Set in Edgar Allan Poe’s world of the house of usher Kingfisher’s writing takes Poe’s horrific story and adds a light heartedness that is much appreciated for such a grim tale. Much like the original the story begins with a veteran soldier receiving a letter from your childhood friend to come for a visit. From that point on the story takes a turn in a unique scientific way that leaves the reader go laughing as well as horrified. The soldier arrives at the House of Usher to find things are far from what would seem normal. T. kingfisher has solidified herself as a new author for me and I can’t wait to read her other words.

This book what exactly what I thought it would be when I looked at the cover and found out that it was a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher — creepy, atmospheric, gothic, and cool. You’ll never look at mushrooms the same way after reading this, and it was ALMOST enough to make me want to read more horror. Yikes! In a good way. And the audiobook added something extra to the chilling atmosphere, while keeping the story grounded.

I put it down and came back to it three times before finally deciding I cannot listen to another word of this book.

It's not the writing, nor is it the story. It's the narrator. OH MY GOD she is terrible. I felt like I was a pre-schooler sitting in a public library, listening to a librarian dramatically reading a children's book.

If this book has any chance of success as an audio offering, you need to hire another narrator pronto.

What Moves the Dead
by T. Kingfisher
How much this book reflects the current scientific investigations shows in that my news feed just showed an article on Zombie fly fungus, and how it imitates fly behavior. This book is not as far fetched as the author postulates. We do not know everything in haven and earth as we hope to. The setting of the book in the turn of the century manor house was a brilliant analogy to our interpretation of the changes of science and sophistication that came out of the era of the late 18's. It also adds to the haunting nature, that the depression of the region and the problems of the people are connected to the manor house and its prosperity. What a brilliant idea, to create the most grotesques of horrors in such a pivotal social change. This story may haunt those educated readers beyond the pages of the book. The audio version is outstandingly frightening on its own.

It's a tale as old as darkness. There's no way you enter it and return without your life changed. Taking the gothic structure of a forlorn countryside and derelict manor haunted by a waning family is a story structure as familiar is it is utilized. While Kingfisher refreshes this concept, it is not a tale that shines brightly enough to return to later.

This audiobook arc was provided by NetGalley. Mild spoilers below.

What Moves the Dead is pitched as an atmospheric re-telling of The Fall of the House of Usher. Alex Easton, a sworn soldier, gets a letter that his childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying. He travels to the house of Usher to see her and her brother Roderick, and discovers the house is grim, covered in mold, at the edges of a mysterious and troubling lake. The hares surrounding the estate also have an alarming tendency to stare, trundle, and not die when shot.

Admittedly, I was only passingly familiar with the original Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, but this premise gripped me and made for an exhilarating read. The worldbuilding is sparse but rich, probably due to the length of the novella. The concept of sworn soldiers as a genderless group of fighters was an intriguing addition to this book’s otherwise typical societal gender norms.

Being mildly familiar with mycology, the role that fungi plays in the storyline is surprising and innovative, and makes a compelling part of the plot. I thought it was brilliant and cool, but also deeply creepy.

This book has an incredible sense of foreboding throughout, until the end when the horror comes full circle. I was thoroughly creeped out and couldn’t stop listening. On the edge of my seat until the very end. I highly recommend it for fans of suspense and horror, closed room mysteries, and mushroom fans.

There seems to be an emerging trend of mushroom horror quite literally creeping into the genre recently, from The Luminous Dead to Mexican Gothic. It’s a trend I’m totally onboard with and What Moves the Dead completely embraces these elements with T.Kingfisher’s take on The Fall of the House of Usher. With her characteristic tendency to highlight LGBT characters in her stories without making them specifically an “issues” book, she truly managed to do something different with such a renowned text in the genre.

I think those looking for more subtlety in their horror will hit a sweet spot with What Moves the Dead, because it focuses so much more on the atmosphere and growing sense of unease the narrator is wrought with upon their visit to the eponymous house. It doesn’t depict much gore, which isn’t to say the imagery itself that is presented is not disturbing. I know I will be dreaming about white filaments reanimating corpses for a long time yet to come, and Kingfisher really nailed these brief but extraordinary moments of unsettling fungal horror.

What I did find lacking here is the same general things that tend to bother me about novellas - condensed character work into a very short page count. For horror, where the story often needs the time to build the necessary sense of dread and suspense, I think Kingfisher’s tendency to write novellas doesn’t always serve her stories to their greatest potential. But overall a fantastic retelling, one I’d highly recommend reading closer to the months of autumn as a chill creeps into the air and things begin to rot.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Chilling!

This novella is a retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and let me tell you it did not disappoint.

The story starts off in 1890, where Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives news that his childhood friend, Madeline Usher is dying. Alex grabs his horse Hobs, and heads to the house of Usher to be with friends, Roderick, and Madeline Usher. As he’s heading over to the home he meets Miss Potter, an English woman who is studying fungus and is by far one of my favorite characters.

Upon arriving to the Usher home, Easton is shocked how ill Madeline really is. It’s then we meet Denton, an American doctor who is trying to treat Madeline. Throughout Easton’s stay strange things keep happening. From weird rabbits to sleep walking spells, there is never a dull moment. Even Roderick Usher seems to be going through it.

I absolutely loved this book, it was super creepy and the way the author made me feel I was there, experiencing the creepiness firsthand is just amazing. Admittedly this is the first book I’ve read from T. Kingfisher and let me tell you it won’t be the last. I highly recommend anyone and everyone pick this book up!


Thank You to T. Kingfisher and Macmillan Audio, for the audio-digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of the audiobook.

"The dead don't walk. Except sometimes, when they do."

T. Kingfisher's masterful retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher is atmospheric, creepy, and beautifully written. Our narrator, Easton, is nonbinary and just returning from service in the military. They receive news from their army friend Roderick Usher that his sister, Madeline Usher, is severely ill. When Easton arrives at the Usher house, they find that though Madeline's condition is most concerning, Roderick is also struggling with a mysterious ailment. Not to mention the hares on the estate and in the surrounding area are behaving strangely -- not like hares at all.

This novella offers more insight into the family Usher and what causes their ailments than the original EAP story and I love it. I can definitely see the comparison with Mexican Gothic as well - a little bit gory, very creepy, and very captivating.

4.5 stars, rounded to five. For a shorter novella, this story is pretty epic.

I went into the book expecting a retelling of the House of Usher and, while I got that, it felt as though I got a modern resolution to the story. Which was excellent, but I was not actually expecting. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have read one other T Kingfisher book and it really pulled me into the horror genre, and this one has also pulled me back and reminds me why the creepy supernatural horrors are my favorite. I do find horror stories to be a bit difficult to review without spoiling, but I'll do my best.

This follows Alex Easton who is called to the home of an old friend of theirs as she is ill and in need to company. What follows is a slow build horror with all the creepy elements of several different possibilities to lead us to the ultimate evil of the place. There is a cast of interesting characters, including Easton (a soldier of sorts), an American doctor, a British mycologist, and the Ushers (the couple who live in the house). The creepy hares surrounding the home just add to the mystery and keep you wondering as to what is actually happening.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was well done, though I did expect to have a British narrator and not an American one for some reason so that threw me off. However, overall I was able to listen to the book on 1.8X speed and there was no issue with keeping up or multitasking while listening. It was a very quick read.

There were bits and pieces of the story that did feel a bit abrupt or not as fluid as they could have been, and I did find some parts to just be weird and off-putting in a way that didn't match the rest of the story. I know this is based off of the classic and I have not read the House of Usher in quite some time so maybe it's about time to go back and reread some of Edgar Allen Poe's original works. Overall this gets 4.5 out of 5 from me and I highly recommend it!

This retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher gave me all the moody, atmospheric, gothic vibes. I loved this version where Easton, our narrator, is a nonbinary character, who has continued to maintain their warrior's gender (genderless) even though the war has ended. Easton, in love with Madeline since childhood, rushes to the Usher estate when Roderick, his soldier friend, sends word that Madeline is on her death bed.

When Easton arrives he discovers a miasma around Usher house and rather unnerving occurrences on the heath and moors. Dead things walking long after their death, and many animals are starting to exhibit the same physical features which lead him to believe perhaps this is connected to what is harming Madeline as well.

If you are into mycology at all, this book is a must read. As someone fascinated by mycelium I loved considering this classic tale with this in mind.

Thank you Tor Nightfire and #NetGalley for the ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and - most importantly - T. Kingfisher for the advanced copy.

One part Beatrix Potter meets eleven parts Edgar Allen Poe in this mycophilic retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher.

The dark tone and eerie storytelling are splendidly interwoven with whimsy and a clear love of all things fungal. The pace is a bit inconsistent and the dialogue stilted, but all in all a very enjoyable listen.

3.5/5 stars. I haven't read Poe's Fall of the House of Usher* in a whole lotta years. This read definitely made me want to revisit that one to see the source of the inspiration, though I don't anticipate that it's actually very similar at all. Regardless, this was a fun reading experience. There were several things about this book that set it apart from other of T. Kingfisher's work and I have mixed feelings on that. One the one hand, the prose was less casual and more poetic. In the first couple of chapters of this book, I was a bit lost as to what was going on (tbh, I was trying a bit too hard to connect it to Poe's short story instead of just enjoying this story for itself), but I still appreciated the writing for itself.

That said, this book was also far more serious than other books of hers I have read and that was a bit disappointing to me. I love her mix of horror and humor (and romance and humor, and fantasy and humor....) and this book didn't have that same lightness in its tone. Some readers might like that, but I was let down.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a good job. Their "undead" voice was perfect and creepy af.

In terms of scary factor, this was pretty dang creepy. Especially taking into account that Zombie Ants are a real thing and mushrooms can, in fact, take over the brains of living beings. (My husband had to run to the interwebs immediately after finishing "just to make sure" that ophiocordyceps unilateralis is not a fungus that can really take over humans. It can't [that we know of].)

If you've played the video game Dragon Age Inquisition, it felt to me as if this story was set in the Fallow Mire, only instead of dead bodies just floating in the swamps, they were coming after you and talking to you. Good times.

If you're a fan of Kingfisher or Poe or just really nice prose with a dash of "wtaf is happening rn", then I recommend this book as a short creepy read.

I'm not usually a horror kind of girl, but so many people have been raving about T. Kingfisher recently so I couldn't resist requesting this audiobook and I'm glad I did. What Moves the Dead is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe and I've never read it so I can't really tell you how faithful or expansive this book is in comparison. What I can tell you is that Kingfisher created a really intricate world in a short amount of space, providing a ton of world-building even though we're focused on a sliver of said world. I thought that was a really neat thing to do because it really brought the characters and the world to life.

As far as the plot itself goes, essentially Alex goes to their friend's home and finds that Madeline and her brother are both looking skeletal. It's not necessarily clear why/what's causing the illness. But Alex meets up with a mushroom expert lady, there's a doctor staying at the house, and Alex also has their trusted valet type person to help them investigate. Honestly, I would say this felt to me like more of a slow mystery with a rather atmospheric setting more than horror, but since I'm not even sure what I'm looking for in this genre, I can't really tell you if that's how it was supposed to feel. What I do know is that the narration was really well done in the audiobook and I enjoyed my time listening to it.

After The Twisted Ones, I was hesitant to read another by this author, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was an interesting take on Usher, and I was interested in the narrator's perspective. The use of differentiating pronouns took some getting used to, but it broadened my horizons a bit. I enjoyed this work much more than the author's previous novel.

Having never read 'The Fall of the House of Usher' by Edgar Allen Poe and as such, I am unburdened with comparison. The narrator's androgynous quality of voice lends itself to the main characters own genderqueer-ness, and the nod to Beatrix Potter was a delight. The story itself is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and Home Before Dark.

Horror is usually not my thing. But I love T. Kingfisher, so I had to read her new book.

What Moves the Dead is a delightfully creepy gothic novella. Retired soldier Alex Easten travels to the remote country house of Madaline and Roderick Usher after hearing Madaline has been ill for some time. Their childhood friends are living in a crumbling mansion with few servants and only an American surgeon to monitor Madaline's strange sickness. Alex wants to get Maddy out of this miasmic environment, but the siblings refuse to leave. Can Alex help their friends?

I didn't know what to expect going in since I was not familiar with Poe's Fall of the House of Usher. What I got was a creepy house, stagnant water, animals behaving strangely, and weird people, including a roving amateur mycologist.

I loved this story. It was just creepy enough without being dreadful.

I loved the protagonist Alex Easten. In their language, anyone joining the military uses the military pronoun, so they essentially have the gender "soldier." This is a great concept.

I listened to the audio version of this book, read by Avi Roque. Avi is a transgender nonbinary actor. They were the perfect narrator for this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audible and NetGalley for access to an early version of this book.

Yet another T. Kingfisher book that hit it out of the park. I love how they can move from one genre to another so easily. This one was just wild to read, definitely still an autobuy.

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. Kingfisher

In what reads like a fever dream come to life Kingfisher reimagines Edgar Allen Poe’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, in WHAT MOVES THE DEAD-out now!

This isn’t the kind of book I normally reach for which makes it all the more fun.

Marketed as a horror, but it leans more towards fantasy. It’s short and packed full of lush gothic elements. It reminded me a little of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, partly because it features an ominous hare and feels disorienting and is similar to but not quite like our world.

I enjoyed this novella retelling and recommend you add it to your Tbr!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for the advanced copies!

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oof…I did not count “mold” and “mushrooms” on my list of things I am freaked out by, but that has changed. Kingfisher’s gripping novella reimagining Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” weaves together several twists and turns that leaves you suspicious of the nature surrounding you. Although the ending wasn’t all that surprising, if you like Poe, adaptations, horror, mysteries, or ecology (??), this is worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley, T. Kingfisher, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!