- Mahogany S.
- Wednesday, January 04, 2023
I ain’t no scared girl no more. I hunt monsters—they don’t hunt me. So now I’m about to do something real brave or stupid.
Ring Shout is a story mostly about Maryse Boudreaux and her experience with the Ku Klux Klan in Macon, GA in the 1920’s. She hunts Ku Klux’s with Chef and Sadie in an effort to keep black people safe. You find out very early in this alternate history that Ku Klux’s are not what you think. This is a novella, so the story progresses very quickly, but still has excellent character development. There’s bootlegging, sword fighting, gun shooting, and eldritch horrors. Ring Shout has a gothic feel that creeps up on you while reading.
I loved this story! Black women save the world, and I am here for it. I always read the weird stuff and this 100% fits in the category of weird stuff. Without giving too much away, Maryse is a character who will give everything to help the people she loves and she lays herself emotionally bare, while exposing a truth that haunts her, in the service of others. Maryse must relearn how to trust herself at one point, and you feel like you are going through the heartache and struggle with her. Read this if you love strong women. #BlackGirlMagic
Tordotcom 2020
Format: Book, eBook, eAudiobook
In this dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror, 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. 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?