I have mycophobia. This book did not help. The specific irrational fears I have of fungi are present within this story. So very effective in creating a sense of dread and unease.

The cover of this book is so eye catching I had to read it, and though I was skeptical to a retelling of "The Fall of the House of Usher", I thought the book expanded on the plot well. Alex Easton, our protagonist was a witty character that I was entertained by in their mannerisms and reactions. I look forward to more of van's adventures.

There are similarities in theme to Mexican Gothic that the author also points out, but I'd say this book made me more uneasy. I think that might be my specific mycophobia talking, but I won't spoil that. Well worth the read if you enjoy cold dark and damp houses with the odd hare shuffling around.

I was not fond of the narrator's voice. The story was okay, but not great. I figured out what was going on fairly early (when the main character was walking up to the house), so I felt like I was just going through the motions of the story and didn't really get drawn in.

TW: Language, anxiety, depression, death by suicide, smoking, PTSD, grieving, animal death (graphic), sexism

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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 Ruravia.

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.
Release Date: July 12th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: 165
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Story is based on House of Usher
2. Enjoyed the retelling of story

What I Didn't Like:
1. Over rabbits being in all books
2. The monotone writing
3. Did not like the main character
4. "The Dead don't walk" 14 uses
5. Repetitive
6. I hated the audiobook
7. Some parts are confusing
8. All the rambling

Overall Thoughts:
Wait is Alex a female? It's mentioned that they have to bind their breasts to hide that they are female, but curious how that would work when changing or bleeding during monthly.

I honestly hate the monotone of this book. It's so straight forward and dull.

I am so sick of rabbits in books. I swear they are in every weird book anymore. I just read them in the retelling of A Haunting on the Hill House and they are pretty much the same as in this book.

It sucks that I did not care for this retelling, but maybe I am just too obsessed with the original story. I am a HUGE fan of Poe and so it was already perfect for me.

Final Thoughts:
I absolutely hated The audiobook. I had to switch to reading the book. All the voices were so bad.

I will read the next book in the series as Tor did send me the ebook of it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

By far the weirdest T. Kingfisher book I’ve read so far and I still feel a bit on the fence about it? I described to someone as a gender bent (or fluid?) retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher with a The Last of Us twist. So yeah… weird. But compulsively readable. And I don’t think I’ll be able to resist reading the next installment.

3.5 out of 5 wine glasses.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher is a horror novel that is guaranteed to give you chills. The book follows the story of a group of archaeologists who discover an ancient tomb filled with cursed artifacts and secrets that refuse to stay buried. As they try to uncover the truth behind the tomb, they quickly realize that the dead aren't the only things that move in the dark.

The author's writing style is engaging and vivid, and the pacing of the plot is fast and thrilling. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making it easy for readers to become invested in their journey and struggles. What sets this book apart from other horror novels is the way that the author blends fear and humor seamlessly, creating a unique and entertaining read.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror and suspense. It's a well-crafted and chilling story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

This book was everything I was hoping it to be. It really packed a creepy punch for being so small. The writing was strong and atmospheric. As a retelling, this was strong and definitely holds a candle to the original. However, even those unfamiliar with the original Poe story will still enjoy this. This def gives Mexian Gothic vibes in the best way.

The narration is not good!
This fun and creepy novella follows Alex’s perspective. It’s categorized as horror, but it’s not as scary. There are some gory descriptions, as one might expect from the genre. I also appreciated the humor, which helped balance out the tenser sections.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher is beyond original. If you’re considering picking this one up I HIGHLY suggest skipping the audiobook version. Sadly, the narrator makes getting thru this audiobook virtually impossible. I couldn’t get into this audiobook and gave up quickly after I started it. I didn’t want the narrator to ruin the reading experience for me. The voice truly made this a very painful listen.

Later I picked up the physical book and I enjoyed that. The storyline was original and good. I really enjoyed the LGBTQ+ representation. This one had gothic vibes and I was here for it. This book was hella atmospheric, suspenseful and just plain creepy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this listening copy in exchange for my honest review. If I was rating this solely on being an audiobook, it’s a one star because well I can’t give it anything less. If I’m rating the story itself is as a non audiobook it’s 4 stars from me.

I honestly can't tell you what about this book worked for me. But it was so unsettling and weird, and the writing style was really good. I'll definitely read more from T. Kingfisher

Admittedly, I confused this book with one my dad said he really wanted to read, "All the Living and the Dead," so it took me a while to start once I realized that. Also, because I went to a private school, we never read the classics so I won't be able to compare this retelling to Poe's original script. That said, this book left me disturbed and fascinated. I've recently been on a horror kick lately, and can officially say that this one was one of the better forms of "gross" horror that I have read. The writing was vivid and, at time, grotesque. While the novel was more of a slow-burn, you could tell by the level of detail in the writing that the author did a lot of research. I loved the gothic vibes, the atmosphere, and some of the quotes made me pause and just stare at the wall for a while. I will definitely be picking up other T. Kingfisher novels in the future, he has made me a fan!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kingfisher's horror novella. Her storytelling skills are exceptional, and the vivid imagery in the book, along with the well-developed characters based on Edgar Allan Poe's original ones, contributed to the overall unsettling tone of the book. Although I was reading it in broad daylight, the book still managed to spook me.

However, the book's plot twist is not entirely original, and I have come across similar twists in many other horror books, especially in recent times. Additionally, I wish that Kingfisher had explored the concept more extensively, as the book felt too short and could have been even more spine-chilling. While the ending was a bit underwhelming for me, it makes sense as the book is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher.

Despite these minor drawbacks, I still believe that this is a solid novella that many people would enjoy reading, even if they haven't read Poe's original short story.

A creative retelling of “Fall of the House of Usher” with a twist reminiscent of “Mexican Gothic”. Though not too unique, this is a fun, horror novel to curl up with on a cold, stormy night. Recommended for fans of Poe and those in love with the trend of monsters that are… of the mushroom variety.

I'm going to talk about this book in two different parts.

1. The Story

It's a play off one of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories that I've never read. Shame on me I guess.

The first half of this book is quite boring and dull. We get introduced to the characters and their backgrounds, but nothing that helps you get into the story to actually care.

The second half of the book is where things FINALLY pick up. We have the full picture of the horror that has been happening at House of Usher and I became very engrossed in the story. Hello mushroom zombie alien disease thing.

So if you want make it through at least 50% of the book, the rest shouldn't disappoint.

2. The Narration

I really wanted to DNF this book in the first 50%. The only reason I didn't is because the book itself is so short.

The narrator was agonizingly slow and was pure torture to listen to. It made the story dull, unpleasant, and difficult to comprehend.

Once I was able to actually get into the story and want to know how it ended did I forget how unpleasant the narrator was.

What Moves the Dead is a creepy southern gothic horror by an author who is now one of my favorites. The atmosphere and world building is immersive. Great audio narration.

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING. Kingfisher is so unbelievably skilled at creating a gothic and creepy atmosphere that draws you in and gives you chills down your spine, and the narrator, Avi Roque, added the perfect narration to enhance the creepy factor. The focus on mushrooms, the decay of life, the eloquent writing, the enjoyable characters - everything about this book made it top tier for me. Now, I will say I've never read Mexican Gothic, which I've seen numerous people compare it to, but if I loved this one this much, I can't wait to experience another gothic horror, so I can't give the comparison that many reviews online have, but I can say, I was enthralled and I loved this book so much. It was perfectly creepy, and gave me the dose of horror I was looking for. Five well deserved stars.

Many thanks to @macmillan.audio and @tornightfire for this #gifted copy.

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

Bizarre and creepy. Kingfisher’s reimagining of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a solid horror read. And even when you want to look away (Those mushrooms! Those hares!), you can’t quite manage to!

Retired nonbinary soldier, Alex Easton, rushes to the family home of their friend, Madeline, upon receiving word of her impending death. Not only does Easton find Madeline and her brother in varying states of illness, they also find the House of Usher going to ruin, covered in fungi. Joining forces with a British mycologist and American doctor, Easton is determined to unravel the unsettling mystery.

Why you should read this one:

🪦Unique reimagining that pays homage to its inspiration while remaining original

☠️ATMOSPHERE- no one does atmosphere better than Kingfisher! Completely eerie and totally ominous

🪦Well executed nonbinary character with unique pronouns

☠️Dark, dry humor... particularly towards those “silly Americans” created the perfect juxtaposition to the disturbing mystery
That ending!

This short audiobook is exceptionally performed by Avi Rocque. While I’d like to have a physical copy of this for my shelves, Rocque’s narration perfectly executed to the tense and disconcerting ambience of this gothic tale. It was a total winner for me, and I’d definitely recommend the audio.

What a creepy cover!

A gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Just as I’d hoped from the cover, it was definitely a creepy story and the audiobook really set the tone for the rest of the book, and I was completely drawn into what was going on.

*many thanks to Tor and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

A solid 3 star creepy and subtly disturbing horror novel. Not quite your classic horror, but still subtle horror nonetheless.

I struggled through this at times though because I felt like nothing really happened. It didn't help that all of the voices the narrator did all sounded the same so it was hard at time to determine who was speaking.

Creepy and effective world building would probably be five stars if the story didn't feel a little 'already told' which can happen with a retelling.

A retelling of Poe's classic House of Usher with a few twists.

This was my first Kingfisher horror genre and I have to say I will continue to check out her work. What Moves the Dead has a creepy atmosphere, elaborate characters and enough tension to keep you listening without stopping. I just wish I hadn't known the steps to the story so it could add that extra umph.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook!

Listen, I usually love a book where nothing happens, but I really feel like nothing happened here. There's a core mystery that has eerie vibes, and I loved the representation here, but I felt the book was mundane without the interesting prose to make up for it. I'm sorry!! I really wanted to like it, and I did enjoy recognizing the retelling of the Poe story as I was reading. But this was just meh for me.