thank you netgalley & the publsishers for this arc!!!!

ok... wow. this is definitely one of the most interesting/unique books I've ever read. The writing/narration style is SO immersive, and you just get thrown into the world from page 1. It wasn't very long so it had to pack a lot in a short time but I loved it. I thought the pacing was excellent and although there were a lot of different parts/elements throughout the story it all made sense at the end (for the most part). I loved the characters, they were all so distinct and just MAN THE WRITING!!!!!!!!! The world that was created in this book!!! It was grounded in reality/american history but the fantasy/horror elements that got thrown in there really added to the creepy/mysterious atmosphere of the book. I will forever recommend this for people looking for a unique/creepy/immersive read.

I definitely want to check out more of P. Djèlí Clark's books.

P. Djeli Clark does it again with another amazing fantasy novella.
Ring Shout takes place during prohibition in Georgia. Maryse is tasked with destroying the ku kluxes which are demons formed from Ku Klux Klan members with the use of witchcraft.
This is a terrifying twist on the Ku Klux Klan. It is fantastically written and I am unable to stop thinking about this book.

Interesting premise in which the release of The Birth of a Nation wasn’t just a movie, it was a spell that feeds on hate, and continues to spread.

Maryse is one of the few who can see the creatures that have been let into this world through this spell, in the form of Klan members transformed into horrific “Ku Kluxes”. With a showing of The Birth of a Nation coming up on Stone Mountain, an even bigger spell is in the works to bring through more eldritch beings. Maryse and her friends must join together to stop it, no matter the cost.

This novella takes real historical events and tweaks them just a bit for an otherworldly horror beyond the horror in the real world. It’s timely, and it’s not subtle about it either.

A harrowing, allegorical novella set in 1922 in Macon, Georgia in which the Ku Klux are bloodthirsty and literal monsters and a group of friends led by a young woman named Maryse hunts them.

This book was absolutely perfect in execution. Every page was tense and scary and totally satisfying. A must read.

Gripping, fast paced, cinematic, endless twists and turns! Brilliant Black women! Friendship! Tree portals! Gnarly monsters! Bizarre doctors! Destruction of evil! Bootlegging! History! There is so much packed into this novella, it’ll leave you stunned.

Maryse is a whiskey bootlegger, that in her off time has a magic sword that fights monsters she calls “Ku Kluxes”. When a showing of Birth of the Nation threatens to bring about hell on Earth, Maryse and her friends set out to save the world from hate.

Ring Shout is a fast paced novella, packed full of some extremely gruesome body horror scenes, punch you in the heart feels, relevant social commentary, and some awesome characters. My only complaint about the book is that it was way too short - I could read a hundred more stories about Maryse and her friends, even if it’s something as basic as them running whiskey without any mention of monsters.

The monsters were over the top and gruesome, and the story surrounding Maryse, her sword, and how she came about to see the Ku Kluxes was fascinating. The balance between the scenes was perfect, never feeling like the body horror outweighed the story. The story of the sorcerer and Birth of the Nation was impactful, and I shouldn’t really have to mention how relevant the racism and hate that fills the story is, especially in todays political and social climate.

Ring Shout feels like such an important read that I can’t encourage people to read enough. Clarks writing knows how to hit home with every word, and draws you right in to the story. Despite wanting more, there’s not a wasted word or sentence throughout and the story feels complete. Everyone needs to give this one a go.

Author P. Djèlí Clark offers up a historical paranormal horror novella in Ring Shout; the tale of a bootlegger in Macon, Georgia who fights monsters known as Ku Kluxes with her magic sword, and a sharpshooter and Harlem Hellfighter at her side.

Seven years ago, Maryse Boudreaux lost everything. She’s forced the memories under the floorboards where she hid that night in order to fight the Ku Kluxes — Klan members whose hatred becomes an infection that turns them from men to monsters. Maryse and her friends Cordy and Sadie were brought together by Nana Jean, a Gullah woman with wisdom and a touch of magic, who called them each from far off to join her army.

The Ku Kluxes are gaining power and adapting at an alarming rate. With a viewing of the film The Birth of a Nation scheduled at Stone Mountain, Maryse knows the monsters could consume the world with their hate.
Traveling between worlds Maryse must confront demons, including her own, and watch for the tricksters her three supernatural aunties warn her about. She has a choice to make and a magic sword to wield in order to save the world.

It’s only August but I’m going to go ahead and say it: this is my favorite book of 2020. Nothing could possibly top this badass and timely genre-bending novella!
Historical fiction with all the paranormal/fantasy/horror vibes, Ring Shout takes a group of women who have survived the hatred and violence of the Klan, acknowledged their traumas and the thirst for revenge, and give them the power to defeat evil before it consumes all.
How can I possibly ever get over this book?! It is dark and painful to acknowledge the truth within the supernatural elements but gives so much power and hope in the fight of good vs. evil without feeling like a tired trope.

Huge thanks to Tor.com and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Ring Shout is scheduled for release on October 13, 2020.

Three strong, bad-ass Black women hunting down and shooting, stabbing, and blowing up Ku Klux monsters with ruthless efficiency - what could possibly be a more compelling premise? Well, there's a magic sword, too. And plenty of awesome cosmic horror, as well some dashes of light fantasy. Oh, and these awesome ladies are also bootleggers, for some added swoon! All this adds up to one hell of a phenomenal novella from P. Djèlí Clark that confronts America's racist past and challenges it head on with violent gusto.

To say that I loved Ring Shout is maybe putting it mildly. This book gave me life, y'all. In the midst of daily riots against the systemic racism of our American police force and the all-around racist shittiness of Trump and his sycophants (and ooooh boy, with Kamala Harris running as VP, Trump's casual, ingrained, daily racism is about to go full, spit-flying, frothing at the mouth racism, just you wait), this book is a balm. I can only hope it becomes a reckoning.

The Klan is gathering in Macon, Georgia and their numbers are growing fast thanks to their infectious hatred of Blacks and their use of dark magic. With each showing of The Birth of a Nation, white folks surrender to the spell of this movie's sorcery, giving rise to evil forces not of this Earth that feed on hate. These forces mutate the human body, turning people into deformed creatures, and the only people that know otherwise are those who have "the sight," like the sword-wielding Maryse, the proficient sniper Sadie, and World War I veteran Chef. These three women hunt monsters, and ain't no monster bigger than the Klan.

P. Djèlí Clark does so much right here, crafting an action-packed, historical horror thriller with one hell of a potent, timely, and sadly necessary message. Its social commentary may be rooted in 1920s Americana, but the reality of 2020 is a firm reminder that we clearly haven't come very far in progressing beyond the racist attitudes that formed, shaped, and built this nation and its institutions. About all that's changed is the white hoods now wear red hats too, and the brutal slayings of Black men and women are more likely to be caught on cell phone cameras that hidden away.

I really dug the racism as monster metaphor, and it works as well it does thanks to the world-building Clark pours into this story. While plainly rooted in historical fact, the author lays in a welcome layer of supernatural mythology and cosmic horror to give it all little extra oomph and raise the stakes to Earth-shattering, destruction of all humanity levels.

Black women were largely hailed as the parties responsible for saving America in 2017 thanks to the resounding defeat of accused pedophile Roy Moore in Alabama and the broader Democratic victories in the 2018 midterm election. Clark takes a similar tack with Ring Shout, which sees three Black women faced with saving the country from not only the evils of racist whites, but extradimensional horrors that are even more malicious and bloodthirsty than the GOP. Terrifying, indeed! Maryse, Sadie, and Chef make for a hell of a trio, and I dug these gals an awful lot. A wonderful camaraderie exists between these friends and warriors, and I grew attached to each of them in short order. It's hard to not be endeared to them as they discuss French cuisine, tabloid gossip, and the histories of Black civilizations in between kicking lots and lots of ass, and guzzling stolen, prohibited liquor in a Macon jazz club. God, I loved these ladies!

Ring Shout has a lot going for it, so much so that I'm hopeful for a sequel, or perhaps even several of them. The injection of cosmic horrors points toward a reckoning of not only with America's racist history, but with the foundations of racism built into horror's literary canon. There's enough hints in the book's closing moments to indicate that Clark isn't done with these characters just yet, and if he aims to sends them north to confront a burgeoning evil in New England, well, simply put, I am fucking there for it!

Ring Shout- P. DjèlIí Clark

What if those monsters that we deal with, even today, those monsters with so much hate in their hearts, turned out to be actual monsters? Evil to the bone monsters that needed to be fought with sword and magic? That’s where Clark takes us, in this fast-paced novella that will leave your heart racing.
Ring Shout takes us back to 1920’s Macon, Georgia, to the heart of the Klan country. But these aren’t just regular hate-filled Klansmen, these are Ku Kluxes, and if you have the sight, you could see that these are true monsters. They are 9 feet tall, bone white, with ivory claws and 6 eyes on their pointed heads. And Maryse and her friends are tasked with fighting them. On their side is the power of the Shout, and of old Gullah magic. As the Klan sets out with a plan to use the movie Birth of a Nation to unleash an ancient terror on the earth, Maryse must make some horrible choices in order to save the world from the hate that would overcome it.

I loved this little book & I give it a solid 4 stars- I mean, how timely did it end up being?! It is full of stellar body horror in just the right amounts, and then it adds in a whole shovel-full of Lovecraftian monster madness- who could ask for more?. It also has enough authentic history to feel uncomfortably real in the worst ways. One thing it is not is subtle, so be prepared for some full-on, swords-out racist fighting! And that is something we surely need more of!

Many thanks to NetGalley & Tor for this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent! What a great spin on history, and a thrill ride for alternate history/dark humor fans. There's a lot to like here, and I will be recommending to others.

With dark satire and a sharp commentary wrapped in fantasy, RING SHOUT joins the ranks of books like LOVECRAFT COUNTRY to highlight racism in our country through fantastical means and metaphor. Clark achieves a lot within this novella, creating a well rounded and interesting cast of characters, a clear idea of what he's trying to convey, and a twist on American Racism that doesn't feel twee or cutesy in spite of the nudge and wink of the premise. Not only is the idea of the Ku Klux demons stoking the racism of white people during the time of THE BIRTH OF A NATION's popularity a creative one, I also liked how it didn't let the very human racists off the hook, as they had hate in their hearts to begin with. The demons just take advantage of it for their own ends. Maryse, Sadie, and Chef are great characters to follow, as not only are they three badass Black women who know how to take care of themselves, they also have different strengths that they all tap into. I also greatly liked the idea of white people not being able to see the Ku Klux demons, and only those from marginalized groups (mostly the Black characters, but there is a Jewish character too on the freedom fighting side) can see them, which so easily translates to how white people today say that they 'don't see race', or don't think that an action is racist even when a POC is telling them that it is. Clark executes these moments of symbolism and metaphor with ease, and it works really well.

RING SHOUT is a fast and entertaining story about anger, justice, and a bunch of demons and those who fight them. And it's also a story about America.

It's 1922, and the Klan is raging in Macon, Georgia. Maryse is a young Black woman who's making a living bootlegging and fighting demons — specifically, the pointy-headed, hate-fueled Ku Kluxes that the human Klans may turn into — using the magic of Shouters and a Gullah woman, as well as a mystical sword that responds to her thirst for revenge. As the Ku Kluxes grow in numbers, and as other hate-filled creatures manifest around the screening of Birth of a Nation at Stone Mountain, Maryse must decide whether she's going to let her own hatred and quest for vengeance rule her, or if she can fight these demons in another way.

This is an AMAZING dark fantasy novel that reverberates through the last 100 years of U.S. history, and strips bare the white supremacy and problematic politics of today. It's powerful and unrelenting, and I can't recommend it heartily enough. This book needs to be read.

I've enjoyed Clark's novellas before, but this one BLEW. ME. AWAY! The concept of Black girls fighting literal KKK monsters hooked me, and then the vivid world building and distinct voice won me over. Such a nice blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror.

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

I liked a lot about this book. There’s not much to dislike about a black main character on a quest to hunt down Klansmen. Naturally, it had a lot of racial commentary that has been and will be relevant for a long time. Adding a horror theme to all of that just made it that much better.
My only problem was that at times I felt that because we were thrown into the story immediately, I had a hard time getting my footing, but that very well could just be a me-problem and something other people won’t have.

RING SHOUT by P. Djèlí Clark is a great, fun, original monster-fighting historical fantasy novella. It’s 1922, and Maryse, the novel’s protagonist, is preparing herself to battle a small group of “Ku Kluxes”—strange, demonic monsters that take over the form of pliant members of the Ku Klux Klan and its supporters. Alongside her brilliant, wild sharpshooter friend Sadie, and “Chef,” a ww1 vet, Maryse must fight this growing horde of Ku Kluxes before they infiltrate her entire home of Macon, Georgia and driving off or killing the remaining black community. But first, Maryse has to decide if it’s safe to partner with the terrifying “Night Doctors,” and find a way to fix the magical, now broken monster-killing sword gifted to her years ago by a trio of haints.

This novel is beautifully written: Maryse’s narration is conversational and witty, and the characterizations are crystal clear despite the book’s short length. In fact, it’s kind of amazing how economical this novella is—to be fair, I don’t read novellas very often (I’ll be changing this)—but I’m amazed at how much Clark is able to fit into 176 pages without feeling in want of anything. There’s nothing else needed for this story: everything necessary to craft an engaging, propulsive historical fantasy is here already.

I’ll be reading more Clark in the near future, especially if RING SHOUT gets a sequel (it open ended enough that I can see the story continuing). It’s a wonderful take on the monster story, showing how hatred corrupts us, transforming us into monsters with its ugliness. The story makes it clear that this hatred is not innate and it isn’t equal opportunity; it is a form of power, wielded by those with power over those without it, and rarely the other way around.

Comes out October 16, so preorder now! Especially if you’re a horror, fantasy, or historical fiction reader.

P. Djeli Clark has done it again with this surreal, action-packed novella. This novella follows a trio of monster hunters: Maryse (the voice of reason and sword wielder), Sadie (the hot head and sniper), and Chef (the demolitions expert and flirt). Their friendship and banter was enjoyable. They've joined forces to fight monsters they call Ku Kluxes. The descriptions of the monsters were imaginative and disturbing, and Clark cleverly uses signature sounds to show how the monster and the hunters are each others' antithesis. It was a pleasant surprise that his novella also incorporates various African American dialects and folklore, from the well-known Bruh Fox to the more obscure. Clark also included same gender loving couples throughout history, which I appreciated since many like to pretend that queerness didn't exist before the 1980s. Clark saliently uses supernatural elements to discuss themes of bigotry, willful ignorance, and the power of media. I had some quibbles about the climax, but all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this supernatural musing on misery, vengeance, and how to make a life for yourself outside of that.

Rating: 10/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of Ring Shout for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

Ring Shout is the best thing I’ve read from Tor.com since The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. This is, hands down, my favorite novella of 2020 and nothing is going to knock it off that pedestal. Clark is at the top of his game and needs to be on every bookshelf in the world.

Dark fantasy meets historical fiction meets supernatural horror. While that sentence alone does not sum up all that Clark has fed into this 192 page novella, it gives you a small glimpse into what you can expect to find within. If you don’t find a story with a female, African-American bootlegger with a magic sword that hunts racist monsters appealing, you’ve come to the wrong review. This novella was an absolute gut-punch from start to finish, and I honestly cannot find a single fault in it.

While the backdrop is a grand part of history I believe we should all be ashamed of and should be far more removed from than we are at this point in time, it provides Clark quite a sandbox to play in with this characters. It isn’t like racism was only apart of Georgia’s history, and based on the end (no spoilers), the author isn’t stopping here with Maryse’s story.

Though her counterparts add a ton to the story with their witty, foul-mouthed banter and monster hunting capabilities, Maryse shines so bright in a story so grim and dark. She has to be one of the most bad-ass heroines I’ve ever come across, and the depth to which Clark writes her story has no bottom. From the tales spinning around in her mind to the story behind her having this sword bestowed upon her, I was memorized throughout the entire book.

On top of all that, Clark can write some damn fine creature and body horror. The Ku Kluxes themselves, on top of some of the other “baddies” that shall remain nameless, are downright terrifying and I’m glad there is someone decapitating them at every turn.

All in all, I really could talk about this novella until the cows come home, but you really just need to pre-order it and read it for yourself. I cannot… I repeat CANNOT recommend Ring Shout enough, so just do the thing. Also, stay tuned because on October 5th, Clark will be joining me on my YouTube channel to chat.

I have read all of P Djeli Clarks novellas and this book adds another star to his crown. Set in 1920s in the American Deep South we are introduced to Maryse and her crew - all have been fighting monsters in isolation until they hear Nana Jeans call drawing them to Macon.
Here the Ku Klux hold sway and not all Klan members are human... it seems that when white folks are consumed by hate it allows a foothold for something other to slip in, something monstrous, something for the women to kill.
I love the rich use of language of the Deep South, the interweaving of folk legends such as Bruh Rabbit, haints and of course the Shout.
I would love to witness an actual Ring Shout but Clarks writing is the next best thing - The ring shout is the oldest African American performance tradition surviving on the North American continent. Clark uses this fusion of call-and-response singing, shuffling movement and drumming as key to battling the monsters. The Ring Shout calls to spirits and creates its own magic which aids the fight that Maryse and her crew are fighting.
In October this is the book to read, relish and devour.
All views are my own and thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

i don't think that i can even come close to doing a proper review discussing HOW AMAZING THIS NOVELLA IS!

....

truly, i have tried typing out several different reviews over the course of 20 minutes and i still can't properly express why i loved this novella so much. the author seamlessly blends historical fiction, horror, and fantasy into a wonderfully atmospheric & hypnotic world. A world so fantastical yet tangible. A world filled with trauma and with hope. A world filled with hate and with love.

i have only read 2 total works by P. Djèlí Clark, but after reading this author i can confidently say that he is now my favorite male fantasy author. i will devour anything and everything that he writes.

This was a damned powerful novella to read. If there are any history teachers out there reading this review: seriously consider using this book to teach kids about the Jim Crow South. The research behind it is meticulous - the author is a professor of history specializing in the trans-Atlantic slave trade - and, as any serious reader can tell you, just because something is fiction doesn't mean it's not *true*.

The spec fic premise of this is that lots of the higher-ups in the Confederacy - Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson - were sorcerers. After the South’s defeat, they cast spells to summon monsters - known as Ku Kluxes - and used them, along with their white allies, to terrorize the freedmen. The Klan was suppressed, but came back much stronger in the early 20th Century. Using the new technology of motion pictures, D.W. Griffith was able to cast the spell over the whole country using his new movie *The Birth of a Nation*, and the Klan reappeared in both the North and the South.

The protagonist of this book is a Black woman named Maryse in rural Georgia in 1922, who (along with some friends and allies) hunts Ku Kluxes and protects Black people from the Klan.

Having the Ku Klux Klan be composed of literal monsters instead of metaphorical monsters was a depressingly easy leap to make. Just how closely this book hewed to actual American history made it distinctly uncomfortable to read. It’s a period of history that people should know more about, especially in light of this summer’s protests.

I’d call this horror rather than fantasy, and there’s a lot that I’m concerned would go over the head of non-American readers (and more Americans than there should be, as well). I tried to keep that in mind while reading, and how it might seem to someone unfamiliar with Nathan Bedford Forrest, or Stone Mountain, or the vague, ominous references to something that happened recently in Tulsa. Clark doesn’t go into a huge amount of detail, but I think this would still work very well. Curious to see if there’s any non-Americans who have read this and might weigh in.

In the end, this is, as I said, a damned powerful story. It’s kind of in the same category as *American History X*, in that it’s something I feel everyone should read. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it can’t contain powerful truths.

Comes out on September 15.