Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark is a multifaceted novella that fears nothing.
Primarily set during the year 1922, Maryse Boudreaux is a monster hunter in Macon, Georgia, with a preternatural sword. The monsters she hunts? Ku Kluxes, which are demons disguised as humans within the Ku Klux Klan.
Her fellow hunters include Chef, a female WWI veteran who enjoys making bombs, and Sadie, a woman barely twenty but already an expert sharpshooter.
Maryse, along with Chef, Sadie, and their band of magic-practicing resisters, soon uncover a Ku Klux plot intertwined with the film The Birth Of a Nation that will unleash an even greater evil upon the world.
Like I said: fearless.
Clark wrote a short book full of historical accuracy, folklore, fantasy-oriented action, potent social commentary, refreshing subversion, graphic horror, and all manner of both agency and empowerment.
If you’re looking for a fast read with bold characters and brave concepts that are unafraid to challenge tropes, biases, and the bleakest aspects of history, I recommend you give Ring Shout your time.
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