Welcome to Litsy!

In a post-World War 1 world, the KKK is rising in power spurned on by unworldly demons. Using Birth of a Nation to bring more people to their cause, the Klan has big plans for humanity.
Standing between the demons and world domination are Maryse with her magic sword, sharp-shooter Sadie, and explosive expert Chef, they‘re tasked with doing everything they can to stop them.

We saw the movie Sinners on Saturday, and I can't stop thinking about it! A superb film.
I could help but think of Ring Shout, which has a very similar vibe, as well as Bitter Root and The Ballad of Black Tom. I've also heard others compare it to The Reformatory and Blackheart Man.
But, if you are in the mood for a bloody vampire tale with amazing music, brilliant acting, and a stellar story, even before the vampires, go see Sinners!

Randomly saw it on Fable and became interested. So I kinda went in blind. Not a bad read, not world altering. I liked the creative essence of the story. Demons who feed off of hate possess Ku Klux Kln members when the movie Birth of a Country rolls out. So Maryse goes out to hunt them. The switch she takes near the end was nicely explained. Not much felt like it could‘ve been expanded on. Little here and there. Not scary horror; grotesque.

I had a good time with this book. This book takes place in Macon, Georgia (where I currently live). It was fun being able to visualize the neighborhoods and streets that were mentioned. The story is original, I love the mix of historical fiction and fantasy. And it‘s always great seeing racist people/monsters get their butts kicked. I loved the ending and decision making. The only reason I didn‘t give it five stars was because of the slow middle.

Working on Christmas Eve sucked but I did get to start this today.

This is a fast paced read, with each page leaving you wanting more. The kkk are not humans, but horrible monsters hiding under the white hoods…and only those gifted with ‘the sight‘, can see them for what they really are. Meanwhile, the 1915 propaganda film ‘The Birth of a Nation‘ is used to spread more hatred, and time is running out to stop it. Hate creates the monsters in this book, but we all know it creates them in real life, too.

This is not a post to endorse a political candidate, but unfortunately, politics are omnipresent in the US at this time (and have been for an exhaustingly long time). Anywho, know that this is a fundraiser for Harris/Walz, but, despite the partisan nature, it was too good not to share. A virtual event with appearances from a plethora of literary horror luminaries (P. Djeli Clark has just been added, too!). RSVP for free at scareupthevote.com

Exciting, delightful, creepy and gross. I‘m so glad I read this at the start of spooky season!

Book 113/100 of the year.

These are the ones that come to mind.

1. Ring Shout (I think it qualifies)
2. The Tell-Tale Heart
3. A Christmas Carol

#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

#12Booksof2023

I‘m going to finish the year by highlighting two books in December, both novellas. The tagged book is a story about hate & anger turning people into actual monsters & the women who fight them. Loved it! Untethered Sky is a fantastic fantasy demonstrating significant skill on the part of Lee in developing such a fascinating world & compelling set of characters in a compact volume. Would love to read more in this world.

@Andrew65

DNF - I just don‘t think this is the book for me, luckily I borrowed it from the library…

In a richly imagined early-20th century America, hate & fear feed an infectious disease that turns people into monsters. Standing in the way of those monsters are Maryse Boudreaux & her fellow resistance fighters. When an even greater evil looms, Maryse must make a choice, one that could save or doom everyone. There is a lot of depth here, also thoughtfulness about the choices people make, about the promise & threat of gaining power. Excellent.

This one starts fast…

An audio prequel to Ring Shout?! Yes, please. This podcast sounds excellent in general. Has anyone heard of it?

A quick read, horrifying, maybe a bit straightforward for the character/plot development, but worth the time it takes.
A fantasy take on the real dark history, the KKK, the Night Doctors mix with haints & horrors.

We‘re in Lovecraft Country; Spell-books written in blood; Mountain top rituals & tentacled beasts. Also, undertones of Barker‘s Hellraiser films. Well crafted characters battle KKK monsters. All good fun and action packed. My gripe: We are led through a linear story like a survival-horror video game. It‘s also too reliant on dues ex machina, even for a fantasy novel. Definitely a solid YA novel with powerful imagery and a rich, evocative setting

A dark fantasy novella about Ku Kluxes roaming Georgia (and spreading further). Maryse is the “champion”. She‘s fighting against the Ku Kluxes with her magic sword given to her by her “Aunties”. I liked the body horror descriptions, and I thought all the demon/ monster concepts were brilliant. I loved the symbolism of it all, and the story was wrapped up nicely. I couldn‘t really understand Nana Jean‘s dialogue, so that was my biggest issue.

40 pages in. Interesting concept. So far I‘ve gathered there is a second wave of klansmen that they refer to as Ku Kluxes. This KKK are literal monsters made of bone that feed on black people. They are in their dormant form when they are disguised as regular people. There are 3 black women that hunt them. Can‘t wait to get more into it.

Or, Hunting Ku Kluxes In The End Times

A short but impactful story. What if the KKK were not just monstrous people but actual monsters? In Ring Shout they are and three women all with complicated pasts are charged with hunting them. The writing is so good I saw it as a movie in my mind. I was so into the idea I googled it and it looks like it is being turned into a TV show! I rarely think a book should be turned but this one is screaming for it! Totally engrossing read.

5⭐️ this was an amazing book. And if anybody is still looking for books to read for Black History Month… And you love fantasy, choose this one. Historical horror fantasy at its best, I loved every minute of it❣️ this is also my last read for the month of January, and it marks my completion of this months #roll100 with book #84.

#12BooksOf2022 @Andrew65

My favorite book of April was small but packed a big punch - Ring Shout! It was my first by Clark but won't be my last. He created an interesting situation and characters to root for.

I also read The Storyteller by Dave Grohl. He always seems like a great human being and this book keeps me believing that he is. He's a family man & friend first, a musician second.

Not for the faint of heart.

#StoryGraph: fiction fantasy historical horror adventurous dark tense fast-paced
185 pages | first published 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns with Ring Shout, a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror.

My plans for the
Halloween Bookly Readathon
@BooklyApp #BooklyReadathon
Oct 23, 2022 8pm - Oct 30, 2022 8pm

This was an amazing novella that packed so much punch into 185 pages. Recommend this one, especially if you're looking to add just one more book to your Halloween horror reads.

This has been in production for a TV series since 2020 and fits that prompt in #Booked2022 @alisiakae @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage

It was also my #Bookspin for Book Bingo @TheAromaOfBooks

This was also my first book of #DeweyOct!

The premise of this novel is one that could easily be written as a totally plot-based story with characters that have only enough depth as necessary to further the author's message, but P. Djèlí Clark gives readers so much more. The characters are three-dimensional and have relationships that feel real. The message is there, for sure, but it's inside an enjoyable, well-written story. I'll be picking up more from this author.

My cuddle buddy is back at his emotional support work while I read my next #readharder2022 book. #huey #catsoflitsy

My #Doublespin/#Bookspin for October.

“Ring Shout“ is one of my Dewey's Readathons novellas I want to read on the 22nd. The library book option, well I've got about 20 books out at the moment so that won't be a problem ;)

@TheAromaOfBooks

Amazing little fantasy that blends legacy of slavery and KKK after WW1 with hate-devouring monsters. Would make a great graphic novel or a movie.

Some of it is quite spooky

I am starting this one now.

Wow, there was a lot packed into these 200 pages. Not even sure how exactly to categorize this, historical fiction, fantasy, horror? My only gripe is that I think it could have been longer. There was so much to take in, in only a few pages. I need more time to wrap my head around the imagery as well.

The author deftly weaves history, culture, and fantasy in this novella. The characters are interesting. Plenty gory. A bit of body horror. Heather at the book store said she wrote her thesis on this book and I can see where there would be plenty of material.

This is speculative fiction/horror/fantasy/historical fiction (?) and very good. In his acknowledgements, the author says "Who says all the fantasies with sword-weilding heroes and heroines have to be in Middle Earth, Westeros, or even our dreams of African past?" He very effectively puts his sword-wielding heroine in Georgia in 1922 and the The Birth of a Nation-movie-inspired growth of the KKK. A chilling and quick read.

#readharder

I love a short book from time to time so I gathered up some of the best over on Book Riot, all under 200 pages. Check 'em out!

bookriot.com/best-books-under-200-pages/

I know I'm late getting to this one, but it was definitely worth the hype!

Engaging quick read!

#12booksof2021 #June @Andrew65
This short novella packed a HUGE punch. So good.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

I really, really liked the concept of the book (c‘mon, three women fighting the Ku Klux Klan, who are actually pointy headed demons attracted to human hate). I enjoyed, as well, the incorporation of Gullah-Geechee culture, Night Doctors, root magic, the Birth of a Nation film, ex-slave narratives… but the actual synthesizing of all these different things into one story, the timeline of which is just over one week, felt too clunky.

The Klan and the hate that feeds them (and so much more to this story.)

I loved it! I especially loved the way the author incorporated Black folklore into the story. #Screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

I loved this book, I really don‘t have much more to say then that. It was terrifying and terrific and I loved it.

Very cool story!

Holy SHIT (sorry) this was a-friggin-mazing 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I need more of this world, these characters. I suck at reviews and don‘t even know what else to say. ALL the stars.

Oh my lord @Reggie I was so stressed out reading this book! But it was so GOOD! It‘s the kind of reading experience where you‘re tensing up ready to run or fight the whole time. And So Very Many Monsters.
I would think this novella would be enjoyed by people who like their historical fantasy a little dark and stabby. And after all who doesn‘t? 😂

This little genre bending historical fantasy/ horror novella packs in so much and doesn't waste a sentence. It is terrifying, creative, and originally assembled. I was really impressed and suitably horrified.