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Ring Shout is perfect for fans of Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi, Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, and Jordan Peele’s movie, “Get Out”.
Ring Shout masterfully weaves together the horrors of the Jim Crow South, racism, and the rise of the KKK with Gullah folklore and root magic to produce a monster story that tackles themes of healing, resilience, and generational trauma. In Clark’s world, the infamous film “The Birth of a Nation” was used to summon monsters called Ku Kluxes, who feed off hatred held by humans, with the intent to bring Hell upon the Earth. These monsters disguise themselves as humans in the KKK while feeding off human Klan members’ hatred of Black folks. Not everyone has the power to see Ku Kluxes for what they really are though. Maryse Boudreaux – whose family was murdered for the KKK – and her fellow resistance fights hunt the Ku Kluxes and send them back to hell. In Macon, GA, a new showing of “The Birth of a Nation” is planned at Stone Mountain (a confederate monument) to summon a giant that will destroy Earth. Maryse and her companions will need supernatural help to defeat the Ku Kluxes and their new monster, but will it be enough?
I picked this book up in October since I was reading primarily horror in preparation for the Halloween season. At only 192 pages, Clark’s SF/F horror story is short but packs an absolute gut punch. I listened to this book as an audiobook, which I highly recommend. Throughout the story there are inclusions of “shouts”, which are ecstatic, religious rituals, first practiced by enslaved Africans in the West Indies and the United States, which sometime include songs and music. Hearing these shouts performed by the audiobook narrator brings the artistry of Clark’s story to a whole new level. I am not usually a big horror reader and I definitely read some duds this October, but Ring Shout is honestly the best book I have read in 2022. The ways in which Clark weaves the historical and political contexts into this story of the monstrous Ku Kluxes doesn’t feel heavy handed or forced by any means. The story flows well, and while the story wrapped up nicely by the end of the book, I do hope that Clark will continue Maryse’s story in another novella or book. Maryse is a complicated, nuanced hero who reveals a lot about what it means to be human and attempt a journey of healing.
Ring Shout is a must read for anyone who enjoys horror, monsters, and history!