Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

21 reviews

mahitdzmare's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Body horror, and Racial slurs

bookcaptivated's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Racism, Body horror, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Slavery

orireading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I never thought I would enjoy a horror story so much but this really was incredible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Death, Racial slurs, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Grief, Cannibalism, Body horror, and Blood

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

'Ring Shout' by  P. Djeli Clark mixes fantasy, horror, and the monstrosity of racism in 1900s America to create an engaging story that feels much more expansive than its novella length. 
Maryse Boudreaux hunts Ku Kluxes, monsters that parade as members of the Ku Klux Klan. With her friends and a group of resistance fighters, she is determined to wipe out these creatures. When they learn about a showing of Birth of a Nation that will call a new demon into their lands, Maryse and her friends cook up a plan to take out the group once and for all. 
P. Djeli Clark continues to be one of my favorite novella writers. His ability to create such an expansive, evocative world in such a short amount of words is truly unparalleled. Each of his stories are unique from one another and yet they all suck you in and spin a full fledged narrative even with few words. This is true for 'Ring Shout' as well. 
Through flashbacks and more fantastical experiences, Clark fleshes out Maryse as a character. We come to know and understand her strengths and her weaknesses as she is directly dealing with them. One of the strengths of this story is the balance between the true to life horrors of America during the early 1900s with the fantastical elements that Clark uses to elevate this horror. The mix of folklore, body horror, and badass fight scenes create a story that is fast paced but also full and complete. The ending leaves itself open for a sequel that I hope Clark will write. His worldbuilding shows that there is even more to this world that we could explore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Racism, Torture, Blood, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Kidnapping

literaryliaisons's review

adventurous dark inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cannibalism

solspringsreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

This book is definitely intense, set in a rich alternate-world like ours with demons and monsters. It's graphic in its violence--understandably so, given the genre and topics--but I really enjoyed and appreciated the way that so many of the themes are investigated in the story. I'm not a fan of horror but I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone with this one, so I enjoyed myself pretty much as much as I could considering the content. I had previously read another short story by this author, and I didn't really enjoy the style or world-building in that one as much; I could definitely see the growth in his writing, which was definitely a treat and makes me excited for any future releases. This was a great introduction to social horror, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who wants a more historical, fast-paced horror to keep them up at night.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Death

merle98's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

The first horror I've read in years and the best book I have read in a while! Featuring magic swords, monster hunters and demons infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan, this story is fantastical and terrifying - and yet so full of truth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence

rivercat0338's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence

lorie336's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

Wow, what a ride! Although, a novella it packed a punch with its story where Ku Klux are demons where three young black women are hunting them until someone more evil  shows up to summon an even bigger, hateful force. Our main character, Maryse, however asking her aunties gets help from another force. The ending however lends itself to a possible sequel. 

This is a book everyone should read, unforgettable characters, a twist on historical fiction, folktales, and all around a fun journey.

Trigger warnings: lynching, use of the N* word, racism, death, whipping.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Death

Minor: Cannibalism

luckykosmos's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved Maryse as a character, and the way the monsters were built (especially leading up to the end) was amazing. But I especially loved the particular focus on Gullah language and Black cultural in this time - even the little nod to the complicated place of Jewish people in white supremacy. The prose in particular I loved; I was about to give up on first person, and this book single-handedly revived my love of it. The main thing keeping this from being a full 5 star was that it felt too short - I would have easily read twice as much, learning more about Sadie and Chef and the Aunties, and how this world exists as a whole. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Gun violence, and Gore

Moderate: Cannibalism and Death

Minor: Antisemitism