Book Review: Ring Shout

RING SHOUT | P. Djèlí Clark
10.13.2020 | Tordotcom
Rating: 5/5 stars

Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword, a head full of tales, and the gift of sight. She can see what the Ku Klux Klan have hiding under their hoods. D.W. Griffith is a sorcerer and he’s using The Birth of a Nation as a spell to draw upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from Americans. Maryse has seen the truth and has sworn to fight the monsters she calls “Ku Kluxes”. Her journey has brought her face to face with a massive source of evil that she must confront to free the world from the hate that is set to consume it.

RING SHOUT is a timely dark fantasy meets historical fiction meets horror novella that absolutely blew me away! From the minute I picked up this book I was captivated by Maryse, her life, her fight, and her journey. 

Maryse Boudreaux is easily one of my favorite characters I’ve had the pleasure to read about this year. She is headstrong, determined, caring, and an absolute badass. There is truly no one I would rather pick to have beside me in a battle. I loved that Clark allowed the reader to get to know Maryse on a personal level in addition to watching her kick some “Ku Klux” ass. 

I adored the historical fiction meets dark fantasy vibe of this entire story. It was magical, but also filled with so much real context that it didn’t feel that fantastical. The historical elements of the setting in 1920’s Prohibition era America was so vibrant that I truly felt transported to Macon, Georgia. I was blown away by the horror elements in this story. They were truly unsettling and I could feel the intensity pouring from the pages as the story progressed. I’ve never felt a battle scene come to life for me before the way that Clark was able to within RING SHOUT.

I cannot say enjoy positive things about this novella, so I’ll simply say: buy this one ASAP!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.