Title: Ring Shot

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Publisher: Tor.com 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 192

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

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?

Simply horrifying! And I loved every page of it! I read Clark’s novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and was intrigued by his writing enough to seek out his other works. This one is very different than Tram Car; heavy on the horror and racial commentary, while the previous novella was very steampunk fantasy with a bit of social commentary in a very different part of the world. This story reminded me a lot of Lovecraft Country in it’s mixing of racial commentary, history, and Lovecraftian style horror. There is some serious body horror going on in these pages; not for the feint of heart. I also loved that it was told by Maryse in her own language. We get a lot of dialect on the pages including some dialogue in Gullah. Makes me want to know more about the Gullah culture. I was sad when the story ended as I really wanted to spend more time with all the characters (okay maybe not the Ku Kluxes, but the rest).

Next up on the TBR pile: