In this retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Alex Easton receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher has fallen ill — is probably dying — and her brother Roderick is not faring much better. Easton goes to the Usher home in the countryside of Ruravia, thinking that they will be able to help; when they arrive, Easton comes face to face with dark, still waters, a crumbling manse, and fungi that creep not only through the countryside and the home but perhaps through the local wildlife as well. Easton teams up with an English mycologist and American doctor to get to the bottom of the mystery, but there is a creeping evil that is affecting the Ushers, and Easton and their companions may not make it out unscathed…

I was really excited to read this one because I love T. Kingfisher’s horror stories (THE TWISTED ONES and THE HOLLOW PLACES), and I am pleased to say that WHAT MOVES THE DEAD does not disappoint. In fact, my only complaint was that it was so short, much like Poe’s original “The Fall of the House of Usher” story. However, unlike Poe’s story, Kingfisher gives the reader more answers as to what unnatural (or natural) horror is affecting the Ushers, ultimately making the story even more scary and thrilling. The atmosphere was ominous and close, at times oppressive, making for a compelling story that I could barely put down. This was a fascinating, complex retelling that is entirely worthy of the legacy it follows.

I would also like to note that any readers should ensure to read the author’s note at the end of the book, as Kingfisher addresses their motivations in writing this story and any comparisons to another recent gothic horror book with fungi at its center. Both authors do extraordinary, scary work with the natural world and comparisons between the two books are obvious and welcome, but should not take the form of criticism.

And may I just say as well, the cover for this one is grotesque and beautiful and absolutely perfect for the story within. Bravo.

overall i really liked the writing in this one. i wasn’t familiar with the inspiration story though and i think that might’ve been why i didn’t love it as much as i think i could have. but it was a nice short dark read!

When I discover that a book is a retelling of one of Poe's stories, I become equal parts excited and wary. Will the new book do justice and proper homage to Poe's original genius, or will it be a ruinous disaster?

This book, fortunately, does the first. What Moves the Dead is a retelling of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, and the most beautiful thing about it is how little it actually varies from the original tale. T. Kingfisher manages to take Poe's short story, which runs around fifteen pages, and flesh it out beautifully into a 170-page novella. Kingfisher gives us the tragic siblings, Roderick and Madeline Usher, ensconced in the crumbling ruin that is their ancestral home. She also gives us a doctor named Denton and a new narrator - Lieutenant Easton - who find themselves in the middle of the mystery of the horror that is plaguing Madeline Usher.

Kingfisher takes hold of Poe's obsession with mushrooms and uses it to full advantage. In the damp atmosphere of the House of Usher, in the cold of the crypt, in the dark tarn and the fields beyond, the fungus is definitely among us. That wild, pale hair that Poe describes on the Usher siblings becomes a sort of sentient fungal mycelia and we discover that poor Madeline Usher has become a little *too* in tune with the spores that are infecting the local wildlife and lighting up the tarn in with a bioluminescent glow at night.

I can't talk about this book without mentioning one of the secondary characters. Within the first couple of pages, our narrator comes across an elderly British woman mycologist out looking for specimens to paint. I immediately thought, "Oh! Is it Beatrix Potter?" Well, not quite, but...close. Eugenia Potter mentions lightly in passing that Easton should meet her niece, Beatrix, and I cheered!
Eugenia is a wonderful character who gave the book just the right amount of humor and solid British pragmatism.

In the notes at the back of the book, the author mentions how she read Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic while in the midst of writing this book, and how the similarities distressed her for a bit. I, too, thought of Mexican Gothic while reading What Moves the Dead but I think that Kingfisher has managed to pull the whole thing off a little better. While the mushrooms in Mexican Gothic become a disgusting, grotesque part of that story, in What Moves the Dead, the fungus takes on a sort of morbidly beautiful quality.

Sticking fully to the Gothic style of Poe's tale, and injecting it with bits of science which make it somehow both more fascinating and more terrible, Kingfisher gives us a tale at once familiar and wonderfully new.

Gothic horror has always been my favorite breed of horror: focused on small irregularities in the details that need to be noted but not necessarily noticed until strange happenings are hard to ignore. The effectiveness of the genre really is in the details and What Moves the Dead ticks a whole lot of those boxes without getting bogged down in the minutiae of, say, rotting gentility and the loss of affluence. It was more about “my god why won’t anyone leave this stupid house?”

Easton was also a very fun main character: honorable and direct and not prone to the flights of fancy typical of characters in a gothic novel (no, ka’s much more concerned with rescuing ka’s friends and explaining that “no really, soldier is a gender where I’m from, and I am neither man nor woman despite appearances and the time period”). Easton is observant without trying to guess at explanations, which keeps the story mysterious and gives us an avenue to either enjoy the ride or make our own guesses.

I also woke up in the middle of the night, read two more chapters, and went back to sleep only to have a really bizarre dream, so I’d call this a resounding success.

In What Moves the Dead T. Kingfisher expertly reimagines Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. That fact alone sold me on this book, well that and the fact that T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors, but then this cover dropped. A masterpiece shall grace our shelves. Mine for sure because I've already pre-ordered a copy and you should too!

The year is 1890 and Alex Easton has just received word that their childhood friend, Madeline Usher, is on the brink of death. Thus, Easton heads off to the countryside to the Usher family estate to be with Madeline and perhaps provide some support to Madeline's brother, Roderick.

Arriving at the once lavish estate, Easton is shocked that the manor home has fallen into such a horrible state of disrepair. It's unnerving to say the least. Equally unnerving is the state in which Easton finds Madeline. They knew Madeline was quite ill, but her behavior belies any illness that Easton is aware of. Madeline's behavior, speech and appearance are bizarre. She's frightening to be around.

Denton, an American doctor and friend of Roderick Usher, is staying at the home as well while tending to Madeline. It's clear that Denton has no explanation for Madeline's mysterious illness. Additionally, Roderick Usher isn't quite himself either. He's not sleeping and claims to be hearing things in the walls of the home.

In addition to our main cast we also get some great side characters. Hob, Easton's trusty horse, was of course my favorite. No one writes animal companions quite like Kingfisher. She gives them such strong personalities, which for anyone who has an animal companion of their own will seem quite relatable.

Another favorite was the intelligent and plucky Miss Potter, a local woman who spends her time researching and painting specimens of fungi. Easton and Potter meet and develop a quick rapport. Easton ends up learning a lot about the local area, lore, flora and fauna from Miss Potter.

The classic gothic vibe of What Moves the Dead meshed so well with Kingfisher's fresh and witty humor. Picking up a new Kingfisher story is so comforting for me. It's like settling in for story time with a horror-loving friend. That's exactly the feeling I got from this one. It's eerie and sinister the entire way through, while also somehow managing to keep me laughing.

I loved going along with Easton on their investigation into the mystery surrounding the House of Usher. There is some truly horrifying imagery included that was so well done. I could picture, smell and taste the decay of this property. It definitely got under my skin.

Thank you so, so much to the publisher, Tor and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review. As I mentioned earlier, this was absolutely one of my MOST ANTICIPATED releases of the year and it did not disappoint. Kingfisher is knocking them out of the park in 2022!!!

What a brilliant retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Falling of the House of Usher!

Where to start with this one. It was creepy, atmospheric, and amazingly executed. The retelling of Poe’s short story was done well. I listened to the audiobook as well as read it and I really enjoyed both. The narrator of the audiobook only enhanced the genius of the story.

The year is 1890 when retired soldier Alex Easton receives a letter that his friend Madeline Usher is dying. He doesn’t hesitate to visit his friend and meets the unique Miss Potter, who spends her time tending to fungus.
Alex arrives at the House of Usher alarmed at the dire state of his friend. In comes American Dr. Denton who is treating Madeline but can’t quite pinpoint the cause of her illness. Alex also visits his other friend Roderick Usher whose appearance is shocking to say the least. Madeline and Roderick are exhibiting other bizarre symptoms like sleep walking and hearing voices. Alex’s stay takes a dark turn as he notices the mushrooms and fungi around the dilapidated mansion. It’s almost like it has a life of its own.

What Moves the Dead is available
July 12,2022

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A thrilling, gruesome horror book, "What Moves the Dead" by T. Kingfisher was a clever and thoughtful re-telling of Edgar Allen Poe's famous House of Usher. The novel follows gender-neutral main character, Alex, as they visit their friends in the House of Usher. In this creepy, scary house, the Usher siblings are both weak, paranoid and dangerously unstable. The Usher sister, Maddy, has been on deaths doorstep for weeks as Alex enters the scene.

Personally, this fresh take on a classic was intriguing, creative and extremely believable. Alex's character was strong and disciplined. Their logical life as a solider was contrasted with the mystical, terrifying fungus growing in the house. Alex didn't panic and worked their best to help the Usher siblings. While the plot wasn't surprising since I've read the original story, "What Moves the Dead" was clever, creepy and left me with chills in my bones.

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