Taking the horror of the African American experience, and making it just slightly hyperbolic by adding magic and monsters - the fantastic kind. The thing is, is that there are already monsters in this story, racism and the white hooded hate group. Clark inserts monster monsters within their ranks who feed on fear and hate, and a lot of clever verbal and social commentary within the pages. This story was visceral and fantastic.
Highly recommend to fans of P. Djéli Clark, and modern twists on folklore within a horror story. I would be so glad to see any of his works that I've read so far adapted for the screen.
The audiobook narration was very good, only the chapters were not individually labeled and I had issues finding my spot when going back later. This might have been just a sample issue. I hope so.

Having read this book in its entirety in a kindle form and enjoyed it immensely. It saddens me greatly to say that Channie Waites' narration of its audio version left me unable to listen through its first chapter.
Her reading of dialogue is very stilted and forced. It sounds as though she is a young child reading from their first primer. Rather than young black Southern woman of varying ages, experiences, and levels of education. Her inflections and intonations are oddly placed for the cadence of normal conversation. Unless it is your intent to have the characters appear clownish.
It makes one wonder if anyone bothered to do their research before giving voice to this story.
I say this as a woman of color who has spent the majority of her life living in Georgia. As well as other southern locals.
Please record this again.

A fantastic alt history where history feeds magical Black women into soldiers to fight disgusting beasts, ku kluxes, who are zombie-like lych creatures fed by hate. This is a novella with an unbelievable amount of world and character building. Also, the audiobook is a work of art. It gets a new level of creepy with the voices she adds.

I did not care for this book. I do not normally listen to or read fantasy. However, there were some very good points made. I did have a few instances that made me stop and think.

I've spoken out before in a previous review for a fantasy set during the Jim Crow era but I want to reiterate it here that we shouldn't let uncomfortable topics stop us from reading a story. And if people can praise Lovecraft Country which was written by a white man they can certainly support a Black man writing a fantasy in the same vein.

Ring Shout is set in 1922 Macon, Georgia where it reimagines the Ku Kluxes as literal white-boned demons. The story opens up with Maryse, Sadie and Chef taking matters into their own hands by setting a trap for these monsters with commentary of how bold and out in the open they are now.

The audiobook is an experience which involves different accents and singing which really help give you a visual of each scene. The characters speak in dialect which is not for everyone but was key to this story. It was so easy to get lost in this tale.

The main heroine Maryse is a whiskey bootlegging, magic sword wielding, monster hunter! Her sword has the power of the enslaved ancestors. There's a lot of action and gory violence in here so be prepared.

Clark blends horror, satire, and fantasy with American history, African folklore, Caribbean heritage, and Gullah heritage seamlessly. Horror and fantasy lovers will enjoy this fast paced novella with sadly very relevant commentary about the world we live in today.

I received an arc from Recorded Books and Netgalley in exchange for review.

Originally posted at
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/10/ring-shout-by-p-djeli-clark.html

What an AWESOME novella! This was dark fantasy combined with historical elements of America's racist foundations and the Ku Klux Klan, alongside some super poignant observations about seeds of hate germinating in some groups of people. It was just so smart, while also being enormously intriguing. Demons with mouth eyes and mouths all over, hungering for hate, no matter where that stream of hate comes from? A group of people of color getting vengeance on racism through witchy and magical means? Awesome battle scenes and resistance to the easy temptations of power and revenge without growth and future change? This book has all of this, and it's just amazing.

Fans of "Watchmen" and "Lovecraft Country" will likely appreciate this fine addition to this genre.

The audiobook is great, with narrator Channie Waites really voicing all the action and sound effects at a great pace.

So I read the Black God's Drums by this author which I really enjoyed so I had little doubt I would like the writing (note: the writing was great). I was incredibly interested in the premise. I think it's a hard one to write that not every author would be capable of doing. Taking such monstrous people from our world and twisting them to be real monsters while messing with other elements. It worked. It really did. I would've actually loved for this to be expanded into a full novel. The whole story was unique and creative and fresh which isn't the easiest thing to pull off when it's actual history. I'm not American but even with my understanding of US history from Canada, I was able to understand it. It's very clearly American history but still absolutely accessible to non-Americans.

4+ stars

This was such a weird book but in a good way. There was the horror of the H.P. Lovecraft type monsters, but there was also the horror of humans behaving in the worst possible way possible. There was also humor thrown in with quite a bit of the surreal because when you live in a world like theirs, you need humor (often dark) to survive. The book also felt prophetic and I swear it was written last week, as some of the scenes seemed to be a nod to recent events. However, much of what we're experiencing today began years ago in the rotten undergrowth so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. I listened to this book and thought it was pretty well-narrated by Channie Waits, although a few times when she became excited, the words became lost for me and I had to go back and slow it down to catch the words. Still, I thought she did a very solid job and felt that her voice fit with my vision of Maryse. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by her.

Perhaps because this was a novella there wasn't much time to ease you into this book, but this book took off from page one and you were left hanging on for dear life as the MC's hurtled from scene to scene. As I may have alluded to earlier, there is a ton of commentary about racial injustice and racism, and I have to admit that I felt quite a bit of satisfaction as the black hunter chases down the Klansmen who are literal monsters. I suspect that if there is a sequel, I will read this novel again and gain even more satisfaction from this book. It is very well planned and executed and the more I think about the MC, the more I love her. I definitely had fun with this book and hope that there WILL be a sequel.

Special thanks to the author and publisher, and also to Netgalley for this audiobook advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hello Gemmies! I have an exciting book review to share with you today. Please note: I received an audiobook ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Ring Shout is a new novella by P. Djeli Clark. I have to start by saying P. Djeli Clark is the MASTER of the novella. He has an incredible talent for creating vast detailed worlds, intricate and complicated characters, and heart stopping action that capture the African American experience in a novella format. Ring Shout is no exception and unlike anything else i've read before. It is so inventive, clever, and different. Clark takes a moment in this country's dark history and mixes in fantasy and horror to come up with a wicked alternate vision.

Ring Shout takes place in the post war South in 1922. It immediately pulls you into a world shaped by hate and fear, where hate literally takes on a life of its own. Ring Shout is also an extremely well written character driven story. Maryse Boudreaux is our main protagonist and such an enjoyable character. She's smart, brave, and an all around kick ass heroine. I found Maryse to be complex and relatable as she struggles to reconcile the hurts from her past and discover who she will be going forward. There are so many plot twists and gut punches, this story left me on the edge of my seat throughout. This is a tale of the dangers of being led by hate and the strength and beauty that are built out of struggle and the fierce determination to love and thrive despite it all.

Ring Shout is narrated by one person, Channie Waites. Channie does a good job of differentiating the different characters voices. I wish there would have been a bit more variety in the characters voices specifically between Maryse, Sadie, and Chef. But...I really enjoyed Sadie's vocalization. Channie was able to bring her lively disposition to life. The premise of Ring Shout is deep and Channie does an excellent job of conveying the gravity of the situations our heros find themselves in. The pacing was perfect and the story was over way too soon. I found myself wanting to hear more.

If you are a fan of alternate history interpretations, horror, speculative fiction, justice, black girl magic, and action galore then go read this book! This gem published by RB Media is available for purchase from all major booksellers. I give Ring Shout 5 out of 5 gems. I cannot wait for everyone to get to read this powerful story. Happy Reading!

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.