Following their harrowing ordeal at the house of Usher, Alex Easton has returned to Gallacia in hopes of finding rest within the the dark woods and their family's secluded hunting cabin. With their companion Angus along for the journey, Easton soon finds that things in Gallacia are not as they once were.

The hunting lodge, for one, has been left in shambles.
The beloved caretaker is dead.
And word has it that something terrifying is lurking in the deep wood, hiding in the shadows of the autumn chill.

"What Feasts at Night" boasted a promising premise as the follow-up to T. Kingfisher's novella "What Moves the Dead." While beautifully written and delivering an atmospheric setting, "What Feasts at Night" shows that its predecessor may have, regrettably, been such a home run because of the foundation (in Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher) it had to stand on in the first place.

"What Feasts at Night" felt tedious and dreadfully slow until the last 30% of the story; not saying much for such a short novella. And even then, its horror elements felt underdeveloped, rushed, and not nearly as impactful as those found in "What Moves the Dead." While T. Kingfisher's characters remain compelling enough, they couldn't fully redeem this second novella for me.

After completing What Moves the Dead, I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to breathe (or sleep) normally ever again. Anytime I spotted fungi they would stop me dead in my tracks and my brain would tell me to run! Then I found out that this little gem was being released and my body started to tingle. I just knew that I had to read this and I couldn't request this fast enough. I think I burned a hole through my phone's screen.

Should I cry now or cry later? This really pains me to say this, so I'm just going to come right out and say this. This bored me and it really wasn't my favorite. (Hides head in shame) I adore this author so much with her creepy tales but this one didn't do anything for me. Things really didn't pick up until the last thirty percent. For being such a short tale the story should have taken me almost instantly like her others have. It just didn't. *sigh*

What Feasts at Night has a hauntingly spectacular cover and one I would hang up on my wall. The story just didn't do it for me. Very slow-paced and not enough action to hold my full interest. I'll still read books by her because who wouldn't?

Like many others, I was absolutely fascinated by Kingfisher’s WHAT MOVES THE DEAD, so I was incredibly excited when I heard we would be getting a follow-up. And while I admittedly don’t remember much of the events of the first novella, this one felt even more intimate and heart wrenching (in all the best ways). For me, this was a quieter kind of horror, not the kind that necessarily makes you scared when you go out at night but the kind that gets told around the fire like a folk tale and you only remember once it’s too late. It’s as much of a character study more than something that’s distinctly scary, although the author’s prose is decidedly haunting long past when you first read it. Easton’s descriptions of their time as a soldier is endlessly fascinating and although I can’t account for its truthfulness, it certainly feels intimate and real. If you enjoyed the first iteration of Sworn Soldier or you’re looking for something gothic and a little bit horrific to pick up, this is definitely worth the read!

Though it’s never discussed explicitly in our terms (it’s certainly built into the world of Sworn Soldier), there’s something about these books that is so innately queer, from the concept of the sworn soldier to the fact that God’s Gallacian pronouns are apparently Ha/Har.

This novella is like historical folklore, almost surprising in the fact that it’s not real than anything. The worldbuilding is innately complemented but the character building along the way, with the author using the real world as a mold to create something decidedly its own. The way that Easton talks about PTSD (or soldier’s heart) and other facets of being out of the war but never escaped from it makes this novella so much more than just a haunting little story, even if it’s definitely that. It’s a little finicky and different from a lot of what I think I typically read, full of superstition and old-country style vibes, but an enjoyable read all the same.

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher is a great eerie Gothic horror novella. It’s the second book in the Sworn Soldier series, but can be read as a standalone. Although I would recommend reading What Moves the Dead, both of these books are excellent!
This is another great story of Alex Easton, a retired army soldier, that inherits a hunting lodge in Gallacia. Many believe it is haunted by a Moroi, a demon that crouches on your chest while you sleep and steals the breath from your lungs.
I loved this book and definitely would recommend! This book comes out on February 13, 2024… You can pre-order now!
Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Somehow, despite having only having 3 goodreaders following me (my friends), NetGalley and T. Kingfisher’s publishers were kind enough to give me an ARC for this incredible sequel. I could kiss them all square on the lips!

I LOVED “What Moves the Dead” and I’m very elated to say the same for “What Feasts at Night.” It has wonderful blend of genres like its predecessor, and contains juicy and morbid content that automatically pulls me in and spits me the fuck out. Read this damn book y’all. I will be preordering a physical copy 🤪

Also this book has Hozier vibes. If you know, you know!


Edit: I love the iOS game “Year Walk.” I can confidently say that this books is probably the most similar book that I know of. It is very atmospheric, hauntingly beautiful, downright creepy, and full of folklore. No wonder I love this book so much!

Kingfisher has a lot of strengths as a writer, foremost of which is her ability to evoke an atmosphere. I was crunching dead leaves and staring up at gray skies right along Easton and Angus as they trudged through the woods, and I too had trouble gasping for breath while Easton walked in the dream realm. She also wrote a very thoughtful, sensitive description of what life is like for a soldier, even after everyone around them insists the war is over. I look forward to more adventures with the Gallican soldier.

Another winner from T Kingfisher! I was delighted to revisit old characters as well as to meet some new ones in this story. A quick and engaging read that I simultaneously didn’t want to put down and didn’t want to end.

"What Feasts at Night" by T. Kingfisher continues the chilling adventures of retired soldier Alex Easton, who is still recovering from their traumatic experiences at the Usher manor. In this horrifying new adventure, Easton is drawn back to their family hunting lodge in the cold and damp forests of Gallacia.

The novella sets the stage for a suspenseful narrative as Easton arrives at the lodge, only to find it in disarray and the caretaker dead. The atmosphere is shrouded in an eerie silence, and the villagers' whispers of a breath-stealing monster from folklore add to the growing sense of unease. Despite Easton's rationality, there's an acknowledgment that something is amiss, both in the physical realm and within the realm of dreams.

T. Kingfisher's storytelling in "What Feasts at Night" seems to blend the uncanny with the psychological, exploring the thin line between folklore and reality. The novella promises a continuation of the atmospheric horror introduced in the previous work, "What Moves the Dead." As Easton confronts the mysteries within their home and grapples with the strange occurrences, readers are likely in for another gripping and spine-chilling experience.

If you've had the opportunity to read "What Feasts at Night," feel free to share your thoughts on how T. Kingfisher builds upon the atmospheric horror and psychological elements in this continuation of Alex Easton's story.

Kingfisher is absolutely brilliant at creating atmosphere. Add in the fascinating characters and you have an amazing story. Highly recommended!

I so enjoy the character of Easton and Kingfisher's voice in general. This was another wonderful adventure with just the right amount of spooky, visceral descriptions.

I was lucky enough to be able to read this before its release date, and I found the book quite enjoyable. I would give it 3.5 stars, as there were some aspects I didn’t enjoy or didn’t think were necessary, but overall the book and the story itself were good! In my opinion, there was a lot of world building and explaining that I didn’t actually find all that important to the story itself, and it was a little slow getting to the action and the thriller/supernatural aspect of the book, but once it got there, I really did enjoy it.

I did not read What Moves the Dead before reading this and I didn’t find the story hard to follow at all. There were only a few mentions of the previous book that I didn’t understand, but it wasn’t a deterrent and didn’t effect this story whatsoever. After reading this I do think I’ll be going back and buying What Moves the Dead so I can read that as well. If you want a short, spooky, supernatural story, this is the one for you!

A very atmospheric story and a worthy follow up to "What Moves the Dead". Consistently creepy and a great read for a rainy Autumn day

This book does a fantastic job of not only bringing back the wonderful characters from the first book, but also expanding the world in a way that a lot of second books don't pull off. This book is what I like to call "kind horror" where not only are the characters able to fight against the monster but they're also able to understand and be compassionate towards it. Plus, the mix of a fictional place being mixed with real historical events is so well done. I could read an entire series of Alex Easton stories.

The follow-up to T. Kingfisher’s bestselling gothic novella, What Moves the Dead . Retired soldier, Alex Easton, returns in a horrifying new adventure.

I loved What Moves the Dead so much that I was worried this follow-up would fall flat. I was pleasantly surprised, instead, to find that it is just as good as its predecessor. Eerie and atmospheric and tense and just wonderfully done. T. Kingfisher is a master!

T. Kingfisher can do no wrong, in my opinion. I was so excited for this continuation of the Sworn Soldier series. While What Moves the Dead could have easily been a standalone, I'm really glad she decided to continue the series. I will say that I definitely liked the horror elements in the first novella more than this one, but I still really enjoyed this book. All of our main characters were back, and I liked that we were given a little more insight into their backstories. I also think that the commentary on PTSD was very well done and not something that you see very often in fantasy novels.

"God, in my experience, is more likely to be found in gutters and at the bottom of dirty trenches than in designated architecture."

I would highly recommend reading the first book in the series before starting this one.

What Feasts at Night took a different avenue than is predecessor. What Moves the Dead was gripping with its suspense; its atmosphere thick and immersive. This book, however, felt like it was primarily a character exploration of our MC Alex Easton. We witness how the House (and the war prior to that) traumatized them. Easton has easily quotable and witty lines. We get to see old characters (I will forever love Hob) and are introduced to new ones. I was excited to hear more about Gallacia and its interesting customs. There was a paranormal aspect but it was comparably less intense in its telling as I found the book was more invested in the characters interactions.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for giving me an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from an arc and may change.

Another spooky adventure with Alex Easton, our stolid and damnably likeable narrator. Taking us into the alternately cosy and foreboding woods of fictional Eastern Europe, which have a fable-like atmosphere that recalls Jonathan Harker's early Transylvanian travels in Dracula, and likewise pulling from eerie folklore. Even if you aren't previously familiar with this book's monster, you don't need to know it to feel the dread. It's the kind of thing that feels like it exists in the shadowy corners of your psyche, a threat that you forgot you were supposed to remember. Kingfisher does a fanastic job of relating this, capturing the creeping sense of unease while also offering the everyday response and the daylight-thinking of someone who doesn't know they're in a horror story.

Marvellously managed tension and side characters that are compelling even when they're dislikable, and frequently funny writing that is a trademark of Kingfisher. I can never get over how much I like just hanging out with her characters, and Easton in particular.

Retired soldier Alex Easton would like nothing more than to continue holing up in their comfortable (if extremely messy) French apartment while they try to recover from the events of the last book, but after being asked to help provide lodgings for their friend Miss Potter to stay and study fungi in their home country of Gallacia, they travel deep into the backwoods to make ready an old family hunting lodge that would serve Potter's purposes perfectly. After hiring some cautious locals to replace the previous caretaker who had passed away in Alex's absence, everything appears to be set for Miss Potter's arrival. Unfortunately, something unseen has also taken residence in the lodge, an unwelcome presence that will push Alex to their very limits as they try to protect their friends.

T. Kingfisher has delivered a standout follow up to the first book starring Alex Easton, and fans of the prior entry will be delighted to spend more time with Alex and company in this horrific tale. While not as viscerally shocking to me as What Moves the Dead, the slow building horror and atmosphere of the dark forests of Gallacia and the terrors within kept me turning pages well into the night.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I was very excited to read this second novella in the Sworn Soldier series. I recently finished the first novella, What Moves the Dead, which I found both well written and extremely entertaining (and even a bit creepy at times).

While this second story is just as well written, I fear it lacks some of the entertainment value of the first. So much of this story is wasted on explaining and describing things before the "monster" is even revealed.

The characters are very endearing, in fact more so than the last novella, but I still felt the ending was somewhat rushed and lackluster.

Still, I remain a T. Kingfisher fan and will no doubt be buying a physical copy when it becomes available, if not simply to complete my collection.

Magnificent!! The adventures of Alex Easton, Angus, and Miss P are always in the right place at the right time for a perfect horror novella!