by Patrick Ogle
Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clarke was a gift. I love books as gifts--especially from people who know the sort of books I like. In this case it was from my son who always NAILS it.
This one is a supernatural thriller set in the post World War I American South. As you might expect from the time period (a horrible time in American history) and the cover art the Klan is involved. But what is behind the Klan in this book is a little different than what history tells us.
To me it seems...plausible but then I am baffled by virulent racism (this is a joke for those who are literal minded).
I just mentioned, in my discussion of the Murderbot books, how I am a sucker for writers who can create an alternate world. Clarke is such a writer. His topic made me think of the film, Sinners, and how Ryan Coogler could make an ass kicking movie out of this. Of course, he may want to do something a little different....but...still. I was also reminded of a number of writers, chief among them Victor Lavalle and Matt Ruuf, who write horror books with an American twist. They take the real horror of racism and combine it with the fantastical. Clarke's novella is as good or better than the efforts of these two excellent writers.
This book also calls to mind the lofty work of African writers like Ben Okri and Ngugi Wa Thiongo in their shifting between the world we live in and a mystical realm. I don't want to put too fine a point on this assertion as Clarke's book is a much simpler version of this than either Okri or Ngugi sometimes employ and the writing styles of all three authors are wildly different. But I did think of it. I wanted more of the other world part of this. In truth I just wanted MORE of this book.
I also don't really want to give anything away about this book. Just read it. It is a novella length read. I look forward to a sequel.
There better be a sequel.
Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clarke was a gift. I love books as gifts--especially from people who know the sort of books I like. In this case it was from my son who always NAILS it.
This one is a supernatural thriller set in the post World War I American South. As you might expect from the time period (a horrible time in American history) and the cover art the Klan is involved. But what is behind the Klan in this book is a little different than what history tells us.
To me it seems...plausible but then I am baffled by virulent racism (this is a joke for those who are literal minded).
I just mentioned, in my discussion of the Murderbot books, how I am a sucker for writers who can create an alternate world. Clarke is such a writer. His topic made me think of the film, Sinners, and how Ryan Coogler could make an ass kicking movie out of this. Of course, he may want to do something a little different....but...still. I was also reminded of a number of writers, chief among them Victor Lavalle and Matt Ruuf, who write horror books with an American twist. They take the real horror of racism and combine it with the fantastical. Clarke's novella is as good or better than the efforts of these two excellent writers.
This book also calls to mind the lofty work of African writers like Ben Okri and Ngugi Wa Thiongo in their shifting between the world we live in and a mystical realm. I don't want to put too fine a point on this assertion as Clarke's book is a much simpler version of this than either Okri or Ngugi sometimes employ and the writing styles of all three authors are wildly different. But I did think of it. I wanted more of the other world part of this. In truth I just wanted MORE of this book.
I also don't really want to give anything away about this book. Just read it. It is a novella length read. I look forward to a sequel.
There better be a sequel.
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