Best Novella - Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark

Publisher – Tor.com

Published – Out Now

Price – £15.99 hardback £6.90 Kindle eBook

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?

In many stories we reach the moment where the hero and villain in the Epic Confrontain Scene has the hero dialogue along the lines of if I strike you down I become as bad as you. Many fans hate this because usually the hero has to take the villain out after the Inevitable Betrayal ™ but it does if you think about it raise questions of mercy and vengeance. Killing people is generally felt to be a bad thing and yet we also do think in Story that Death is sometimes necessary. Reading P Djeli Clark’s Ring Shout we explore this debate combined with a look at a recent evil piece of US history.

It’s post WW1 America and the Ku Klux Klan is again on the rise again in Macon, Georgia. But there are secrets not many in the US know that in 1915 a group of male witches gathered and told a dark spell to capitalise on D W Griffiths terrible racist film The Birth of a Nation that had demonised the Black population. The witch’s spell used all the hatred this movie brewed up to bring forth a reborn Klan and this time the monstrous Ku Kluxes – monsters in human form who love violence, feed on hate and eat flesh. Joining the battle against them are a small team of bootleg sellers who also use skills of bombmaking, sniping and swordplay. Led by the fierce and in pain Maryse they are finding the Ku Kluxes are getting stronger and I creasing in numbers in the area. The powers that Maryse work for warn trouble is coming and Maryse finds herself the focus of the storm that is coming.

This novella is a smart powerful hidden history adventure tale. Clark starts off with a fight in the back-alleys of a Georgian town as Maryse and her two able warriors Chef and Sadie try to take down three Ku Kluxes. Prepare yourselves for explosions, gunfights and Maryse’s strange magical sword blade that spells doom for the monsters that hit it. Pulling the story along is Maryse’s narration which helps give the story a personal dimension as Maryse’s history with both Klan and the magical sword that holds the pain of slavery within it are intrinsic to the story. I also liked that the horror isn’t simply created by outside forces the racism and violence is shown to have been started by the Whote Americans who think nothing of a Ku Klux Klan parade for all the family down the high street and segregated shops and laws are everywhere.

We move into the realm of Cosmic Horror with the Ku Kluxes and the powers they serve that see this moment in history fit for talking over the world and want to exploit human foibles and at the heart is Maryse’s motivations. When the Evil explains the power they create a classic Hero’s moment of doubt that gets resolved beautifully and powerfully. It also helps pull together the story’s title – I’ll leave that for you to find but this means a story that starts with alley fights becomes a truly powerful mythic battle between good and evil. Also you may want to avoid any trips to a butcher’s shops for a while.

The other joy of this tale is the humour, vibrance and delight we get meeting these characters. Yes this is a terrible period in time with lynchings and brutality even supported by governments but we see a Black culture that refuses to give in. Bars, music, dancing combined with love, lust and dancing are just as important as fighting the monsters and Clark creates a fascinating cast of characters all of whom come alive on the page.

Ring Shout was an intelligent delight to read and once started I didn’t stop reading. I loved the highs and lows of the story and the conclusion was a delight. There is a hint we could get more adventures in this world, and I would definitely be ready for more.