#Ring Shout

[book--brackets]

Green Rider by Kristen Britain (1998-present)

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a "life and death" message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission "for love of country." As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man..."

Karigan's promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872)

Princess Irene lives in a castle in a wild and lonely mountainous region. One day she discovers a steep and winding stairway leading to a bewildering labyrinth of unused passages with closed doors - and a further stairway. What lies at the top? Can the ring the princess is given protect her against the lurking menace of the goblins from under the mountain?

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (1936-1985)

Jo, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man. Together they visit the strange lands (the Roundabout Land, the Land of Ice and Snow, Toyland and the Land of Take What You Want) atop the tree and have the most exciting adventures – and narrow escapes.

The Last Binding by Freya Marske (2021-2023)

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Ash by Malinda Lo (2009-2011)

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (2020)

Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark (2020)

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?

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones (1977-2006)

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (1992)

Mr. Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied. There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood’s wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes (2019)

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

[samduqs]

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Une Si Longue Lettre by Mariama Bâ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James ⭐️⭐️

Besar a un elfo by Tamara Molina ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[mfred]

August Reading Wrap-up

August was a hard month. I only read 13 books. Perhaps surprisingly, when things get hard and I feel very stressed, I read less. I can't focus or concentrate enough to get into a book. Reading is a source of joy and comfort for me, so my inability to lose myself in a fictional world really makes things worse.

But on to the books:

I started the month strong with Ilona Andrew's Sanctuary (4 stars). It was a lot of fun going back to the Kate Daniels world, this time through the character of Roman, the dark god Chernobog's high priest. Then I rode that high for a little bit by re-reading a couple of Andrew's Innkeeper's Chronicles books. I only re-read a couple and not the whole series because at their worst, Andrews can get really expository and explainy, and I find them at their worst in those books.

On the romance front, I also did some re-reading of Megan O'Brien's The Ride series, which is just mid motorcycle romance. It's kinda where my brain was at-- mediocre, mindless entertainment. I also fit in S. Cole's The Fates We Tame, which should have been more emotionally impactful than it was (4 stars). And I trudged through Blaze by Lynn Raye Harris, which ended up being pretty slow and boring (3 stars).

And then I picked up the Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley and really shocked myself by not liking it that much. On the surface, it had everything I should have loved: time travel, intrigue, romance! But I found it to be more lit fic than speculative fiction, which is not my bag. The twists at the end weren't suprising and twisty, just kind of flat. I ended up giving it 4 stars for technical merit, but feelings-wise, it was more of a 3 star book.

I thought I finished off the month with a DNF, Lindsay King-Miller's The Z Word. I read the first few chapters, felt like I knew exactly how the book would end, and then decided to skip to the end to see if I was right. And I was. And I didn't like it.

But at the last moment (literally the night of August 31st) I said, fuck it, I'm reading P. Djèlí Clark's Ring Shout, which has languished on my TBR for years. Years! AND IT WAS AMAZING. 5 full stars! Horror, humor, great characterization, thrilling plot! It had everything! I laughed and cried and was grossed out in equal measure.

It's so awesome, what reading a good book can do.

[caribeandthebooks]

Caribe's New Works by Black Authors TBR - Part 2

Category: Mystery & Horror

[noahsbookhoard]

🦇📚September 2024 Book Review (Part 1/4)📚🦇

Today is Halloween so in honor of that I pulled every spooky read from September and put them all together!

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim

Ji-won's life has fallen apart since her father left her mother and her mother found a new boyfriend, George, a misogynist, condescending man who eyes out every Asian waitress. Adding to this stress due to her collegue studies and the persistent nice guy who won't take no for an answer, Ji-won starts having wierd dreams, dreams of bright blue, delicious looking eyeballs.

In terms of taboos, cannibalism ranks pretty high. It is deeply uncomfortable to hear stories about it yet it is an interesting question whwne it comes to moral vs survival. Yet I had never read a book that dived into the subject. What is interesting here is that Ji-won's hunger is 1) pretty specialised 2) entirely opportunistic and not driven by a need to survive. There's no point in judging the moral values of a fictional characters and I know that's kinda the point of horror as a genre but Ji-won's action sometimes made me really uncomfortable.

There is also a critique of misogyny and Asian fetishization which is well handled as far as I could tell. The father cheated and left with another woman, George to is cheating but he is even more disturbing than the whole eye eating thing, he is a creep, a cheater, demanding, borderline pedophile and just unsufferable as a person. If I was Ji-won I would have done more than hide is car keys in the fridge.

As for the end, it's wierd, it's just wierd. It's hard so say what was really murderous pulsions because George deserved it and what was Ji-won being sick, what was real and what was supernatural (if any of it was).

Overall it was a pleasant enough read in term of style. As for the theme I don't know if I like it or hate it. Maybe it's also a matter of setting, I usually like my horror a little bit less modern and down to earth but that is a matter of preference.

Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark

Just after World War I in the South of the US, the KKK is everywhere. Most of them are human, except among their ranks are hidden monsters just as dangerous as those men and women. Maryse and a group of resistant are fighting the Klan, through skirmish and sabotage but something more evil than before is brewing in Macon...

It has a really creepy but really cool twist on the Klan: there is still human member who embody the values of the KKK, and that's horrifying; but there are monsters with the same white form but wierd limbs, eyes and teeth. I love the author's way of introducing those supernatural elements: they are the first Klan members we see and it is unsettling to see them pounce on a dog carcass when you were expecting humans in costume. It's interesting to use real historical racist threats (the KKK, Birth of A Nation) and add to it a supernatural element while still maintaining the actual real life danger. It also raised the classic question: where is the line between man and monster?

I am neither American nor black so I can't really comment on the African American cultural aspects but they were really interesting and fitted well in the fantasy aspect of the novella as well as creating a contrast with the white side of Macon.

The characterization is great, I love the characters, Maryse and her comrade Sadie especially but the antagonist really brought the "Love To Hate Them" feeling for me. Also the Aunties, they are just the best.

I really liked it, but I might have appreciated even more with a deeper understanding of the period and the culture (too bad for me). Lots of actions, great characters and a really cool battle at the end, go for it!

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) by T Kingfisher

Alex Easton just arrived in the most rural and isolated part of Galicia at the request of Madeline Usher, a childhood friend. Her brother, Roderick, reveals what has been going on for the last months: Madeline is ill, dying probably. However some things sticks Easton as odd: why is Madeline sleepwalking all of the sudden? What is the white fur like substance growing on her skin? And what does it have to do with local superstition of Witch Hare?

Short but incredibly impactful. Fungi are really a freak of nature that works really well in horror: there's a ton of them, they interact with other living things in wierd ways and they are really hard to classify for non mycologist. The rewriting of Poe's classic short story The House of Usher is good, it keeps the key elements of the plot and characterization but develops everything around it. Roderick and Madeline are pretty much in character and I liked what she added to them. I liked Galicia, the country Kingfisher created for this story a lot: the land sets and atmosphere, it's cold, gray and wet. It also all happens in a very isolated place, ifused with traditions and superstitions that serves as foreshadowing and red herring.

Alex Easton also is a treat. A gender non conforming former soldier with no people skills whatsoever. The Sworn Soldier system is really cool and allows some ambiguity with Easton's gender that I loved. The PTSD is really well treated and adds both to the characterization and to the atmosphere. I also loved Angus and Miss Potter who added some much needed common sense to the cast.

I really loved it. The traditions, legends and history of Galicia are imersive and the way it tied supernatural elements with more natural but just as spooky threats works really well. I have just finished reading What Feat at Night, I heard somewhere that a third novella will be released somewhere in 2025 and I'm really looking forward to that.

The Book of Blood (Vol. 1) by Clive Barker

A series of twisted stories, from a serial killer on the subway in NYC to a theater of undead, not forgetting a monstrous man eating sow.

This was September's blind draw, let's say many of the book club members skipped this one. This is a collection of short stories, they vary a lot on theme, ton and unfortunately the enjoyment I took reading them: some where really good and disturbing, some where forgettable, some still baffle me six weeks later.

"The Book of Blood" is the prologue, and it sets the tone: creepy, characters that are deeply flawed and supernatural gory elements. It is also the shortest. It did well as an introduction but it wasn't very memorable to me.

"The Midnight Meat Train" left me divided: I was sold on the serial killer butchering people in subways. I was interested in the part where the city knew and let it happened. I was mildly disappointed by the supernatural element that fell a bit short after the adrenaline of the subway train scene. Yet it was interesting and well written.

"The Yattering and Jack" didn't left me much memories, except that it was quite funny. It is a Beetlejuice meet the Grinch kind of atmosphere. I liked the twist on the demon haunting that made the main character aware of what was going on but pushing through and frustrating the demon to no end. I never felt any real threat from the demon, though.

"Pig Blood Blues" is the gory twisted tale I was promised in the back cover: ghost, scary animals, possessions, ritual sacrifice and cannibalism; you name it, it's in it! Redwal's as a very down to earth character that you usually see in Stephen King's main character and his discovery of the giant sow who is at the center of human sacrifice rituals is just as satisfying. The sow itself gave me shivers, it is described in an entirely too human way to be comfortable. Lacey, a young boy that starts as the frightened victim scared of ghost and ends up just as monstrous as all the over character perfectly sets the mood. I was really wiered out by Redwall's attitude toward Lacey but his punishment at the end is really satisfying.

"Sex, Death, and Starshine" is my favorite but not the scariest! The living characters takes some time to realise that other are dead but once they do it's all fun and games and playing Twelfth Night in front of a ghost audience before going on a road trip! Just the tiny bit of whimsy, loved it!

"In the Hills, the Cities" is the most disturbing to me because I'm still wondering what the hell that was. Every years two cities straps themselves together to create a giant man shaped structure and they merrily go as a Flesh Transformer to the other city's Flesh Transformer. People die. Not because of the battle but because there assigned place in the comstruct is the sole of the feet. I guess I was supposed to feel some sort of eldritch fear but mainly I was working out the how and why and couldn't focus on the scary parts. Just plain bizarre.

[haveyoureadthishorrorbookpoll]

Have you read...

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?

submit a horror book!

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

[whatcha-reading-today]

Summerween Day 3: Screams Under 200 pages

This is part of the recommendations for Summerween 2024. See the masterpost here.

A good scare can be very long, or can be quite short. Here are some recommendations of quick and scary reads under 200 pages (or slightly over).

Ring Shout | P. Djèlí Clark (185 pages): Racism is a disease that transforms Klan members into monsters.

Tender is the Flesh | Agustina Bazterrica: (208 pages): Disgusting! Humans can't eat animal products anymore for reasons, so we now cultivate humans for consumption.

The Hellbound Heart | Clive Barker: (164 pages) The story that inspired Hellraiser. Barker's writing is crisp and easy to read quickly, but boy is THH a blast.

Audition | Ryu Murakami (208 pages): There's a movie version of this and I have such a hard time watching it. But, a guy auditions women to be his girlfriend, and unfortunately, the woman he's interested in may have some violent tendencies.

Night of the Mannequins | Stephen Graham Jones (144 pages): If you love SGJ's work, I highly recommend you go in as blind as possible on this one.

Ring | Kōji Suzuki (288 pages): What if you watched a video tape and died a week later?

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream | Harlan Ellison (134 pages): I first interacted with this story as a point and click adventure horror game. Recommend both the story and the game.

[roydeezed]

I'm reading a book rn, Ring Shout, where the KKK are lovecraftian demons from the realm of the old gods(an over simplification of the plot) and the women fighting them just figured out the bad guy they intend to bring in is called The Grand Cyclops. Which I vaguely remember from either Watchmen or something else as a term for a member of the KKK. And indeed it was. And combining it with Lovecrafts liberal use of the word Cycoplean(which generally meant a style of architecture made of impossible to move seeming structures) and I see your vision P. Djèlí Clark. It's a really interesting direction to go and I love this emerging subgenre. And as opposed to the other big hitter in it, Lovecraft Country, the Old Gods are using the humans and racists instead of being used by them. It's so cool.

[thumbedpages]

P. Djeli Clark - Ring Shout

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Suggestions for fantasy books:

In Other Lands - Sarah Rees Brennan

Beauty - Robin McKinley

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

The Broken Earth (series) - N.K. Jemisin

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

The Deep - River Solomon

Poison - Chris Wooding

Inkeeper Chronicles (series) - Ilona Andrews

The Witcher (series) - Andrzej Sapkowski

The Poppy War (series) - R. F. Kuang

The Live Ship Traders (series) - Robin Hobb

Sorceror Royal (series) - Zen Cho

The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson

The Curse Workers (series) - Holly Black

Alice (duology) & Lost Boy - Christina Henry

Ring Shout - P. Djèli Clark

Kingkiller Chronicle (series) - Patrick Rothfuss

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree

Iron Widow - Jay Zhao

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi

Thursday Next (series) - Jasper Fforde

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter

The Dark is Rising (series) - Susan Cooper

Wicked - Gregory Maguire

East - Edith Pattou

Knights of Liofwende (series) & The Welkin Weasels (series) - Garry Kilworth

Old Magic - Marianne Curley

Book of the Crow (series) - Catherine Fisher

Mongrels - Stephen Graham Jones

The Last Binding (series) - Freya Marske

Sorry, I know that's a lot! Anyway, thank you for running these polls and breaking my heart again and again, lol.

What a list! You've got a lot of great ones in here (I love you, Poppy War, Uprooted, and Iron Widow). I've added them all, though some of the names changed due to series vs book titles

[chaoshaven]

Ring Shout is a speculative fiction/urban fantasy novel, set in the 1920s. During prohibition a certain...group starts coming to power, and wears white robes and hoods. This books takes actual American history and adds sword and sorcery logic to it, all inspired by actual African American, predominantly Gullah Gullah culture/beliefs. The hood wearing clan are actually demons in disguise, and recruit then transform humans into them. At no point do the demons brainwash or make humans anger and prejudice. The novel explicitly states that the anger was always there, we are just feeding into it. And through that anger they transform humans into more demons.

I also like that the magic in the book isn't all Voodoo, there is one point with...special doctors (body horror), and a reoccurring visions with spirits, that act as fairy godmother to the protagonist. I also even noticed the Maiden Mother Crone aspect between them. Not sure of a parallels between that and their belief system, but it's a good aspect that I'm a sucker for. The magic comes from a spirit summoning sword, root magic, and ring shouts, where in (as far as a white girl understands) a circle of people chanting and singing a song. THE WORDS LITERALLY ARE WHAT GIVE THEM POWER. I enjoy this theme a lot because it is so true in reality, and in the fiction of this universe where propaganda can make an entire race believe they are superior than all other. On top of that, how do you fight lies and deceptive words? With truth and facts and open conversation.

I am quite white, but I loved reading this book. I'd recommend picking it up if you're a fan of the fantasy genre, it's just 190 pages and leaves you wanting for more.

[smittyreads]

Top 7 of 70 for 2024 ❤️📚

[aceinabook]

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Character 3.5| Setting 5| Writing 4| Plot 3.5| Enjoyment 3.5

Rating: 3.9

This is my second from Clark. I can say that he likes to bend the rules with his writing. I really liked how much I could tell from the characters just from their voice. Some parts I did have a hard time understanding, but if you take a second to read a line out loud I feel like it makes it easier. I think this book would definitely gain a lot from the audio.

Maryse seems like a calm individual until you see her nightmares. I really liked the way Clark dealt with her pain and anger. She has a lot of it just from what the Klan did to her, and she has a right to be. But I loved that she understood what was important.

For such a short novella Clark does great ground work for the story with Klan and the Ku Kluxes. I was very worried it was just going to take human accountability off since the Ku Kluxes are just demons, but it does take that White people are summoning them for that purpose of mobs and lynching and murdering.

[guide-to-galaxy]

Top 5 (award-winning books) Tuesday

I’m not really the one to look for awards in books so this one was definitely all looking at lists 😅. I don’t avoid books if they’re awarded – obviously – but I don’t specifically look through awards to see all the books. If you want more go look at Meeghan Reads to see this post and other prompts! 📚🚀📚 Speak by Laurie Halse Andersen (GR/SG) –“Speak up for yourself―we want to know what you have…

[panafrocore]

The Ring Shout: A Transcendent Black American Religious Ritual with African Roots

The ring shout is a captivating and transcendent religious practice with deep roots in the history of African American culture. Originating from the customs of African slaves in the West Indies and the United States, the ring shout is a ritual characterized by its ecstatic and communal nature. Worshipers partake in this ritual by forming a circle, where they engage in rhythmic movements,…