After I read this novella, I did a Google search of T. Kingfisher and learned many things about her. The first is that T. Kingfisher is a pen name. The second is that she has released over 40 books. The third is that I should have been reading her works much earlier. As it is, What Moves the Dead is the first of her books that I have read.

A riff on the The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, What Moves the Dead is the story of Alex Easton going to visit their childhood friend at the house of Usher after they receive a letter requesting help. Their friend, Madeline Usher, says that she is sick and dying and needs help, so Alex rushes there as soon as they can. What Alex finds there is a perfect gothic story, brother and sister holed up in a damned house, along with a doctor they do not trust. Everyone and everything falling apart. The horror and mystery that Alex finds there makes What Moves the Dead a fast paced, thin novella that is really satisfying.

Much of the success of this novella can be attributed to T. Kingfisher’s writing. In a short period of time, she develops the setting and the characters with such detail that it feels as if I read a 400 page novel. The writing in this novella is masterful, and I found myself rereading sentences because of how gorgeous they are. This is one of those novellas that I will probably reread simply because of the writing. There is so much depth to some of the scenes and writing that I can really feel the dampness and sickness that is seeping from the walls and the pages. I cannot recommend What Moves the Dead enough. I know now that I have to read some of T. Kingfisher’s other works.

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

This was my first read by T Kingfisher, who I was very excited to try a book from. It was a lot shorter than I expected, but more than enough to get the story told well and concisely. I'm thinking I would have gotten even more out of the book if I had read the house of usher before reading this one, but I definitely took a lot from the story.

I found the story creepy, uncomfortable at times and extremely strange, which I absolutely loved! The whole book just gave me creepy vibes, everything about it was ominous.

Spine tingling and deeply eerie. In a different story, I’d love to learn more about the fictional country and it’s relationship with gender. Am now terrified of mushrooms

T. Kingfisher knows how to write a book. Just. Wow. I am several books into her work now and I am just amazed at the range that she can write. I went from a fantasy adventure romp in Nettle and Bone (one of my very favorites of the year and all-time as well), to a Fall of the House of Usher remix with death and dilapidated mansions and fungi galore.

Kingfisher skillfully crafts an atmospheric, creepy tale of Alex Easton, Madeline Usher, Roderick Usher, and an additional range of memorable cast of characters. I also really loved how Kingfisher seamlessly creates diversity in her nonbinary character of Eason, going even the extra mile by creating pronouns and titles for them, which also plays into the generally unique worldbuilding of this story. All around this is just the right amount of weird and it's extremely compelling.

Any sort of fan of Poe or gothic fiction should absolutely pick this up. It will devour you, very intentionally.

While this book itself is very much a typical gothic novella, it is anything but. Kingfisher has the ability to create an environment and atmosphere that totally immerses you from the moment you begin reading. Having only read one other work by this author that I absolutely enjoyed (The Twisted Ones) I had high hopes going into this title that were equally met. That's not to say that the cover art itself in all of its glory didn't help in adding to its draw. My library ended up purchasing this title and it has been consistently on the holds list since its arrival.

I never realized how much I love retellings until this year, and What Moves the Dead confirmed this love over and over again. Reading retellings always brings new light to certain aspects of the original story and, especially in the case of this one, increases the horror in unique ways.

Kingfisher captures the dank, gothic atmosphere so well I could practically smell it, and the addition of parasitic mushrooms as the culprit of Madeline’s “illness” made my skin crawl. Ecological horror and gothic fiction really work together, and I hope we’ll see more of it!

This is horror done the right way. The tone was set immediately and held up consistently until the very end of the story. There were multiple spine chilling moments, and more than a few chapters that genuinely spooked me! Who knew fungus could be so scary?! 🍄

I quickly reread The Fall of the House of Usher before diving into this one, and while the OG will always be special, I think I honestly preferred the retelling! This modern version of a beloved classic really killed it! 🔪 (All puns intended)

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with an e-copy of this novel to read and review!

What Moves the Dead is T. Kingfisher's modern gothic exploration and interpretation of Poe's House of Usher, set in a post war alternative history world with nonbinary and non human characters. It was well written and an interesting idea but felt a bit lacking to me, and was pretty slow overall. Definitely not my favorite of her works but I am glad to have read it regardless. The cover is best part of this one.

This was a really fun re-telling! T. Kingfisher manages to balance genuine scares with humor in a way that never fails to impress me, and always manages to put a contemporary spin on classic stories.

The first thing I heard about What Moves the Dead was that it's a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. That was all I needed to hear to be honest, and I wish I had read it as soon as I received it. It's a short book anyway, but I read it in less than a day because I could not put it down.

In What Moves the Dead, Alex Easton is a sworn soldier of Galacia. They receive a letter from their childhood friend Madeline Usher who thinks she may be dying. Naturally, Alex rushes to the crumbling manor Madeline and her brother Roderick call home to do what they can to help. When Alex makes their way to the Usher castle, though, they find a half-caved-in manor on the edge of a sickly lake called a tarn.

Upon seeing the Usher siblings, Alex realizes the house and grounds aren't the only things breaking down. Both of the Ushers seem deathly ill, and even the doctor has no idea what is really wrong with either of them. Thus begins Alex's journey into the slow disintegration of the house of Usher.

From the very first line, the story makes it clear this will not be a happy tale. Mushrooms and fungi are described by comparing them to viscera and open wounds. The local hares behave in strange and unnerving ways, such as sitting up and staring at people and drowning themselves in the tarn. The locals refuse to visit the manor, and no one goes close to the lake if they can help it. All of these descriptions lend themselves to create an atmosphere of dread throughout the story.

Similarly to the story it's inspired by, all the details in What Moves the Dead are important. Nothing is mentioned in an off-hand manner. Even the constant presence of mushrooms is important. Even descriptions of arm hair are important to the story! That being said, all these obvious details made it pretty easy to guess how it would end, and some readers may not enjoy how obvious it is. I personally thought it gave reading the story a vicarious thrill. I knew certain characters were doomed, and seeing those that cared about them confront all of the clues with denial added to the story's atmosphere.

Speaking of characters, they were all wonderful, but my favorites were Alex and Eugenia Potter, the British mycologist. Alex is the narrator of the story, and I loved their tangents into the history of Galacia and the language of Galacia. It really added some context and personality to the story as well as explaining why Alex might do certain things. I also really enjoyed having a non-binary character as the narrator. Alex even explained this through an aside about the Galacian language have six sets of pronouns that are used for people depending on age (children are called va or van until puberty) or occupation (all soldiers are known by ka or kan regardless of gender identity). It was interesting and added to the story.

As for Eugenia Potter, she is a wonder. She's a minor character, but she always pops up whenever the knowledge of mushrooms and other fungi is needed most. She is a tenacious British lady determined to break into the male dominated scientific world of the late 1800's. She's also not afraid to take action when needed, and her no-nonsense manner offered some nice grounding points during the more surreal parts of the story.

Overall, I loved this story. It was the perfect combination of creeping horror, dark humor, and suspense. I loved the characters and the atmosphere in equal measure, and the story managed to be believable in the end, which isn't easy to do considering some of what happens. I will also never look at hares the same way again, or mushrooms for that matter.

I gave What Moves the Dead five out of five stars. I have nothing bad to say about this book. The creeping horror of the hares and the atmosphere created by the crumbling manor house surrounded by the black, fetid tarn pitting man against nature made for the best setting for a horror story. The characters' personalities shone through, and the dark humor kept things from getting too grim. Anyone looking for a short, quick horror read should pick this book up, especially if you enjoy Gothic horror.

Full confession: I have only read The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe once. And maybe that's why I was seeing similarities to other works of art. Overall, I enjoyed reading T. Kingfisher weave together several different genres in the short 160 pages that this book was. I just couldn't help but noticed the relationships to Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House and AMC's The Walking Dead hidden within the pages and I'm not sure how I felt about that in the end. Plus, I always want shorter books to be longer to further explore the world that has been laid at my feet!

I read Poe way back in the day and was excited when this one came in my email. It is an excellent retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher and listening to it via audio the creepy factor was in full force. It is a short read at 165 pages but it is definitely worth it. I don’t read much horror but this was so well done, well executed, and very atmospheric. Something is going on in the House of Usher and Alex Easton is rushing to see why his childhood friend Madeline Usher has fallen so ill. Upon arrival he cannot believe what he is seeing, and from there it just goes downhill. This is definitely worth the read, especially if you are a fan of Edgar Allen Poe. I’m on a streak of fantastic reads and this one will also be in the top contenders for the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Nightfire for the digital galley to review.

What Moves the Dead is T. Kingfisher's retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's, The Fall of the House of Usher. Everything from the original is here plus some! There seems to be unanswered questions from The Fall of the House of Usher but now, we get answers! Yes! The atmosphere was extremely gothically lovely, and it was perfect to read on a chilly day! If you're a fan of Poe, you'll definitely want to read this!

The lesson to be learned by a main character in any horror novel: if mushrooms are involved, it's best to just head out by page ten.

I really enjoyed this novella! It was very compelling, gothic and darkly atmospheric from the start, and quite creepy. There were a few scenes that were so chilling and terrifying to consider! I've never read The House of Usher--indeed, I don't even know what it's about--so I can't say if this is a true retelling, but I still devoured it in two days.

The cast of characters really sold this book for me. Alex, our main character, is a non-binary soldier come to visit their childhood friends because they believe one is dying. They were quite amusing, with a wonderful sense of humour and a great dose of skepticism that played into the plot very nicely. The Ushers painted quite a gruesome picture with their appearances that I absolutely adored, and the doctor was a great counterpoint. But I think my favourite is the Englishwoman cavorting around the countryside to study mushrooms and lambast men in the scientific community.

The worldbuilding is quite interesting. It's our world, but not quite. England and America exist, but fictional countries are shoehorned in between the borders we know. I'll admit, it did take a beat to find my footing because of it. Alex's home country is one of those fictional countries, and there were a lot of important points to remember, such as the use of pronouns. There are several different sets used throughout the book, each with a different meaning and significance to title and person. I thought it was quite imaginative and really well done.

I just wish there had been more. I found myself a bit disappointed at the ending and can't quite bring myself to give this five stars. That said, I really enjoyed the author's writing and will definitely be looking into more from Kingfisher.

We sent this book out with signed bookplates for Night Worms but I saved it for my Halloween read. This book is a reimagined telling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe (which I’m going to re-read right now).
The novella length lends itself perfectly to sustaining optimum atmosphere and tension. Kingfisher is skilled at Gothic storytelling—I love the dark humor, sharp sarcasm, and wit. Alex Easton is a new favorite protagonist. Loved, loved, loved my time in this tale on Halloween eve and Halloween day 🎃 perfection!

I have to start this review by admitting that while I am somewhat familiar with Poe's writing, I haven't read The Fall of The House Of Usher, which I am told this is a pretty direct retelling of. This was a quick, creepy read, but unfortunately it felt like it got a bit lost about halfway through. Especially in such a short read like this, pacing is absolutely everything, and while the overly descriptive, flowery writing was good for setting the dripping, horrific backdrop at the beginning of this book, it felt like it plateaued halfway through and I was utterly bored for the second half of the book. Perhaps this is just a case of not the right reader for this book, because the writing was obviously high quality, it just didn't grab me in the way I want a novella to. I would still be willing to give another work by this author a shot.

If you liked Mexican Gothic, you will love What Moves the Dead! This book is a novella retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher and includes:⁣
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🏚 A creepy mansion⁣
🍄 Funky fungi⁣
🐇 Zombie rabbits⁣
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What Moves the Dead literally gave me chills and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to squeeze in one last spooky season read!

“The dead don’t walk.” Alex Easton repeats this line as a mantra even as all evidence seems to point to the contrary in What Moves the Dead. This latest novel by horror and fantasy writer T. Kingfisher is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story “The Fall of the House of Usher” and came out back in July. This is the first of Kingfisher’s works I have read, despite having had her books and short stories recommended to me for years. She finally lured me in with a Poe retelling, and I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author!

What Moves the Dead takes the premise of “The Fall of the House of Usher” and transports it to a fictional European country where something uncanny is afflicting the local wildlife along with the two Usher siblings. Alex Easton, the story’s protagonist, is a nonbinary soldier from a neighboring region who grew up beside Roderick and Madeline Usher and fought beside Roderick in the army. After receiving a letter from Madeline explaining that she is gravely ill, Easton immediately sets out to visit the Usher estate. But Madeline isn’t the only one whose health is in decline. Upon arriving at the estate, Easton is struck by Roderick’s strange appearance and behavior, as well, and also hears rumors of unhealthy wildlife in the area—especially the local hares, which the locals associate with witches and refuse to hunt. Easton begins to suspect that the mysterious illness afflicting Madeline and Roderick may be connected to whatever is wrong with the hares—and perhaps also to the ghoulish lake and the blood-red mushrooms that grow around it. With the help of an American doctor and a neighboring mycologist, Easton races to discover the source of the sickness before it can spread further.

The protagonist of Alex Easton brings new life to the vague and nameless narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s story. Easton’s backstory is slowly revealed as the world of this alternate-Europe is fleshed out throughout the novel. Easton comes from a culture whose language has multiple sets of genderless pronouns—including those used for children and those used specifically for warriors. This linguistic phenomenon led to a loophole through which people assigned female at birth could enlist in the army and take on the genderless identity of a soldier. Easton is one of many soldiers who choose to maintain that nonbinary identity even after they leave military service, using the pronouns ka/kan. The book does a smooth and skillful job of introducing multiple sets of neo-pronouns in a way that feels natural in this fantasy world and approachable to the reader.

What Moves the Dead is also yet another entrant into what seems to be a burgeoning new subgenre of mushroom horror. The other big example that I have read and reviewed here is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but other members of this subgenre include Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon and the anthologies Fungi and Fruiting Bodies. What is it about mushrooms that make them such perfect agents of horror? In this case, at least, I think it’s a combination of their liminal qualities as something that seems to exist between/outside of the boundaries of plant and animal, as well as the ability of some species of fungus to form parasitic relationships with other living creatures. There’s also something innately terrifying about a vast living network in which individual fruiting bodies are only the visible avatars of the hidden mycelia that create a vast living organism largely outside of our perception.

If you, too, would like to find mushrooms more terrifying than they already are, you can find What Moves the Dead on shelves now at your favorite local retailer.

Ok, I’ll say it: I’m really struggling to get on board with the current trend of fungi-based horror.

I just…mushrooms? Really?

Anyway, T. Kingfisher brings us mushroom terror meets The Fall of the House of Usher here, which was…fine as a concept, although plot wise it’s a fairly literal interpretation, which (combined with the villain being, um, fungi) really tamped down the suspense.

I do love Kingfisher‘a ability to write horror books that are creepy without being gratuitous and grotesque, and this one meets that criteria as well as the rest.

And while the short length of the book is nice in some ways, it deprives us of a chance to really get to know the characters, which tend to be one of the best things about Kingfisher’s novels.

The setting was well-rendered, and certainly reminiscent of Poe. Part of me wonders if this might actually be a better read if you haven’t read the story that inspired it, but maybe I was just put off by all the goofy fungi stuff.

I had never read The Fall of the House of Usher, so I now need to! I was a Biology major and really like the horror genre so this was a perfect quick read for me. I enjoyed that it was mostly fast-paced and they did a great job keeping me on my toes. Its interesting to read how the fungi infected the lake water and anything that touched it became infected too. I wonder how many animals besides the fish and hare's also became infected. Scary to think that fungi could inhabit your body and take over the world!