Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

81 reviews

natahoochie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

BONKERS premise. Great read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, War, Gore, Death, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content

stephaniediane07's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Slavery

sadiejayne3426's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

This genre isn’t usually my speed but I am so glad I read it! The prose style is simple, powerful, and beautiful. The use of dialect and imagery gives such a great window into this world and these lovable characters. I felt like I was reading a folk tale, an epic, and a high art piece all at once. The body horror and gore was done tastefully — it was shocking and gruesome without being unreadable for my squeamish self. My biggest critique is that it was almost too fast-paced for my liking and I would have really liked to see a deeper dive into the characters and the world building. I did love it though, and would totally read a sequel if one ever comes about!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Blood, Genocide, Torture, Death, Body horror, and Death of parent

annie10's review

challenging dark hopeful sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Murder, Medical content, and Racial slurs

thegayestghost's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Racism, Violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual content, Death of parent, Hate crime, Blood, and Body horror

susanatherly's review

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-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: Grief and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Hate crime, and Racial slurs

Minor: Slavery

wordsareworlds's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

This is a masterfully written alternate history cosmic horror. Clark reclaims space in a genre that has too often tried to force Black people into the role of monster, turning the mirror back on those racist tropes while celebrating Black culture and history in a multitude of ways. 

I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a face paced, gripping story that incorporates both mystical and actual horrors with a strong sense of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, and Body horror

Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content

dosxhime's review

dark 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: Racism, Gore, Racial slurs, Body horror, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Murder, and Hate crime

applesodaperson's review

emotional reflective 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

4.75

Literally every person should read this book. It is an absolute masterpiece and I can’t believe it isn’t talked about more. It does such an incredible job at mixing the sensitive topics of slavery and racism, with the intense magical realism elements. It also is a great example of a short book that does a perfect job fitting everything into a short page number. I got invested in all the characters, and understood the magical elements within the first little bit. Also, I think a lot of books would make good movies or short films, but this book would rock as a video game. The monsters are described so well, and the main character has an awesome weapon and fights in a really cool way. Plus it follows a very standard plot structure but it doesn’t feel generic at all. Absolutely incredible book.
Read from the Provo library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Murder

boba_n_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

If you're looking for a Lovecraftian horror mixed with black girl magic, you've found it in Ring Shout. 

I love how this novella blended history with fantasy to create a horrific yet captivating story. Our three main characters, who are black resistance fighters, go up against Ku Kluxes that are literally and figuratively demonic. Their hate has allowed them to be possessed by demons. 

The pacing was exceptional, and the characters were well-developed, which is especially impressive for this being a novella. As for the story itself, it is creative in its horror and informs the reader of the historical context of the KKK at the time--the 1920's. The audiobook gave me a cinematic experience where I could picture each character clearly in my mind. The writing is incredible, and I was thoroughly entertained by this novella. The only criticism I have of this story is that I wish it was longer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence and Slavery