Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Ring shout, or, Hunting Ku Kluxes in the end times, by P. Djèlí Clark

71 reviews

bealmg's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I think this totally deserved a full-length novel. I really liked the premise and I thought it was really thought-provoking in its discussions of hate vs justice. I went into this feeling a bit scared because I'm not into horror, but I was actually okay with even the most gruesome of elements of this story (I think I stopped myself from imagining those things and it helped). Were this a tv show or film, I would have skipped those parts!
However, the storyline and the characters were not as fleshed out as I would have liked - I think this is, in part, due to this being a novella and, thus, necessarily shorter. I wanted to be more emotionally connected to these characters, but everything happened so fast and the plot was so condensed that it lacked the necessary emotional depth for me. Nevertheless, considering this is a novella, I was pretty impressed with the creativity, the world-building and the themes it explored!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, and Body horror

Minor: Death of parent and Slavery

clawfinger's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Kidnapping, Body horror, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Rape, Slavery, Abandonment, and Antisemitism

babydog420's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Hate crime, Body horror, Racial slurs, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Slavery, Religious bigotry, Animal death, War, and Death of parent

kpeps's review

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Gore and Blood

jarshi's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Clark's intention for this book was to show that fantasy stories about wielding swords and slaying monsters can exist outside of the fantastical worlds of white people where people of color barely exist. He wanted to show that black people can be the protagonists of these stories.

I think that in his quest to convey these ideas, Clark has made one of the most compelling modern fiction stories I've ever read. Clark was able to craft a story that centers on slavery and black pain without it being fetishized. I love that Clark decided to make the protagonist a black woman, as I think that introduces a deeper, more intersectional aspect to the themes of anger, hate, and trauma stemming from slavery, racial violence, and systemic oppression.

Another thing that Clark succeeded in (whether intentional or not) was highlighting just how strange the KKK actually is. They wear white sheets and chant while standing around burning crosses. They give themselves ranks and funny names. When you think about it, and when you put all of that within the context of a story like Ring Shout, the whole absurd ritualism of it all becomes so obviously apparent. They're fucking crazy. And it's even crazier that they claim to do it under the guise of *checks notes* Christianity and believing that they were... highly enlightened. Insane.

Anyways, I think this story is so good! The incorporation of Black-American culture, rituals, and magic as a means of goodness and strength instead of being stereotyped as primitive was so nice to read.

This book made me really interested in learning more about African-American folklore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Violence, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Mental illness, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death

entityj's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery

Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Torture, Slavery, and Sexual content

gracklewarp's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Racism, and Cursing

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Slavery, Gun violence, and Injury/injury detail

jocyavega's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a fantastic quick read for anyone who enjoys some dark historic fantasy! 
The way places, things, and moments/ feelings are described throughout the story. It's like perfectly hitting the nail in how a feeling should feel or setting the mood to a place or how a thing is giving off a certain vibe. <Spoiler>I enjoyed the way it's described how the hatred the KKK have within them is what calls/ creates these monsters that come out of them and turns them. And how (when the offer was presented) hatred can be created from placing that hatred into your pain and letting it fester in that pain.
The characters feel real and it felt great to have characters who have a lot of personality that gives them dimension! I just wished their story continued or at least get more stories about them all! 
I think the novella itself is the perfect length because, even though it's short and I'm sure we'd all want it to be a longer, it gets the story arcoss and offers the reader a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Animal death

ktdakotareads's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

ekmook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery