What Moves the Dead
By: T. Kingfisher
Pub Date: 07/12/22
Publisher: Tor Nightfire - MacMillian
Audio Narrator: Avi Roque

Summary
In this retelling of "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe, T. Kingfisher tells the story of Alex Easton; a retired soldier who receives word that his childhood friend, Madeline Usher has taken ill. He travels to visit her and finds something far more sinister and terrifying than he thought possible.

Review
As a first-time reader of T. Kingfisher's work, I enjoyed the style through which this story was retold. It has this steampunk-Esque quality that I thought was an interesting stylistic choice. I also really appreciated how unexpected the antagonist of the story was. It was something I had never seen before.
On the other hand, as someone who has never read the original source material, I feel I missed the connections and cannot adequately compare the two pieces. This has certainly inspired me to check out the original story.

Based purely on what I thought of this current iteration without taking the original source material into consideration, I decided to rate this novel 3.5 stars. Although it was a retelling it was unlike anything I had read before and the mystery of the antagonist was exceptionally well done. I highly recommend this to Edgar Allen Poe fans and those who like an odd horror with a mystery element.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited about this one, as it was a retelling of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, but sadly I did not love it as much as I wanted. The pacing was decent and I would definitely classify it as weirdly creepy. The atmosphere was also well done and added to the creep factor. In the end, this just wasn’t for me. I’m sure others will love it though!

Well this was a creepy trip. While I've never read the story that this was based off of, this was a great horror novella. Quick-paced, as to be expected, but Kingfisher also does a good job of introducing the characters and explaining Gallacia and their customs for the reader. Loved the creepy aspect of the fungi....and the hares CREEPED ME OUT!

I think this would be incredibly cool to listen to in audio!

This novella is a retelling of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, and let’s just say that the author blew it out of the park. Everything that made the original creepy is expounded on and one can’t help but like the protagonist, Easton who finds themselves at the house because an old childhood friend wrote them about this sister’s slow demise. The book is moody and dark, and you’re quickly wrapped up in the mystery and eeriness. However, there are moments of comedy when Eugenia Potter, a British mycologist is in the scene. She was by far my favourite character, and couldn’t wait for her to show up. If you love Poe and love dark gothic mysteries, then do yourself a favour and read this now!

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Alex Easton, a non-binary career soldier from the country of Gallacia, heeds the call of childhood friends, Roderick Usher and his gravely ill sister Madeline. When Easton arrives at their Gothic mansion in Ruravia, the retired soldier is not sure what is more distressing: the pale, emaciated, and unhinged siblings, the decaying estate, or the estate's weirdly glowing lake. I enjoyed this extended-dance-version retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's classic The Fall of the House of Usher. The book belongs on a list of recent horror lit featuring creepy rabbits and mushrooms (Mexican Gothic and Mona Awad's Bunny hop to mind ;)

[Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.]

I loved this queer retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher. The tone of the narration felt true to Poe's original and all of the highlights of Roderick and Madeline's story are included yet Kingfisher adds a depth to the story while stretching it to novel length and puts a spin on it designed to chill modern readers.

I thought Kingfisher did a great job of queering the story in that the main character was nonbinary and that the world was described in a way where nonbinary people could simply exist without question and have common, socially acceptable pronouns.

I got an ARC of this book.

It wasn't bad, but I don't know why this book exists. The inspiration was considered an amazingly written piece where every detail was perfectly placed and needed. This just felt like trying to take something that everyone praises as amazing and add to it. It is hard to take your own spin on something like that. I like Kingfisher, but I didn't even finish this one. I thought I had and then I would open the app and oops, it was still being read. So maybe try it? It didn't really do anything for me.

This was an unsettling, creepy read, though it lacked some of the whimsical charm characteristic of Kingfisher's other horror books.

5 gothic stars

Oh YES. I had such a horrifically good time. This is the mirror-twin counter melody to Mexican Gothic, the Fall of the House of Usher done grotesque.

Concept: ★★★★
Pacing: ★★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★★★

Well, it's happened again: I have fallen in love with yet another bizarre and lingering horror story with a special focus on mushrooms. ("Again," yes, because this niche apparently has multiple books in it.)

Join me and the spores...

Alex Easton has heard word that their childhood friends, the Ushers, are struggling. Madeline is gravely ill, Roderick is not faring much better, and something is amiss.

Alex arrives, and they quickly realize that Roderick's understated things. There is something very, very wrong with this scene.

Madeline looks like she's already dead, Roderick doesn't look much better. The Usher estate is damp, moldy, and near-death itself. There's a visiting American doctor who has no idea what is going on, and a wandering older British woman on the grounds with a passion for mushroom study and a daughter named Beatrix Potter.

As Alex stays in the home, a creeping sense of foreboding and inevitability starts to sink in. The longer they stay at Usher, the worse it seems to get...

And that's IT. I won't say any more.

What Moves the Dead looks like—and sounds like—a repeat of concepts to those of us who have already read and loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. In fact, T Kingfisher themselves writes in the Author's Note that they'd been chewing on this idea already, and then Mexican Gothic came out and What Moves the Dead disappeared into a drawer, almost for forever, as Kingfisher went "gah, I can't do it better than THAT!"

Well I, personally, am thrilled that someone got T Kingfisher to revisit and finish this tale. This is something akin to a cousin, a neighbor, someone with the same facial features as Mexican Gothic but with an entirely different set of personality traits. These two novels are NOT the same, and—as a Moreno-Garcia superfan I can't believe I'm saying this—What Moves the Dead did it... better.

This was grotesque, truly horrifying, and went somewhere that even I didn't full expect. I thought I knew the steps, and I was having a good time, but then... yeah. This seasoned reader was still surprised in an interesting way. A very, very good horror novella that I recommend to anyone with the stomach to handle it.

Thank you to TOR/Nightfire for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very good retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." When his childhood friend Madiline turns terminally I'll he rushes back to her childhood home to see her. But was it more than he bargained for?

This was a take on Poe's The House of Usher. I love Poe. However, I've never read the House of Usher. What Moves the Dead was delightfully creepy and engaging. I wanted to read it during a storm or on a dark fall night. The descriptions are detailed and you feel transported to the dreary area and falling down house. The characters, especially Ms. Potter, are very alive on the page. If you enjoy a good gothic horror mixed with some fantasy this is the book for you. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD is an atmospheric, quick, gothic read that was just the right amount of creepy and intrigue and mystery. The characters were very well developed and even without having read the source material, this was still so damn enjoyable.

I don’t read a lot of horror but I think I need to look into more horror novellas. I loved how this book just kept getting more and more intense page by page in the best of ways. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

My favorite part was having a non-binary MC and the interesting discussion and use of pronouns throughout. Highly recommend this one!! I’m so excited to read more from this author.

I really enjoyed Nettle and Bone, this author's previous book, as well as The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, so I was excited to receive an ARC of What Moves the Dead. After trying several times to get carried away by the story, I just...wasn't. I'll avoid posting this review publicly as I do not want to finish the book.

While I liked the idea of a story based on Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher I didn’t particularly like this execution of it. I think perhaps this author’s writing style and interests are not for me.

I was a little scared to pick this book up, first because I am a fan of Poe and as this is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher I had certain expectations, but also because I don't typically read horror since I don't like to be grossed out. I didn't need to be worried though, this is a great retelling that really captures the same atmosphere of the original while taking it in a slightly different direction which I loved! Also, while there were some things that were kind of gross (just look at the cover, fungus is gross!) I never wanted to put this book down.

As with all of T. Kingfisher's works that I have read the characters really make this story sing. Not only do we have Alex Easton, the soldier who has come to visit the House of Usher, and Roderick Usher, who are both from the original story, but we get much more of Madeline, Roderick's sister who is not very present in the original, as well as some new characters of Kingfisher's own creation.

The atmosphere is also spot on for a Poe retelling. The original story is mostly just atmosphere, with a sense of unease being the central feeling of the story, and Kingfisher has matched this beautifully. I felt very unsettled right from the start, and got more and more uneasy as the story progressed which is exactly what I wanted.

Finally, I loved how Kingfisher made the main character non-binary, and the way that Alex handles other characters asking ignorant questions was phenomenal! Also the inclusion of a fantasy country that uses its own set of pronouns not connected to sex or gender was so much fun and very well done.

One of the best novellas I have ever read and one of my favorite books of the year. I highly recommend to people who like gothic horror and Poe.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for providing me a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

More detailed review on my youtube channel https://youtu.be/83TtG_xYuhw

If you really love Poe's short stories, this book will be the one for you! Gothic, creepy, and full of intensity, What Moves the Dead is a heart-pounding adaptation of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" that gripped me until the very end. Kingfisher's atmospheric writing paints such a vivid picture of the novel's setting, and the text really highlights so many of the important motifs present in Poe's original story. That being said, Kingfisher's writing makes this as original as possible. Although its a short read, it's a good one. While I sometimes wished the writing was a little clearer and tighter, I really did enjoy this one.

I honestly don't think T. Kingfisher's writing style is particularly my cup of tea. I thought the reimagining of House of Usher was interesting, but overall I thought it was too short to really induce any feelings of "horror."

The dead don't walk...

Alex, a retired soldier, receives a letter informing them that their good friend, Madeline Usher, is mortally ill. They set off right away to visit Madeline and her brother, Roderick, in Ruritania. When Alex arrives at the strange house of Usher, they immediately notice it covered in weird mushrooms. During their visit, increasingly strange things begin to happen, leaving Alex questioning their sanity. Alex is disturbed by Madeline's sleepwalking and speaking in eerie voices at night. Roderick is overcome with anxiety and refuses to leave the house. The Usher house is surrounded by a lake with unsettling movement under the water and bizarrely behaving animals. With help from a doctor and a mycologist, can Alex figure out what is causing the Ushers' afflictions before it's too late?
I took a chance on this novella, and I'm so glad I did! I loved the gradual build of suspense and creepy happenings throughout the story. I actually felt a chill in my spine at one point, and even jumped in the shower when my sister interrupted an intense scene in the audiobook! The narrator was able to perfectly pull me into each moment until I was completely absorbed into the story. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick, creepy read!

When I heard there was going to be a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher I was excited. When I heard T. Kingfisher was doing it, I was giddy.
This book was amazing, capturing all the terror and atmosphere of Poe while also bringing in its own unique take on the material. The character of Easton had such an interesting back story and was definitely well written. I loved the inclusion of Miss Potter as an expert.

Just thinking about the headless rabbit scritching across the table still gives me chills.

A memorable, creepy and innovative read I would recommend to all horror lovers.

What a creepy, strange book this is. Based on Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, this tells the story of retired soldier Alex Easton, who finds out that a beloved childhood friend is dying. Easton arrives to find the situation much worse than imagined, and becomes embroiled in the mystery of what is happening at the House of Usher.

This book feels very different in tone than Kingfisher's other books - by which I think I just mean it's creepier. I had to put it down most nights because I didn't want the very strange story influencing my dreams. I also haven't read the original story (although I did look up a summary), so I'm not sure how closely this book follows the original. It seems most of the main plot points are there.

So if you like creepy, sort-of-classic-influenced, weird fiction, this will definitely be a book for you.

I would like to thank the publisher for the eARC I received.