I have no idea what I just read, but I know I’m smiling after finishing it and that’s absolutely a good thing. This is my first T. Kingfisher book and it definitely won’t be my last! I was unsure about it at first and I felt a bit lost, maybe like I should have read the story this was inspired by first, but it picked up and kept me hooked until the end. I loved the eerie vibes I got while reading and I had the feeling like I should shower and brush my teeth like at least 80 times. Nothing was inherently off that I could pick up on but once I did, oh man did I get the creepy crawlies! I love subtle horror, especially subtle horror that builds, and this was definitely right up my alley with those two elements. I am definitely excited to read more from T. Kingfisher in the future after reading this!

Poe meets Lovecraft.

Publisher's Blurb: When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.
Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

I have been an Edgar Allen Poe fan since childhood and I love retellings of his stories. The Fall of the House of Usher was a Poe classic, I admit I had to read a few times to really appreciate, but appreciate it I did.

Here is a retelling that is from the same Century, with the same main characters, the famous House of Usher, and a huge dose of originality added to the spin.

The Author gave a twist on gender with the character Alex Easton. What made it mentionable was the fact that it took a minute to realize it and it was handled with so care and talent that it was quickly forgotten. As it should have been. The gender of a character in a story is not the most important characteristic and I feel making it not a big deal gave humanity to Easton.
I also enjoyed and appreciated the explanation of the local custom for gender to be irrelevant for the Sworn Soldiers and a detailed explanation of the type of pronouns used in Easton's homeland, the fictional European country called Gallacia.

I was completely enthralled by the gothic atmosphere and could not stop listening until I reached the conclusion. This story is creepy, scary, skin-crawling, and an A+ winner.

Thanks to @netgalley, Macmillian Tor/Forge, and T. Kingfisher for the opportunity to listen to this Audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

T. Kingfisher never disappoints, and this adaptation of the Fall of the House of Usher delivers. Atmospheric and just oozing with lush prose that perfectly encapsulates 19th century diction. Between this and MEXICAN GOTHIC, we are in a golden era of Gothic horror about mushrooms.

I love T. Kingfisher but this one wasn't my favorite. I think it is because The Fall of the House of Usher isn't my favorite of Poe's writing. I think if people enjoyed The Fall of the House of Usher, then they will probably love this. I can't wait to pick up T. Kingfisher other books.

T. Kingfisher continues to write the best horror inspired by classics. You can really feel the foreboding atmosphere of this setting almost as if it's hanging over you. The creepy reveal unfolds perfectly, and the horror of what is happening and the danger they've been in is so well done. Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I think she wrote a better Fall of the House of Usher than Poe did.

I also really love how all of her horror is mitigated with little humorous observations, and by a friendship with an animal, in this case, the narrator's horse. The humor really heightens the horror in a way I can't quite put my finger on, but that I appreciate nonetheless.

My only complaint is that I want more of it (but this novella is the perfect length for the story it tells), because I always want more Kingfisher horror.

I loved this so, so much - wow! This is a retelling of an old Edgar Allan Poe story, but the old story leaves so much up to the imagination that I've never found the reading of it to be a satisfying experience. Where that one lacked in explanation, this one more than makes up for it, and I think this is probably one of my favorite retellings of all time - it's just so good!

My favorite things from the classic are all here - the creepy house, the weird siblings, the mushrooms! And then there's just so much more here, more depth, more explaining, more reasons for why things are what they are. While explaining can sometimes take away the mystery or horror of a thing, this didn't for me - it just made me like it more!

The way the movements in this are described made me wish so badly for it to get an on screen adaptation - I think it'd be so creepy and unsettling to watch!

This novel is not what I was expecting from this prolific author whose new work I was eager to read. Maybe it’s the fact that this is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, or more likely an expansion, and not wholly original material which makes it feel divorced from the writings of T. Kingfisher to which we have become accustomed. At the same time, this novel was so much like Mexican Gothic that it could have been a rewrite of that story. Even more surprising is the fact that the writer herself acknowledges this in the author’s note and yet still decided to publish. Had it been spectacular in T. Kingfisher fashion it may not have mattered. As it stands, it would have been better to scrap and start again.

What an awesome retelling! T. Kingfisher takes the original short story and stays true to the roots while also expanding upon the characters, relationships and creepy atmosphere of the House of Usher. I loved how this provided some depth and some closure, and the ideas were really fascinating.

A page turning no el set at the end of the house of Usher, What Moves the Dead is the most engaging kind of horror.

I recently read Nettle & Bone and loved it because Kingfisher writes quirky. Then I read Jackalope Wives, which is absolutely fantastic. So a Poe retelling by this author is a must-read.

Alex Easton has received a letter. Years previously, she served with Roderick Usher and befriended his sister Madeline. The letter states Madeline is dying, and could Alex please come to the Usher house? But when she gets to the house, it’s worse than she fears. Both Roderick and Madeline aren’t looking well at all, though admittedly, Madeline is much worse. So what is causing them to be emaciated and terribly sick?

This is an atmospheric and creepy novella. I loved how Alex often broke the 4th wall to talk to the reader. It takes a very short story and twists it on its head. Kingfisher keeps the reader rapt as I furiously flipped pages, engrossed in the horror. I only wish this were a full-length book as I wasn’t ready to close it. Thank you, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, for sending this along!

This book was weird and creepy in all the best ways. Could not put it down until I finished.

Since this is so short, I think it's best to go into it not knowing much. There are two siblings that are both sick and possibly dying, a moldy and dilapidated house in a small countryside village, creepy rabbits, strange fungus, and a lieutenant trying to get to the bottom of what is happening to their old friends.

I think this went in such weird and satisfying directions. I flew through the pages, even while being absolutely disgusted by some of the things that happened. I have never read anything from T. Kingfisher before but am now so excited to dive into her backlist.

Highly recommend this one when it comes out in a couple weeks. This is a great quick and creepy read, perfect for fans of We Have Always Lived in the Castle and haunted house stories in general.

Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the review copy!

Incredibly solid short horror entry that wasn't quite for me. I think (for once) the comparisons to Mexican Gothic were entirely justified, and would probably explain why I was so meh on that one, and still a bit on this one... I think it would've mostly liked for it to be a little bit more than it was. More horror, more gore, and more unsettling intrigue would've made this completely un-put-down-able for me. I will say that I think the inclusion of fungus in this novel is done much better in my opinion than it was in Mexican Gothic; it is also a much tighter story, due to its brief under 200 page length. T. Kingfisher does craft a compelling story with some very fun characters, and the pacing feels just right, reveals not waiting too long or holding your hand through its explanations of events.
I do feel that special credit is due for this novel having a nonbinary protagonist who feels incredibly naturally suited to the world they have been put in. While the introduction of the fictional Gallacia might have been inserted somewhat awkwardly (though it is hard to introduce an entire fictional country AND its unorthodox pronoun system into a novel this short smoothly, I would imagine) I found it to be very charming and singularly done in a way that many other books with similar LGBT+ narrators often struggle with. At no point did Easton's character/pronouns feel unnatural or paint-by-numbers, on top of being a very enjoyable lens through which the novel's story is told.
I haven't read the original short story about the Ushers and their fallen house, so I cannot say whether that would have had either a positive or negative effect on my experience. Having known the vague concept, and loving a good atmospheric horror, this was definitely a much-anticipated read; I wouldn't call it a disappointment, as all of the components are there and I have no actual complaints about the novel itself. Moreover I may just have to accept that the gothic and its subtler hauntings (or-are-theys) are not entirely to my tastes in horror.

This story is based on "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Poe (Edgar Allan, not the Teletubby). I’ll start by admitting that I don’t know Poe’s story, so I can’t really make a comparison or say how true to the original Kingfisher was. What I do know is that cover rocks!

I had a fabulous time in Ruritania with my long-lost, new friend Alex Easton. Kingfisher’s characters were captivating; each one added depth and personality to the story. I often found myself interrupting my wife’s reading to toss out some of the great lines that flowed from the characters.

Kingfisher created a masterpiece of scene, character, and story. How much of it came directly from Poe versus how much of it was hers, I don’t know, but I had a whole lot of fun with the story and how she filled in the picture.

What Moves the Dead is on the shorter side, but then again, so is Poe’s story. I enjoyed all of the details about the Gallacian culture, their pronouns, and their history. Spending some time filling in details can sometimes bring a reader closer to the story.

What Moves the Dead was a fun read that hit all of the right buttons at just the right time.

*4.5 Stars

This was the perfect book to start off my summer. The novel starts with our narrator Alex, who is on their way to visit their dear friends Madeline and Rockrick Usher. Before they even arrive, Alex is mesmerized by the woods in which he travels. Although the lake and trees seem to possess a threatening and ominous air, the mushrooms and all things “fungal” seem to enthral Alex the most. The mushrooms “ grew out of the gaps in the stones of the tarn like a tumour growing from diseased skin [Alex] had the strong urge to step back from them and an even stronger urge to poke them with a stick.” Before they get the opportunity to do so, an older woman Eugenia Potter stops them. Eugenia is one of my favourite characters; eccentric and bold; she paints the various fungus she finds with the ambition of having her own name in the books recognized by the “Mycology Society”.
Second, only to Eugenia Potter, Alex is in themselves a fascinating character. As “Sworn Soldier”, Alex carries the courage they possessed on the battlefield in t the horror that awaits at the Usher’s estate. Alex discovers that their friends Madeline and Roderick have wasted (rotted?) away both physically and mentally. Can Alex determine the cause of this decline before they too succumb to the madness and death surrounding them?
What moves the Dead, a gothic tale inspired by Edgar Alan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, is well crafted with viscerally vivid detail even though it moves at a rapid pace.

This was an incredibly creepy novel. Right out of the gate, in the very first lines, this story grabbed with with it’s disturbing description of the mushrooms outside the house of Usher. Kingfisher has quite a unique writing style which I first enjoyed in “The Twisted Ones” and is further evident in this story. This retelling of “The House of Usher” is an excellent example of gothic horror. (The author references “Mexican Gothic” as an inspiration for this work and one can definitely see the similarities) At times, I actually winced and had to put the book down because of the extremely disturbing images. But I think that is what makes this novel so great and such a perfect blend of fantasy and horror. I gave this book a 4 star rating. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is an excellent read.










https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4819123301

This retelling of Poe’s House of Usher is told with a non-binary main character. Alex Easton is a retired lieutenant and receives a letter from a childhood friend asking for help. Upon arrival at the home of Madeline and her brother Roderick, Alex is surprised not only by the state of the home but of the Usher siblings. Both are incredibly frail and have aged incredibly. The area around the mansion is also unsettling. The lake has a thick film over it and the white hares around the area act very strange. Various characters are introduced that have information that help Alex discover the terrifying truth about the house and its inhabitants.

This was a creepy, atmospheric tale that does justice to Poe’s original story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy version in exchange for an honest review.

Having not read The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe, I kind of went into this retelling blind which worked for me. I love a good gothic story and I think Kingfisher did an amazing job of keeping the creepiness balanced with some humor because Easton was a brilliant character, full of wit and wisdom. I was not able to put this book down and coming in just under 200 pages, it's a quick read worth your time!

The book was an interesting, expanded take on The Fall of the House of Usher. Also perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

Absolutely gothic horror at its finest! I love how Kingfisher pulled inspiration from the classic story and turned it into something more brilliant, and horrifying. The characters, the setting, and the unsettled nature of it all kept me turning the pages until I got to the very end.

This is the type of story that once I started it, I couldn't put it down until I was finished!

"The dead don't walk."

This one was SO GOOD! Get ready to be creeped out both by the creepy house and the odd inhabitants. This is a re-telling of The Fall of the House of Usher: An Edgar Allan Poe Short Story. I wish I could say I remembered anything about that short, but I don't think that took anything away from this story.

It's a well told short. I was on the edge of my seat right from the beginning - as soon as our MC Easton arrives at the House of Usher. Easton's inability to get a good bearing on what was going on was just as unsettling as the things they described. The animals, the lake, the Usher's themselves - all gave me goosebumps and made the hairs on my arms raise. Ooooh, this one was a great gross horror story and I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.