“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 Revised Standard Version)

I will start this review with a popular verse of scripture that I’ve heard in several American Evangelical churches throughout my adult life. I must admit this verse from Paul’s New Testament letter to the Church of Ephesus has never rung totally true for me. The constant repetition of something means it rarely registers, slipping in one ear and out the other without notice. However, after reading P. Djeli Clark’s dark fantasy novella, Ring Shout, the aforementioned verse was the first thing that came to mind.

Ring Shout narrates the journey of Maryse Boudreaux, a courageous young woman in early 20th century Macon, Georgia, who confronts the spectral threat of the Ku Klux Klan to safeguard her people’s very existence. The Ku Klux Klan are the monsters in this novella and are under the spell of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation. The Klan plans to use that film as a weapon, transforming the city into a living hell.

Clark brilliantly uses this backdrop to write a multifaceted story about the consuming and destructive power of hate. I thought he was obviously going to make an expected statement about the story’s theme. However, he threw a twist into the climactic scene that made the novella more profound than I imagined. He crafted a fantasy world where the main character’s magic sword is central to the narrative, weaving in elements of African American folklore and a diverse cast of characters often overlooked by historical records of that time.

It only took me two days to read this thought-provoking, brutal work of imaginative fiction. P. Djeli Clark has become one of my favorite fantasy writers alongside Jonathan Carroll, Charles de Lint, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Gene Wolfe. Ring Shout is another winner for me and adds another chapter to his excellent oeuvre. It’s definitely one of my favorite reads of 2026, and I’m looking forward to reading what’s coming next from him.