I had pre-ordered this based on a brief description and because I have enjoyed the author's previous books. This is a little out there, but I suppose not any more than Justina Ireland's _Dread Nation_ with its zombie uprising during the Civil War. (Which I loved, by the way.)
Clark gives us a whole different view of the KKK. We're in Macon, Georgia in 1922, a time and place where Jim Crow was king. We meet three remarkable young Black women: crack shot Sadie, bomb cooking Chef, and Maryse, who has a magic sword. They're there to kill some Ku Kluxers.
I was a little puzzled when the Ku Kluxers were distracted by a dead dog and they got down on the ground to sniff it. This is not typical human behavior, even for racists, but by doing this, Clark introduces that they are not human. Oh, there are plenty of human Klansmen still around, unfortunately, but they have been joined by inhuman Ku Kluxers who look human to most people, but to those with the sight, they are seen as demonic beings from another dimension. Or maybe they're space aliens - I'm not quite sure, but I vote for demons.
It's the life work of these three women to kill these demons. They're assisted and fed by Nana Jean and her group of Shouters. This is probably the most delightful part of the book, the Ring Shout. In the acknowledgements at the back, the author speaks of researching this and the Gullah culture and language which Nana Jean is a part of. I had never heard of either. It's very cool: the group has a "beater" who keeps time for the ring shout, which is a chant that is religious/spiritual/memorializing their history. It also plays a critical role in the plot.
I loved the little excerpts at the beginning of the chapters of transcribed interviews with elderly people who had participated in ring shouts. There is so much richness and depth to Black history that white people like myself are unaware of.
I found it fascinating that a male author wrote a book with so few male characters and that his female characters were distinctive and felt real. These are ladies who save themselves; they don't need some man to come to their rescue.
Check it out.
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![Ring Shout by [P. Djèlí Clark]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41c8rhrfntL._SY346_.jpg)
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Popular Highlights in this book
“Reason and law don’t mean much when white folk want their way.”Highlighted by 142 Kindle readers- “White folk earn something from that hate. Might not be wages. But knowing we on the bottom and they set above us—just as good, maybe better.”Highlighted by 136 Kindle readers
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Customer reviews
Genre Mash-Up of Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
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 this book a solid contender for my favorite book of 2020.The most important aspect of my reading experience with Ring Shout is that I read it on my Kindle and I could highlight a specific mention in the book so that a definition or Wikipedia entry would get pulled up; I was able to, at the touch of the screen, educate myself on the references while I was reading. This interactive part of my experience was an integral part of why this book was such a success for me. I highly recommend reading it on a device so that you could do the same. When I’m reading a physical copy, I always have intentions of looking things up while I’m reading, but honestly, I never do.It’s my understanding that P. Djèlí Clark is a nom de plume for science-fiction writer Dexter Gabriel. Gabriel is also a historian which explains why this novella is jam-packed with rich, historical elements. I felt like I was getting a solid education on Black history while also enjoying a dark fantasy tale with magical realism and seriously scary horror.This is also a character-driven story. Clark’s female protagonists are larger-than-life and immediately worthy of emotional investment. I might have fallen in love with a character named Sadie—for obvious reasons, but mostly because she was brave and sassy. The main character, Maryse Boudreaux, is equally loveable.Maryse is a “chosen one” hero. At some point in her life, she was singled out as a protector and given a magic sword. The sword embodies the war cries and testimonies of martyrs and fighters who have gone before her as they have embarked on similar quests for justice against oppression. Maryse’s specific mission is to rid the world of “Klu Kluxes,” monsters disguised as everyday members of the KKK. Things get tricky for Maryse when a new leader shows up on the scene, amplifying an even darker message of hate.The stakes are so high in this story and the evil is overwhelmingly powerful and scary. Clark moves this tale along at a breakneck pace with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Every chapter ends with a fresh urgency to continue. I want more for this universe. I hope P. Djèlí Clark has more Maryse Boudreaux stories to tell because, even though Ring Shout felt like a complete book and I was not found wanting, I could see the potential for Maryse’s journey to either continue into more quests/adventures or for the author to write some of the backstories to some of the unusual/unique characters.Even if we only get Ring Shout out of this universe, it truly is enough. I am enraptured by this book and can’t sing its praises loud enough or long enough. I’ll forever be recommending it as an all-time favorite.
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
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Expensive for an ebook but worth it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2021Erin
Short in length, huge in impact
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2021
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