Holy shiitake mushrooms...this novel TRULY spooked me, quite the feat for a lover and avid consumer of the horror/thriller genre! The blend of biological, cosmic, supernatural, and atmospheric horror is masterfully visceral, the tension, suspense, and descriptive imagery gave me full-body shivers multiple times throughout. I am not ashamed to admit that I hid under my blankets a few times as I devoured the book in one night, who knew hares could be so terrifying?! This is the first T. Kingfisher work I've read but will certainly not be the last.

I was skeptical when I first picked this story up, but it is a brilliant reimagining of The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe. It begins with a soldier who receives a letter about his childhood friend, Madeline, who has a mysterious illness and it is unclear if she will survive. Easton rushes to her home, The House of Usher, and finds her quite ill. He also realizes that her brother is ill as well and that they seem to be lacking the aristocratic resources that they previously enjoyed. The home is falling into disrepair and the number of servants is limited. Strange events begin to happen and slowly the mystery unfolds. The author’s note mentions the novel by Sylvia Moreno Garcia, Mexican Gothic and YES! This was exactly the same feeling that I got from reading this book. The gothic atmosphere is spot on in What Moves the Dead as it is in Mexican Gothic. If you are looking for all the atmosphere in a truly creepy story, this one is it!
Highly recommend.

#WhatMovestheDead #NetGalley #MacmillanTorForge

I loved Hollow Places, but the almost too close to the source material and very historical setting threw me off. I'm not a fan of like world war tie periods, and I was expecting it to be more horror and less direct retelling of the fall of the house of usher

Again, you just cannot go wrong with T. Kingfisher books. I love the beautiful cover of this absolutely bonkers adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. It was spooky, atmospheric, and full of mushrooms. I think I will reread to get me in the mood for Halloween season.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book. I am leaving this honest review of my own will.

I think this was well written, and easy to get into. The characters and the world were both great.

4.5 stars. I was genuinely surprised by this one. I thought I would like it, but I wasn't expecting to really love the writing as much as I did. T. Kingfisher's writing is like a breath of fresh air steeped in the mysterious haze of a Gothic tribute to "The Fall of the House Usher" and an ode to fungi and how sinister they can become. I loved it, but chapters 9-11 dragged a bit which in a novella isn't good, so that's why it's not a solid 5 star read for me. Full review to come.

Very interesting, creepy and creative. Takes place in a fictional country/ world. The intricacies were intriguing and slightly exhausting. Not my personal favorite from Kingfisher. However, a solid well written story, that others could certainly find it to be a 4 Star or more read. I'm looking forward to her next novel based on modern day.

*Thank you to
Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

A retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, but with characters to root for and a healthy dose of the uncanny valley. This is a quick read that wastes no time setting the mood and delivering on an unsettling climax.

Despite the short amount of pages, the text felt so extremely dense, as if I could wrap my fingers around it. The descriptions of mushrooms, skin or eyes and even the algea(and fish) in the lake just delighted me. They felt both disgustingly specific and intriguing at the same time, made it extremely easy to picture it to the point of getting tingles on my arms and continue to flip the pages. As I read more it felt like being stuck in honey going down a drain, I had my theories to what was going on possibly, but couldn't read fast enough to the conclusion. Absolutely obsessed and couldn't tear myself away. Will definitely be reading the catalog from this author through the season.

Tell me that you love Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. Of course you do. Everyone does – it’s a wonderful story. If you’re at all like me, right now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “That story is amazing, and certainly doesn’t need to be adapted by another author.” But you’re wrong. We’re wrong. What Moves the Dead is that rare adaptation that may even in some ways surpass its source material.

T. Kingfisher has an undeniable knack for adapting older works of horror fiction. If you’ve been around the site, you might remember my review of her Lovecraft adaptation The Hollow Places. I really enjoyed that one as well. In the case of The Hollow Places, I enjoyed the way she told the same general story, but did away with Lovecraft’s slightly eye-rolly penchant for $40 words. In the case of What Moves the Dead, I don’t think that was necessary because Poe was a much more accessible, less hoity and/or toity writer than Lovecraft ever was. However, this should not in any way serve to diminish what she has accomplished here. This story is even more impossible to put down than its source material.

I’m sure by now that many of you are aware of my love of fungal horror. And What Moves the Dead is extremely fungal horror (how does something become “extremely fungal?” I’m not sure – but this definitely is). It is overflowing with the fungi. And it’s beautiful.

Equally impressive as the sheer fungiosity of the story, is how Kingfisher has managed to improve upon the moodiness and the strangeness of Usher. Is it still ultra-gothic and turbo-bleak? Yes. But now all that gothy mood is in the service of fungus and some super creepy bunnies. And the Ushers, of course.

Alex is a truly enjoyable character, and I genuinely appreciated the seamless way Kingfisher was able to introduce Alex’s entire backstory and explanation for much of the language that surrounds the soldiers in this world. I was also quite fond of Miss Potter (ok, I loved her), and the good doctor (he was okay). I was less fond of both Roderick and Madeline, but not nearly so much so of Roderick, at least, as I was when reading The Fall of the House of Usher.

If you like retellings/reimaginings of classic tales, I HIGHLY recommend this one. It has some truly inspired original elements, and it is just a hell of a lot of fun

This was an awesome story! Very vivid descriptions, especially of the various fungi and the super creepy hares! This was a great retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher with so much more added. I really liked the bits about Easton and Gallacia and sworn soldiers. It was a nice touch. And I don't know who T. Kingfisher does it but they make the most complete and best novellas I have read! I will happily read any book by this author!

“The dead don’t walk. Except, sometimes, when they do.”

I think it’s safe to say that I will never look at mushrooms the same way again after reading What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher. Fungal horror has always been a favourite sub-genre of mine. It’s weird and creepy and somewhat believable, given how often people interact with and eat mushrooms. And what happens in this story is absolutely bone-chilling.

What Moves the Dead is a re-telling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which I actually haven’t read (you don’t need to in order to understand or appreciate this story). It follows Alex Easton, a retired soldier, who travels to see their old childhood friend, Madeline, after receiving a letter saying that she’s gravely ill and dying.

Alex finds a decaying home surrounded by strange animals, weird mushrooms, and an unlikely group of characters trying to figure out what exactly is going on. The setting is incredibly macabre, mysterious, and unsettling. I was totally encapsulated, and equal parts mortified and intrigued.

The writing in this story is incredibly detailed, and I was able to perfectly picture the scene: an old, cold, musty house full of mold and mildew, an exterior covered in overgrown plants, and slow-moving hares that made you feel like you were always being watched.

For me, this was perfection. The atmosphere was palpable and truly transported me into the book, where I was able to witness firsthand the madness that was slowly but surely unraveling in the Usher’s house.

If you’re looking to add a dark, eerie book to your Fall TBR, make it this one. I loved the way this book made my skin crawl and can’t wait for more people to pick it up.

Thank you so much Tor Nightfire for sending me a digital copy via NetGalley. I gave this book five ✨🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄✨.

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher came out on July 12, 2022 and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

I have not read Edgar Allen Poe's story before so I was going into this story relatively blind. This story felt longer than it actually was, which is saying a lot because this is a short book. Unfortunately, I did not get on well with the writing. It made me feel very bored. The atmosphere was really great and spooky, but there were times where there was a lot of over explanation and I just did not care. I also felt very removed from the characters and did not particularly care what happened to them.

However, this book was an interesting premise and I enjoyed the vibes of it. I liked the plot, I just wasn't in love with how it was done.

I couldn’t get into this book as much as I wanted to but I did enjoy reading about these characters. The authors has a beautiful way of making words flow and I would definitely try another book by the author.

Gothic perfection with an undercoat of freaky fungal mayhem. Honestly just perfection. I'll never look at a Hare the same way again.

Was not a fan of the writing style and it was also a short book but slow at the same time. I may go back and finish it one day but I didn't really love this book as much as other books I have rear by this author.

When I heard that T. Kingfisher had a new book coming out, I was so excited. When I saw the cover, I was intrigued. Finally when I heard it was a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, I knew I had to read it.
For being a small book, this book is filled with gothic horror, mystery and thriller aspects and some creepy parts that I loved.
Fans of Poe will enjoy this retelling as much as people who have never read the Poe story.
I loved it and gave it 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for my early copy.

-This a dark retelling of Poe with a spin
-Definitely a fast read you will not want to put down
-I liked the aspect of the fungi creating body possession

This is Kingfisher's latest remix of a classic horror tale; here, The Fall of the House of Usher sees Alex rush to an ailing friend. But the friend's ailment is unsettling at the least, and the friend's brother is sick as well; also, the ancestral home and its surrounding landscape harbor disturbing flora and fauna. Alex, with the help of a scientist and a doctor, must figure out what's happening before all is lost.

The fluid writing and deft characterizations prevalent in Kingfisher's remixes are present here. This is a very fast read, and it works pretty much perfectly. There are some horrifying images. There are crypts, and decay. It's all a very enjoyable read spiked with terror. The extra sauce in this one is the drop-in addition of a new pronoun system, which was done pretty much seamlessly. (Alex is from a fictional country that uses a whole bunch of different sets of pronouns for things like different stages of life--and soldiers renounce their gender pronouns altogether, using a nonbinary set.) Other highlights include Alex's servant Easton, and the scientist Eugenia Potter (separately, and together). Because it's lovely when a mycologist shows up just when you need one!

This is a delightfully disgusting read and a great addition to Kingfisher's remix oeuvre. Ten stars for the hare alone. Stay away from the tarn.

Before reading this book, I read the short story it was derived from- The Fall Of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, so that I would have a better understanding of this story. I did not understand the short story, so I went into this book not hopeful. I almost DNF’d it at 20% because I was not understanding anything that was happening- however I was ONLY listening to the audio at that point (It has great narration). I decided to switch to reading it both physically and with audio, and THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. It went from being a DNF to being a 4 star! I really enjoyed the story, and I love the way T. Kingfisher writes- they are very lyrical with their descriptions, and each character’s personality shone across the page as I was reading. I thought they did an excellent job with this retelling, and it definitely gave me creepy vibes while I was reading- I’ll for sure never look the same way at Fungi ever again! I enjoyed my reading experience overall, and highly recommend you have the physical book with you. That will allow for a deeper understanding of all of the different aspects of the story going on simultaneously. Definitely be sure to check out this short horror story!