Set in 1920s Georgia, the book opens with Maryse Boudreaux and her two fighting friends who lure a group of Ku Kluxes to kill in a back alley. But these aren't the Ku Klux Klansmen of (likely) scarce mention in your average history textbook, these are demons born from hate; men and women who morph into these fearsome creatures. You can tell the humans from the demons if you look carefully enough but all Klu Klux humans have the capacity to turn into something worse (sound familiar?). Maryse kills these demons with her magic sword forged from the souls and pain of enslaved people, a gift given to her by three otherworldly haints. But then she is warned of a dangerous storm ahead, nightmare beings from other realms who aim to destroy the world through harnessing hate. Maryse must travel through realms and her own trauma to fight her ultimate enemies with help from a magic Gullah woman, a Choctaw scientist, and more. This book is honestly amazing. I have not done it justice in describing but, trust me, you need to read it.

Don't let the size of this novella fool you...
The story follows Maryse and her band of monster-fighting badasses. P. Djeli Clark weaves a layered narrative of history, culture, fantasy and horror where Maryse and her comrades fight fictitious monsters called Ku Kluxes (monsters that evolved from the Klan). But something bigger than the Ku Kluxes is coming and it's up to Maryse to face this foe.
The book is written in Maryse's voice, which added depth to the narrative and character (essential for a book less than 200 pages). There are few instances where authors writing in the character's voice is successful where it is not distracting and does not add to the character; but, Clark does a wonderful job of using the style to add to Maryse's character. There are instances where, as a reader, I was a bit disoriented and had to double back, but it does not take away from the narrative.

In a world where white supremacists are sorcerers and the Klu Klux Klan are actual interdimensional demonic monsters who feed off of hate, only one can save us. Maryse is this chosen one. We follow Maryse hunt and slaughter these literal monsters with her rag-tag team of monster hunters: a World War I veteran who had to disguise herself as a man to fight, a dreamy sharpshooter that never misses a shot, an overeager scientist, a character who likes to push everyone’s buttons by talking about social issues, and a magical Gullah woman who sells Mama’s Water for protection.

On the surface, this story is about a young girl who has experienced so much trauma that a trio of fox goddesses known as the Aunties. They give Maryse a weapon to protect herself and her community. It’s grotesque, and perfect for this season. There’s grotesque body horror, supernatural horror, and horror so realistic that you forget that it’s fantasy.

Under the surface? This is a commentary about reclaiming a community’s power. The weapon previously mentioned? A sword that wields the power of the righteous pain, anger, and sorrow of everyone who suffered from the African diaspora.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Ring Shout, it did suffer from too many characters. It was challenging to keep track of everyone. Because Clarke spent so much time introducing dozens of characters, their back history, and their role in this world that developing emotional connections to some characters was nearly impossible. For example, in writing this sentence I had to go to the epilogue to look up Maryse’s love interest: Michael George. He has a few speaking lines and scenes. Do you know who I remember? Lester, Sadie’s love interest. Why? Because he wove fantastical epic histories to impress Sadie and the other women. He was charming and Sadie wouldn’t stop gushing about him. Lester became cemented in my mind, while I tried to think of what Michael George did other than run the juke joint.

If you can handle gore and experimental narrative, then read this book. It’s amazing and can strike a lot of interesting conversations. Highly recommend for book clubs.

Set in 1922, Georgia during the rise of the KKK, Ring Shout follows Maryse Bourdeaux and her two friends Sadie and Chief as they hunt and kill monsters. Indeed, as if the regular KKK members weren’t horrible enough, some of them are turning into actual monsters that hunt, kill and eat Black Americans.

Maryse has a magic sword and she isn’t afraid to use it against the monsters, the ones she calls Klu Kluxes. Their ranks are growing alarmingly quickly and the coming screening of The Birth of a Nation, a movie produced the famous sorcerer D. W. Griffith, only hints that something bigger is brewing. Something that could end the world.

It’s alarming that a story set in the 1920’s manages to show how systemic racism is still rooted in our current society. I know Ring Shout was written before the events of this year but it deeply resonates with them and I think most people would benefit from reading this book.

Ring Shout is a story of Black rage, it’s unnerving, angry, and scary yet it’s also an ode to the richness and beauty of Black culture. It’s also a page-turner, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time and I read it in one sitting.

One of the reasons I love reading is that it allows me to learn a lot of things I didn’t know about. And I learned a lot while reading this novella. While a lot of elements of the story are fantastic, the heart of Ring Shout is rooted in history. For example, the title Ring Shout refers to a religious ritual practiced by African slaves. I didn’t know about it before reading but I highly recommend watching this video on the subject (even if you don’t end up reading the book). I was also unaware of the movie The Birth of a Nation, an incredibly racist and hurtful movie released in 1915 which romanticized the Klu Klux Klan. I also learned about the Night Doctors, pictured as another type of monstrous creatures in the story, Night Doctors stories were used by southern slave owner to prevent Black American from fleeing to the North.

I also really appreciated that, while the Klu Kluxes are depicted as monstrous creatures, the author explains that the monsters are only able to contaminate people that are fueled by hate. The monsters don’t turn innocent people into blood-hungry and racist monsters, it’s their own hateful feelings towards black people that turn them into monsters.

Finally, while the themes and ideas explored in Ring Shout are fascinating in their own rights, it’s also a great story with an amazing and diverse cast of characters. From Maryse to her crew of badass women, her friends, and her family, all the characters shine and add to the story. It is also the perfect spooky read for the season: the monsters, the scary spirits with hidden intentions, the secret rituals… Ring Shout has it all!

The only thing preventing me from rating this book higher is that it has a lot of similarities to one of the author’s previous novella The Black God’s Drums, both in terms of narrative structures and main characters. Thankfully, the plots are quite different, but the similarities were striking enough to pull me out of the story during the first half of the book. I probably would have enjoyed Ring Shout more if it had been my first encounter with P. Djèli Clark’s works. However, take my opinion with a grain of salt, I haven’t read any other reviews mentioning it and I would still highly recommend Ring Shout to everyone! 😊

Four stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

"They say God is good all the time. Seem he also likes irony."

It is incredibly hard for me to review this book.

It is incredibly hard for me to review this book, because it is perfect.

In Prohibition-era Georgia, Maryse is busy running whiskey and murdering Ku Kluxes with a magic sword. Don't feel bad for them - not that you would: the Ku Kluxes are monsters inhabiting the bodies of Klansmen. It's an uphill battle to begin with, but when it's announced that D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation is going to be shown on a mountain top that's a little too close to the other side, things start to get really weird.

Ring Shout is told in Maryse's voice, and what a voice it is. This isn't a book you read, this is a book that's spoken to you, word by word, truth by truth, and the ink on the page is just a medium for that voice to enter this world. You're thrown into this world from minute zero, no explanation, no handholding, and you are shown monsters. Some of those monsters are white supremacists. Some of those monsters are wearing the skin of humans. You're also shown magic, and community, and love. You're shown the lives that have been impacted and ended by racism, and you're shown the families and society that's trying its damnedest to survive, and more than that, to thrive.

The prose here is beautiful. The dialogue is audible. There's not a single false note or thread left untied. Ring Shout is a powerful affirmation, a song, a spell. Ring Shout is alive.

I think the idea behind this story was brilliant, and I think the concept is so unique. The setting serves as a great backdrop to this idea and the themes the author wanted to explore. I found the writing to really tap into that well. I also quite enjoyed the main characters and I think their dynamics were really fun.

However, this was way more historical than I anticipated, while the fantasy aspects are not as strongly done. I found the world-building haphazard and confusing, and relying too much on info dumping for my test. Moreover, the story never really gripped me, it lacked a coherent structure. So I was never really gripped by this one, and I ended up just pushing through it although it was just not the book for me. Sad, but it happens.

The Klan has a plan to unleash more evil onto the earth, but luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and murder in her heart. She's out to stop the Klan and their monstrous Ku Kluxes, any way she can. Even if she has to travel to other dimensions to do so.

OMG yesssss this was fantastic and so fucking creepy!

I think the creepiest part—minus all of the mouths—is Clark's uncanny ability to tap directly into the heart of current affairs. Granted, racism and white supremacy is not something that has ever gone away or been defeated in the United States. It's systemically built into the structure of the country's foundations. However. This book is incredibly timely, as it channels the current rise of white supremacy to the rise of the KKK in the 1920s, with some inter-dimensional woowoo thrown into the mix.

Red dots mark it, indicating Klan activity. Two years back was only a few red dots, most here in Georgia. Now there's red everywhere—through the South, swallowing the Midwest, going far up as Oregon.

In Ring Shout, white supremacy has cast a spell over the country. Quite literally, with the wide-release of the first 12-reel movie in history: the incredibly racist and blatantly hateful Birth of a Nation.

The enemy, they are the Lie. The Lie running around pretending to be the Truth.

And the spellwork continues, transforming white people into literal monsters called Ku Kluxes, which heroine Maryse destroys with her team of women fighters. The insidious nature of white supremacy is everywhere on the page, side by side with respectability politics and the way upper class, rich white people manipulated the fears of poor white people against Black people, cleverly dividing two groups that have more in common with each other than with the rich.

Anywho, there is a lot going on in this one that had me riveted from the first page to the next, and I'm going to explain it all very poorly since I've delayed so long in writing my review and because I cannot put into the right words how this book is just so intelligent on so many levels.

It's a Lovecraftian horror novel that literally skewers the racism of Lovecraft.

It's a love story—of the various kinds of love folks can have. Towards their lovers, their friends, their community, their people, their enemy, and towards themselves.

It's a political commentary on the rise of white supremacy and the culpability of white silence and respectability politics.

It's a gorgeously researched alternate historical fiction with a robustly diverse cast (queer rep!!).

It's a fantasy novel with layers and super cool magic.

It's Titus Andronicus with the pies, if yaknowwhatImean *wink*

And it's a fucking great story, one that makes you think (if you had not thought before), on the great minds we threw into the fields to work and die without freedom. Slavery—and the legacy of Jim Crow—was truly the great brain drain of American history.

What else was there to do in that drudgery, working from can't see morning to can't see night, but to get thinking on life, death and God's purpose? All them grand thinkers lost to the whip. Gone and took they secrets with 'em to the grave.


I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

Would been five stars without the damned w-bombs. Nine, maybe even ten! Crapped on my loving like seagulls on a picnic.

Our story winds through Nana Jean, an old Gullah root woman, who sets up a team to fight the Ku Kluxes. She, and our narrator Maryse, are guided by three spirit-world women analogous to the Norns and other Triune Goddesses whose purpose is to maintain balance in their worlds. Maryse, Chef, and Sadie, all uniquely damaged and so able to access their existential rage, are the action arm of Nana Jean's ring-shout circle. Now, this is deep and old stuff, and there is not one single chance any of y'all reading this review have got the background in Vodoun, hoodoo, and all the other African and African-inflected spiritual practices to get every reference. I could link every third word in here, and that's just to the few little references I got. But don't feel too left out, twenty-first centurians, Author Clark uses a lot of literary references, too. Sethe, for example: a scientific type, aiding the group's scientist Molly, and proficient with a weapon. Honoring, I suppose I should say, Toni Morrison's immortal mother who loved her child so hard she made a haint of her. And haints there are in this story, plenty of them, their many, many songs of fear and betrayal and suffering powering Maryse's unique weapon of cleansing and destruction of evil and wrongness.

You're thinking that all this is going somewhere, but where...well, several places including through a forest of bottle trees, to an Angel Oak, into a place where there are Night Doctors of the *most*horrifying*sort* and whose lust for humanity's pain is unquenchable, and finally to a screening of The Birth of a Nation that is beyond your or my ability to conjure. It is a beautiful thing to be frightened by the capacity of people to hate. This book is a prayer to whatever force(s) rule the Simulation to open up our eyes.

There's a reason the last words spoken in the story are, "'Bout damn time!"

And THANKS, NETGALLEY!! (And Tor.com Publishing, of course.)

The nitty-gritty: P. Djèlí Clark’s tale of otherworldly horror is one of the best I’ve read, an emotional tour de force of good versus evil, upsetting at times, but ultimately uplifting and full of joy.

Sadie’s no sniper. But she ain’t lying. Girl can shoot the wings off a fly. Never one day in Uncle Sam’s army neither—just hunting with her grandpappy in Alabama. “Winnie” is her Winchester 1895, with a walnut stock, an engraved slate-gray receiver, and a twenty-four-inch barrel. I’m not big on guns, but got to admit—that’s one damn pretty killer.

Once in a while I discover a novella that is just the right length and is perfectly paced and executed, and Ring Shout is one such discovery. This is my first P. Djèlí Clark story, and I don’t think I could have chosen a better one to start with. Ring Shout is emotional and visceral and full of African American history and myth. Clark has taken some real life historical events and twisted them into a compelling page-turner of a supernatural monster story, and his writing perfectly captures the nuanced speech of his characters. Clark’s monsters are horrifying and disgusting, and they do shocking things, but I could not tear my eyes away from the page.

The story takes place in 1922 Macon, Georgia. With the rise of the second era of the Ku Klux Klan, the story focuses on a young woman named Maryse Bourdeaux and her friends Sadie and Chef. Maryse is in possession of a magical sword that can kill the Ku Kluxes, horrifying monsters that arise from Klan members and attack and kill African Americans. Along with Sadie’s shooting skills and Chef’s ability to cook up killer bombs, the three girls hunt and kill Ku Kluxes as a side gig, trying to keep their growing population in check.

But one night in a dream, Maryse is visited by a man named Butcher Clyde who tells her an entity called the Grand Cyclops is about to be born, an entity that will end the world. Maryse knows she has to stop it, but Clyde wants to make a deal with her instead. Faced with an impossible choice, Maryse gathers her forces together to stop the evil that is about to rise up.

Ring Shout deals with some heavy subjects—racism and the oppression of Blacks, and the horrifying deeds of the KKK—but boy, was this story a joy to read! Clark gives us a whole slew of badass Black women who don’t take shit from anyone, and yet there is such a joyful quality in the way they celebrate life. The “Ring Shout” of the title is a real thing—something I had never heard of before I read this book, and I’m grateful to Clark for bringing it to my attention. You can Google it yourself if you want to dig into it more, but basically it’s a spiritual ritual that involves dance, song, foot stomping and hand clapping. In Clark’s story, the Ring Shout has an otherworldly purpose, of course, since this is speculative fiction, and I loved the way he turns it into a powerful tool against evil.

I was also surprised to discover that other elements in the story have roots in real life. The controversial movie Birth of a Nation plays a big part, for example. There is also an extremely disturbing scene involving Night Doctors, another term I wasn't familiar with but discovered (after yet another Google search!) has its own Wikipedia entry. Clark treats the Night Doctors much the same way as the other historical elements: he takes the heart of the story or myth and twists it just enough so that it works within the context of his story. Ring Shout is a great example of why white people in particular need to read more African American fiction—and with everything that’s happened in 2020, this is the perfect time to educate yourself, and read a damn fine story at the same time.

But let’s talk about the characters, because honestly, they are the reason I loved Ring Shout so much. Maryse is telling the story, so we get to see the other characters through her eyes. You can feel the love and respect she has for Chef and Sadie, who jump into the fight against the Ku Kluxes with no regard for their own lives. I loved Maryse in particular because she has such an interesting life. Not only does she have a magical sword at her disposal, but she acquired the sword from her “Aunties,” three women who exist on a magical plain and give out advice and encouragement to Maryse whenever she needs it. We’re also aware of a terrible event in Maryse’s past that Clark teases us with, but we don’t find out what it is until late in the story, an emotional gut punch that left me reeling. 

And I had so much love for Nana Jean, who uses the power of the Ring Shout to infuse her bootleg alcohol “Mama’s Water” with a magical essence; Molly, a scientist who is studying the dismembered body parts of the Ku Kluxes to better understand them; and even Maryse’s brother Martin, who we meet only in her memories: a brother who read stories to her as child and who affectionately called her “Bruh Rabbit” after her favorite tale.

Ultimately, Clark infuses his story with so many elements that I love: wry humor, heartbreak, thrilling action, horrifying monsters, fascinating historical events, and the power of good over evil. It isn’t often I feel like laughing and crying in the same breath, but Clark’s words seem to have made me an emotional mess, and I’m not sorry about it at all. And one more thing: the author throws in a line at the very end that made me gasp in delight, a line that seems to suggest there might be a sequel coming, or at least the possibility of a sequel. If you’ve read Ring Shout then you probably know what I’m talking about. Fingers crossed, I would love to revisit this world and these characters again! Highly recommended.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

An imaginative combination of historical fiction and fantasy. Clark's take on the Ku Klux Klan is effective as well as incredibly disturbing, and he has created a strong, memorable protagonist in Maryse. The story could easily have been expanded to contain more details about this world and these characters, but I didn't mind the brief length that swiftly got things moving without beating around the bush or a lot of setup beforehand.

In <b>Ring Shout</b> the Klan or Ku Kluxes are literally monsters from another world. They are driven by the sorcerer D. W. Griffith. His movie <i>The Birth of a Nation</i> is the spell by which they are entranced and that which calls them to action.

The moral of the story is how hate is cultivated within society and how it can be used as it tool to rally the masses or cause dissension. No one is immune to it, not even our heroine Marys. She still has the capacity to hate but you get to see why. Clark shows how the seed of hatred can be borne out of tragedy. How our first instinct may be to tuck away bad memories in a place where we don't have to deal with them. Those experiences though, are still a part of us. These wounds fester, eating away bits of us at a time.

Set back 100 years in time - 1920s Georgia - this world feels eerily like the world that we are in now. The historical references embedded into the novel provide a framework that makes it seem more realistic. The world building was so carefully crafted and the imagery so intense that I was immediately sucked into the book. I did not put it down until I was finished. I really appreciated P. Djeli Clark's nod to the Gullah tradition as that is part of my family history. Especially since the women were so loyal and exuded such power and wisdom. Watching them come together and slay these demons was so exhilarating. I literally shed both tears of joy and sadness.

After reading the book I was moved to look up P. Djeli Clark as I was amazed at how seamlessly he wove in the historical notes. As it turns out, Clark has his Ph.D. in history and is a professor at UCONN where he is also involved in the Africana Studies Institute. Anybody who is interested in learning more about slavery in America and its impact should definitely look into one of his nonfiction works. These published works can be found under the name Dexter Gabriel.

What an interesting and powerful novella. Told as a horror historical fiction, where the scary monsters of the time are actually real monsters. Imbued with mythological and cultural references we get a glimpse into a world of magic, monsters, and racism. A band of POC women are fighting these monsters with guns and a magical sword. The MC delves deeper and finds a way to use her fears and deepest darkest secrets to fight the monstrosity. There was also a glimpse of normal life filled with love, friendship, celebrations, and hope. Even if this is a fictional story, it shows perfectly the human fight to survive, to fight for their right to anger and a right to live.

Loved the somewhat open ending, as I would love more of monstrosities from this world.

In P. Djèlí Clark’s “Ring Shout” Maryse and her friends use wit and and magic to fight Ku Klux Klan members possessed by hate-eating monsters in 1920s Georgia. Full of magic, folklore, action and heart, this novella is a smart, beautifully written combination of fantasy, satire and social commentary. Coincidentally, I’ve been watching HBO’s Lovecraft Country series based on the novel by Matt Ruff, and this story has been the perfect spooky season compliment to the TV show. I’m definitely going to check out more of Clark’s work.

A little under 200 pages, “Ring Shout” is a horror novella with an incredibly detailed world and very well crafted characters. Despite its length, it manages to create a very powerful story, that kept me invested all throughout.

The plot follows Maryse, a young woman in her twenties, who is part of a trio of black women fighting monsters called “Ku Kluxes” in Georgia in the 1920s. The story blends elements of horror and fantasy, along with historical fiction and folklore, to speak about the real horrors of that century. The vivid descriptions of this world, and the monsters that lurk in it, along with the perfectly paced fight scenes will definitely make this story stick with me for a while. I am looking forward to reading about more of Maryse’s adventures in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for proving me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my gosh, this book.
I knew I was getting a horror based on the summary. And I knew I was getting a Black woman fighting back against the Klu Klux Klan in the 1920s. But both of those things still didn't prepare me for how brutal it was to read.
The fact that this horror novella is based in actual US history, is so much scarier. Much more disgusting and distressing. And I loved our main character of Maryse and her fighting monsters.

This book is written in dialect and while I didn't find Maryse's voice too hard to get into, there is another character, Nana Jean, who is Gullah or was raised Gullah. I, personally, could not understand almost anything she said. I wasn't really a detriment to the story, but I had to skim over those parts so I wouldn't get too confused.
That being said, I think this could be a great book to listen to on audio because of the above reasons.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.