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Ring Shout

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Ring Shout Hardcover – October 13, 2020

by P. Djèlí Clark (Author)

4.4 2,688 ratings

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

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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 Times

A 2021 Nebula Award Winner
A 2021 Locus Award Winner

A New York Times Editor's Choice Pick!
A Booklist Editor's Choice Pick!

A 2021 Hugo Award Finalist
A 2021 World Fantasy Award Finalist
A 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist
A 2021 Shirley Jackson Award Finalist
A 2021 AAMBC Literary Award Finalist
A 2021 British Fantasy Award Finalist
A 2021 Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award Nominee
A 2020 SIBA Award Finalist
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist

Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Library Journal | Book Riot | LitReactor | Bustle | Polygon | Washington Post

IN 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?

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tordotcom
Publication date

October 13, 2020
Dimensions

5.4 x 0.7 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

1250767024
ISBN-13

978-1250767028
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Popular Highlights in this book

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“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 544 Kindle readers
“Girl, every choice we make is a new tomorrow. Whole worlds waiting to be born.”
Highlighted by 494 Kindle readers
“Reason and law don’t mean much when white folk want their way.”
Highlighted by 142 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

A 2021 Nebula Award Winner
A 2021 Locus Award Winner

A New York Times Editor's Choice Pick!
A Booklist Editor's Choice Pick!

A 2021 Hugo Award Finalist
A 2021 World Fantasy Award Finalist
A 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist
A 2021 Shirley Jackson Award Finalist
A 2021 AAMBC Literary Award Finalist
A 2021 British Fantasy Award Finalist
A 2020 SIBA Award Finalist
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist

Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Library Journal | Book Riot | LitReactor | Bustle | Polygon | Washington Post

“P. Djèlí Clark couldn't write a bad book if he tried. Ring Shout is fantastically fun even as its core is as serious as can be.” ―Victor LaValle

“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 Times

“Once the story picks up, it keeps hitting hard, climbing ― no, soaring ― to a cinematic finish, with character beats that hit beautifully.” ―NPR

“A thrilling narrative that mines African folklore, body horror and pulp adventure.” ―USA Today

“[An] emotional and riveting novella infused with Black folklore and rich friendships.” ―Buzzfeed

“Ring Shout is a wild ride into America's nightmarish history, a fantastical cross between Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” ―Annalee Newitz

“Slyly told and laced with dark humor, this haunting tale pulled me into a richly realized world I didn't want to leave.” ―Rivers Solomon

“Ring Shout is a fearless punch to the heart and head!” ―Jonathan Maberry

“A sublime work of revolutionary body horror.” ―Sarah Gailey

“Brutal and hopeful, farcical and factual, Ring Shout is a book that speaks to the ridiculous and beastly nature of racism in a story that is difficult to put down.” ―Justina Ireland

“From the start, Ring Shout explodes into vivid color with a voice that's at once joyous and harrowing.” ―Bethany C. Morrow

“A thrilling and provocative inferno of a story. One of the most powerful and propulsive pieces of speculative fiction I've read in years.” ―Tochi Onyebuchi

“Feverishly inventive period adventure…. At once rousing, boisterous, and clever.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Readers will be both captivated and entertained by this fast-paced alternate history, which doubles as a meditation on the all-consuming power of hate and violence.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This is a story of Black female power, drawn from both the old and new worlds, a tale that honors the Black American experience in all its complexity, and yet also delivers in its Lovecraftian delight.” ―Library Journal, starred review

“Clark's latest is set in a visceral world, steeped in historical detail and full of engaging characters, that asks the question, 'Who is to blame for the hate that hate made?'.” ―Booklist, starred review

"Clark does a brilliant job of grounding his spectacle in a convincing and unnerving portrait of the 1920s South, with a few chilling instances of the real costs of racism. What may be more important is how he does this without forgoing the energetic, almost cheerfully musical celebration of the power of resistance and belief." ―Locus

"A smart cultural conversation, awesome characters, empowerment, positivity, and more. Accomplishing so much in such a cohesive, unobtrusive way, while pulling off a solid story with engaging, often really funny dialogue, is nothing less than brilliant. This book is a gift to American culture." ―Lightspeed

"[Ring Shout] is a skillful feat of establishing distinctive characters, fleshed-out relationships, multiple set pieces, and exploration of racism and hate in the world, without feeling rushed or underdeveloped. That’s a magic trick that makes the KKK’s sorcery pale in comparison." ―FIYAH

"Simply put, Ring Shout is a brilliant piece of speculative fiction. In just the length of a single novella, Clark presents a history lesson, copious amounts of action and adventure, social commentary that is critically important in the United States today, and all the elements of fantasy one could desire." ―Nerd Daily

"Ingenious alternate-history, speculative fiction." ―Goodreads Blog

About the Author

Born in New York and raised mostly in Houston, P. DJÈLÍ CLARK spent the formative years of his life in the homeland of his parents, Trinidad and Tobago. He is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn and the novellas The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums, and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. He has won the Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards and been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Sturgeon Awards. His stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Daily Science Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Apex, Lightspeed, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies, including Griots, Hidden Youth, and Clockwork Cairo. He is also a founding member of FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction and an infrequent reviewer at Strange Horizons.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom; First Edition (October 13, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250767024
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250767028
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #40,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #463 in Historical Fantasy (Books)
- #880 in Dark Fantasy
- #2,613 in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Books)

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4.4 2,688 ratings

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P. Djèlí Clark

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Phenderson Djéli Clark is the author of the novels Abeni's Song and A Master of Djinn, and the award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor Dot com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots and Hidden Youth. You can find him on Twitter as pdjeliclark and his blog The Disgruntled Haradrim.

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Jess

A Very Compelling Story

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

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At first I was scared to read this book due to the nature of it but once I really got into it in the first few pages I fell in love! The story telling is immaculate & grasps at all your emotions. The book was short but it was perfect for 180 odd pages. It wasn’t even that scary. I loved having several hero’s and how things tied together from pre to post slavery. It all worked together so well. I love how the KKK was made to look like the true monsters they actually are. And having all that hate personified into an actual monster. 10/10 book!

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Sayel Cortes

Beautifully described magic on a background of insightful stories

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023

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This book reimagined a racist group closer to what it was.. Monsters and followers, and through songs and magic the spirit of their victims shines through the book. Engaging even if the story seems distant to me

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Eclectic Reader

“There’s an Evil Going On”

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2021

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“Molly says it’s like an infection, or a parasite. And it feed on hate. She says chemicals in the body change up when you hate strong. When the infection meets that hate, it starts growing until its powerful enough to turn the person Ku Klax. Ask me, it’s plain evil them Klans let in, eating them up until hollow inside. Leave behind bone-white demons who don’t remember they was men.”

As a genre, horror, or in this case horror/fantasy, can be an ideal conduit for social commentary. Such is the case with P. (Phenderson) Djèlí Clark’s RING SHOUT (2020). The year is 1922 and Maryse Boudreaux, Cordelia Lawrence (aka Chef), and Sadie Watkins, ranging in age from twenty-seven to twenty-one-years old, are bootleggers pedaling “Mama’s Water, “smooth as gin, strong as whiskey.” Living in the heart of the South in Macon, Georgia, the three black women and friends are surrounded by prejudice, poverty, and the Ku Klux Klan.

The Ku Klux Klan first formed after the Civil War and was curbed around 1871. A second incarnation of the white supremist group started in Georgia in 1915, founded atop Stone Mountain, Georgia, by William Joseph Simmons, and began to prosper nationwide in the early and mid-1920s taking inspiration from novels such as THE CLANSMAN (1905 and basis for the film BIRTH OF A NATION) and THE LEOPARD’S SPOTS (1902) by author and Baptist minister Thomas Dixon (January 11, 1864 – April 3, 1946) as well as D. W. Griffith's now infamous 1915 silent film, THE BIRTH OF A NATION, which mythologized the founding of the first Klan. [A third incarnation of the Klan developed after 1950 and is still in existence today, labeled as “a hate group” by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Note: some information from Wikipedia.)]

But there is something wrong with the current Klansmen of 1922. They are changing, “evolving,” “adapting,” fed by hate after the appearance of the inhuman, Ku Kluxes, first “conjured” by “William Joseph Simmons, a regular old witch, and fifteen others” on Stone Mountain, using a “book inked in blood on human skin.” Thus, the three women, with some supernatural and ritualized help, are also monster hunters, especially since they have concluded they are “on the verge of something big” happening—something very evil.

With a dash of authors H. P. Lovecraft and Neil Gaiman, Clark’s novel is not only lively and entertaining, but a vivid parable on the power of hate and lies and the huge, negative influence which both can have over people—a very timely message for our currently troubled period in the United States. Equally formidable is Clark’s blend of fact and fiction. The author, in addition to all of the fantastical moments in the novel, seamlessly and unobtrusively weaves into his story an education about life in the South in the 1920s, especially regarding Southern black life and culture. It is likely a lot of readers, for example, will not know the history of a “shout,” and its importance to black life at the time and thus to the novel.

With the ever changing and more aggressive Ku Kluxes as well as a scheduled re-showing of THE BIRTH OF A NATION at the Stone Mountain Monument, the three women and some of their friends and supporters find themselves in a race to discover what lies behind the growing number of monstrosities which have spawned across the nation and the “grand plan” behind it all, and to put an end to it. The action sequences are well done and riveting as is the dialogue of the author’s characters and occasional inclusion of local dialect and song.

RING SHOUT is a fast read. The concluding pages are filled with incredible action, perniciousness, nightmares of the past and present, sadness, and hideous ogres, but there is also tenderness and above all, hope. There is also a sense that the battle against hatred is never-ending and one which people must always resist and not allow themselves to become apathetic. RING SHOUT contains all of the ingredients of a well written and most enjoyable novel. [In a final Acknowledgements, P. Djèlí Clark provides readers with an informative as well as insightful list of his inspirations for the book.]

9 people found this helpful

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She Who Buys Things

Give a Girl a Spirit-Sword and Watch What Happen

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2020

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Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

'Lo People,

This more than a Her Tangh-i-ness Approved read. This book is about Representation of the rich lore that belongs specifically to the African Descended who ended up in Northern Turtle Island. Her Tangh-i-ness, at 13 years old, read A Wrinkle in Time and finished the book and said to herself. That was all about saving Megan's dad and Charles Wallace. Why isn't the book about Megan really doing something for herself?

2020 the year most of us can't wait to be over, Enter Maryse Boudreaux. She actually lost her entire family, unlike Megan from a Wrinkle in Time, and had to live with it.

I wish I had Ring Shout to read back when I was thirteen. This is one of those books that made me think I seriously need to step up my game. I am all about the Maryse Boudreaux. I love me some sword. Maryse has a spirit sword, P. Dèjí Clark says. Her Tangh-i-ness is like Oooooooooooh!

P. Dèjí Clark says, Maryse gotta a crew with a lesbian incendiary device-maker, a wisemouth high-yaller sista, a Native American scientist, and a Gullah root woman. Her Tangh-i-ness is nodding in approval, them's her kind of peeples.

P. Dèjí Clark says, Imma tell part of de story inna Atlantic Black Creole called Gullah. Her Tangh-i-ness, who appreciates fine code-switching, is all ears.

P. Dèjí Clark says, Maryse getting herself into kinds of Fantastical Good Troubles Her Tangh-i-ness is flipping pages.

P. Dèjí Clark says, Here's Lovecraftian Horror done right. Lookit Butcher Clyde wif all dem mouths and this Grand Cyclops wormy-thing. Her Tangh-i-ness is eyes locked to the page and savoring every word.

P. Dèjí Clark says, Maryse's gotta fine Black man who understands how to properly worship da kitten. Even if there is an ellipsis immediately after that line. Her Tangh-i-ness is all about keeping hold of a well-trained brother.

P. Dèjí Clark says, Remember that piece of crap reel—Birth of a Nation? Lemme show ya how Maryse do.... Her Tangh-i-ness trusts the rest of ya'll to read for yourselves to see how that played out. Her Tangh-i-ness is STILL chuckling to she-self.

Peace out

Note: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark was a self-purchased digital title. Her Tangh-i-ness usually reviews on a for-the-love basis. No lucre has been involved.

6 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

I'm Not Sure

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2023

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Maybe I went in with the wrong expectations? Maybe my expectations were set too high? So many people had great things to say and while I think it's a great story, I can't give it more than 3 stars.

Too many things aren't really explained and left open that don't make sense. My family is very southern and I understand the concepts and storyline, that's why I read it. Just not my thing, I guess.

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Jeff Wickliffe

Familiar Hero Tale Through a Different Cultural Lens

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2023

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Really solid story with well fleshed out heroes and villains. I was able to immediately visualize all the characters like I'd known them for years. There's tropes and call backs to traditional fantasy tales mixed seamlessly with modern aesthetic and a soul all it's own.
The horror elements akin to what you would find in some of Clive Barkers work.
Only struggle I had was with the Matriarch characters dialogue, which I fear is on me more than the author.
If you are a fan of Alternative History like The Man in the High Castle, you might dig this one. Shares a similar aesthetic with a magic twist.

One person found this helpful

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selenem

Great

Reviewed in Canada on October 30, 2021

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I absolutely loved this book. Breakneck pace, engaging characters, lots of gore, action and body horror, and a look at deeper cultural issues without being heavy handed. This is the kind of book I look for as a horror fan and reader!

Ring Shout is a dark fantasy set in an alternate-history 1922 in Macon, Georgia. Maryse is a bootlegging, sword-wielding monster hunter whose targets are the Ku Klux, Lovecraftian monsters only pretending to be human and conjured by the (literal) Grand Wizard of the Klan. She is guided by the "Aunties,"a trio of mystery women, and propelled by her own history of anger and hate...Until she's offered a terrible choice.

One person found this helpful

Andy

An adventure full of meaning

Reviewed in Mexico on June 11, 2021

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It made me cry and question what would I do...

I think this is how every fantasy writer with a sense of justice hope to write like someday.

justin etherington

Excellent

Reviewed in Germany on October 22, 2021

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A great read!

FeydRautha

Un superbe texte

Reviewed in France on May 24, 2021

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Brièvement posé, Ring Shout est un court roman de fantasy urbaine, genre littéraire dans lequel la magie et les créatures surnaturelles se manifestent dans notre monde moderne. Le texte a été sélectionné pour figurer dans la liste des finalistes du prix Hugo 2020 dans la catégorie Best Novella. Son auteur est P. Djèlí Clark, nom de plume de Dexter Gabriel, afro-américain né à New York City de parents originaires de Trinité-et-Tobago, professeur d’histoire à l’université du Connecticut.

L’histoire du roman se déroule aux États-Unis dans les années 20 et raconte le combat acharné de trois femmes afro-américaines contre les monstres du Ku Klux Klan. On parle ici de véritables monstres, de créatures venues d’un autre plan d’existence pour envahir notre monde. Suite à un drame familial dans son enfance, Maryse Boudreaux, la narratrice, est devenue une élue, une championne armée d’une épée magique avec laquelle elle tue des monstres. Elle est accompagnée de Chef, qui a participé à la Grande Guerre au sein des Harlem Hellfighters et en a gardé une passion pour tout ce qui fait boom, et de Sadie qui manie la winchester comme personne.

Les trois femmes ont été appelées là par Nana Jean, une vieille femme de la communauté des Gullah Geechee. Un peu sorcière, Nana Jean a rassemblé autour d’elle un groupe hétéroclite de résistants combattant les monstres. Les armées du mal utilisent comme vaisseau la haine que les hommes blancs portent envers les noirs. Ils attisent cette haine pour grandir et prendre possession du monde, blanc comme noir. L’enjeu dépasse l’opposition raciale et fait de la haine et du mensonge les cibles du combat à mener sans quoi c’est l’humanité qui est perdue.

Ce n’est pas la trame principale du récit qui fait l’intérêt de Ring Shout, mais tout ce qu’elle transporte avec elle en explorant l’histoire du racisme aux États-Unis. Le roman de P. Djèlí Clark est une cosmogonie, un récit à la fois mythologique et historique qui décrit la création de la haine à travers de multiples références qui s’inscrivent désormais dans une culture et un imaginaire communs aux populations afro-américaines. On les retrouve dans de nombreux autres écrits contemporains, notamment dans les livres de Colson Whitehead. Il y est question du film de D. W. Griffith Birth of a Nation, sorti en 1915 et dont le succès a relancé le Ku Klux Klan dont les membres y sont présentés comme les sauveurs d’une Amérique en proie à la sauvagerie de l’homme noir. Le film inspira un certain W.J. Simmons à dresser une croix enflammée au sommet de Stone Mountain en Géorgie, lors d’une cérémonie où il signa la charte de création du nouveau KKK et se fit introniser Grand Sorcier. La reconstitution de cette scène historique fournit le décor du chapitre final du livre de P. Djèlí Clark. On y parle aussi du Massacre de Tulsa, et du 369e régiment d’infanterie, ou encore des Night Doctors, et du Angel Oak hanté.

Plus particulièrement, j’y ai découvert la communauté des Gullah Geechee. Les Gullah sont des descendants d’esclaves qui occupent de nos jours des terres réparties le long des régions côtières de la Caroline du Sud et de la Géorgie. Isolés géographiquement du reste du continent, ils ont développé une culture propre, faite d’une cuisine, d’une médecine traditionnelle, d’un mysticisme, d’une musique et d’une langue. La mystique et la musique Gullah se trouvent réunies dans les Ring Shout, ces chants qu’on dit à l’origine des musiques afro-américaines comme le blues. Le roman en parle.

Le Gullah est la langue que Nana Jean parle dans le livre, ce qui fournit des répliques difficilement compréhensibles :

« Gi git uh plate fore dat po’gyal nyam up all me bittle!”

Maryse, Chef et Sadie ont-elles aussi chacune une manière de parler anglais très marqué par une grammaire, disons, peu académique. La question de son éventuelle traduction pose des problèmes évidents, notamment celui d’être complètement à côté de la plaque.

La lecture de Ring Shout est en soi une expérience culturelle profonde. C’est un texte intense, immersif, qui raconte beaucoup plus que sa trame scénaristique. Si vous lisez l’anglais, il serait vraiment dommage de passer à côté de cette pépite de l’imaginaire afro-américain. C’est un très beau texte.

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J. R. Martinez

Good

Reviewed in the Netherlands on January 20, 2021

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Awesome book. Mad original, short but to the point. Looking forward to reading more from Mr. P. Djèlí Clark.got me lost in a few parts but overall good.

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