Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Ring shout : Cantique rituel by P. Djèlí Clark

270 reviews

woolerys's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

Writing - 5/5 

Plot - 4/5 

Characters - 5/5 

World-building - 5/5 

Personal tastes - 4/5 

TOTAL: 4.6 

 

It’s a fine line to walk when you’re telling a story about real-life hate but you want to bring in magical, mythical elements, to not make it seem like the humans were actually good but fell victim to evil forces, and Clark walks that line really well in this novella. I was also impressed by nuance of the protagonist’s own conflicts and trauma, given the story's short length. The monsters were sufficiently creepy—yikes—with excellent (horrible) imagery. Easy to see why this has won multiple awards.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Racism, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

kristakp's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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 book had so much hype around it when I was looking it up, and for all the right reasons. I loved the use of language and voice to really bring the characters alive and see the world through their perspective.

I also loved the fictional excerpts about certain Shout songs, it really helped flesh the world out to be bigger than just one book. I do wish the book wasn’t so short, I would have loved to see more world building around these different monsters and how they came to Macon. There were definitely times it felt rushed, but honestly the action and the characters well make up for it.

I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in fantasy, horror, or adventure. I always love reading about American folklore and I think this book really builds upon American history to create an engaging narrative.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death

kt_jams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror and Death of parent

squintyfarmer's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Blood

smileymiley550's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Slavery, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

emerlees's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

an incredible read. very interesting premise and infused with character.  the climax was a little rushed and at some times felt cliche. still intriguing and an excellent conversation on what hatred is and what it can do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

velvet_young's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Medical content, and Murder

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

3.5

This was a book my friend chose for Book Club, and I had increasingly high hopes for it, being such an intriguing concept! 

Unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the spot for me. The gore was necessary but felt overdone some of the time. It also felt as though Maryse would be struggling during a fight and then somehow (almost) immediately be able to kill the Ku Kluxes off; it lacked build up.

It did make me happy towards the end, where Maryse connects to some special people in the end ❤️

When she sees everyone coming, having been led by Sadie, it warmed my heart 🥹

I am giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, thank you ✨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism

notbeezy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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: Body horror, Death, and Racism