Don’t let the size of this 181-page novella fool you--Ring Shout may be small but it sure is mighty. 

Ring Shout follows a group of bad-ass women led by Maryse Boudreaux who are hunting down KKK members. In this world, Klansman are both metaphorical and physical monsters who disguise themselves as men but are gruesome monsters when they reveal their true form. Maryse channels collective hurt and a desire for vengeance to fight the hate that the Ku Kluxes and other racist monsters thrive on. 

This story may just be a new favorite of mine! I don’t read a whole lot in the horror/fantasy genre but was really sucked into this story. My favorite aspects were the Odyssean/mythological references, its reimagination of sci-fi/horror tropes, and the fact that it followed a band of strong female protagonists who are fighting white supremacy left and right.

I love short stories for their concise ability to really make you think, and for that same reason I think I need to start reading more novellas. Ring Shout doesn’t waste any space. P. Djèlí Clark imbues each page with action, wonder, and sentences that you’ll want to read twice so you can fully absorb their weight.  

We get a little bit of everything in this novella. There is history mixed with myth, oral tradition, Gullah-Geechee culture and language, sword wielding, and even world jumping. It as has the perfect ending for a sequel and I really hope that P. Djèlí Clark gifts us that story in the future. 

If any of this sounds like your thing (or even if it doesn’t), I highly recommend Ring Shout for a balanced dose of both history and fantasy!