Full confession: I have only read The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe once. And maybe that's why I was seeing similarities to other works of art. Overall, I enjoyed reading T. Kingfisher weave together several different genres in the short 160 pages that this book was. I just couldn't help but noticed the relationships to Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House and AMC's The Walking Dead hidden within the pages and I'm not sure how I felt about that in the end. Plus, I always want shorter books to be longer to further explore the world that has been laid at my feet!

I read Poe way back in the day and was excited when this one came in my email. It is an excellent retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher and listening to it via audio the creepy factor was in full force. It is a short read at 165 pages but it is definitely worth it. I don’t read much horror but this was so well done, well executed, and very atmospheric. Something is going on in the House of Usher and Alex Easton is rushing to see why his childhood friend Madeline Usher has fallen so ill. Upon arrival he cannot believe what he is seeing, and from there it just goes downhill. This is definitely worth the read, especially if you are a fan of Edgar Allen Poe. I’m on a streak of fantastic reads and this one will also be in the top contenders for the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Nightfire for the digital galley to review.

What Moves the Dead is T. Kingfisher's retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's, The Fall of the House of Usher. Everything from the original is here plus some! There seems to be unanswered questions from The Fall of the House of Usher but now, we get answers! Yes! The atmosphere was extremely gothically lovely, and it was perfect to read on a chilly day! If you're a fan of Poe, you'll definitely want to read this!

The lesson to be learned by a main character in any horror novel: if mushrooms are involved, it's best to just head out by page ten.

I really enjoyed this novella! It was very compelling, gothic and darkly atmospheric from the start, and quite creepy. There were a few scenes that were so chilling and terrifying to consider! I've never read The House of Usher--indeed, I don't even know what it's about--so I can't say if this is a true retelling, but I still devoured it in two days.

The cast of characters really sold this book for me. Alex, our main character, is a non-binary soldier come to visit their childhood friends because they believe one is dying. They were quite amusing, with a wonderful sense of humour and a great dose of skepticism that played into the plot very nicely. The Ushers painted quite a gruesome picture with their appearances that I absolutely adored, and the doctor was a great counterpoint. But I think my favourite is the Englishwoman cavorting around the countryside to study mushrooms and lambast men in the scientific community.

The worldbuilding is quite interesting. It's our world, but not quite. England and America exist, but fictional countries are shoehorned in between the borders we know. I'll admit, it did take a beat to find my footing because of it. Alex's home country is one of those fictional countries, and there were a lot of important points to remember, such as the use of pronouns. There are several different sets used throughout the book, each with a different meaning and significance to title and person. I thought it was quite imaginative and really well done.

I just wish there had been more. I found myself a bit disappointed at the ending and can't quite bring myself to give this five stars. That said, I really enjoyed the author's writing and will definitely be looking into more from Kingfisher.

We sent this book out with signed bookplates for Night Worms but I saved it for my Halloween read. This book is a reimagined telling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe (which I’m going to re-read right now).
The novella length lends itself perfectly to sustaining optimum atmosphere and tension. Kingfisher is skilled at Gothic storytelling—I love the dark humor, sharp sarcasm, and wit. Alex Easton is a new favorite protagonist. Loved, loved, loved my time in this tale on Halloween eve and Halloween day 🎃 perfection!

I have to start this review by admitting that while I am somewhat familiar with Poe's writing, I haven't read The Fall of The House Of Usher, which I am told this is a pretty direct retelling of. This was a quick, creepy read, but unfortunately it felt like it got a bit lost about halfway through. Especially in such a short read like this, pacing is absolutely everything, and while the overly descriptive, flowery writing was good for setting the dripping, horrific backdrop at the beginning of this book, it felt like it plateaued halfway through and I was utterly bored for the second half of the book. Perhaps this is just a case of not the right reader for this book, because the writing was obviously high quality, it just didn't grab me in the way I want a novella to. I would still be willing to give another work by this author a shot.

If you liked Mexican Gothic, you will love What Moves the Dead! This book is a novella retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher and includes:⁣
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🏚 A creepy mansion⁣
🍄 Funky fungi⁣
🐇 Zombie rabbits⁣
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What Moves the Dead literally gave me chills and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to squeeze in one last spooky season read!

“The dead don’t walk.” Alex Easton repeats this line as a mantra even as all evidence seems to point to the contrary in What Moves the Dead. This latest novel by horror and fantasy writer T. Kingfisher is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story “The Fall of the House of Usher” and came out back in July. This is the first of Kingfisher’s works I have read, despite having had her books and short stories recommended to me for years. She finally lured me in with a Poe retelling, and I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author!

What Moves the Dead takes the premise of “The Fall of the House of Usher” and transports it to a fictional European country where something uncanny is afflicting the local wildlife along with the two Usher siblings. Alex Easton, the story’s protagonist, is a nonbinary soldier from a neighboring region who grew up beside Roderick and Madeline Usher and fought beside Roderick in the army. After receiving a letter from Madeline explaining that she is gravely ill, Easton immediately sets out to visit the Usher estate. But Madeline isn’t the only one whose health is in decline. Upon arriving at the estate, Easton is struck by Roderick’s strange appearance and behavior, as well, and also hears rumors of unhealthy wildlife in the area—especially the local hares, which the locals associate with witches and refuse to hunt. Easton begins to suspect that the mysterious illness afflicting Madeline and Roderick may be connected to whatever is wrong with the hares—and perhaps also to the ghoulish lake and the blood-red mushrooms that grow around it. With the help of an American doctor and a neighboring mycologist, Easton races to discover the source of the sickness before it can spread further.

The protagonist of Alex Easton brings new life to the vague and nameless narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s story. Easton’s backstory is slowly revealed as the world of this alternate-Europe is fleshed out throughout the novel. Easton comes from a culture whose language has multiple sets of genderless pronouns—including those used for children and those used specifically for warriors. This linguistic phenomenon led to a loophole through which people assigned female at birth could enlist in the army and take on the genderless identity of a soldier. Easton is one of many soldiers who choose to maintain that nonbinary identity even after they leave military service, using the pronouns ka/kan. The book does a smooth and skillful job of introducing multiple sets of neo-pronouns in a way that feels natural in this fantasy world and approachable to the reader.

What Moves the Dead is also yet another entrant into what seems to be a burgeoning new subgenre of mushroom horror. The other big example that I have read and reviewed here is Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but other members of this subgenre include Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon and the anthologies Fungi and Fruiting Bodies. What is it about mushrooms that make them such perfect agents of horror? In this case, at least, I think it’s a combination of their liminal qualities as something that seems to exist between/outside of the boundaries of plant and animal, as well as the ability of some species of fungus to form parasitic relationships with other living creatures. There’s also something innately terrifying about a vast living network in which individual fruiting bodies are only the visible avatars of the hidden mycelia that create a vast living organism largely outside of our perception.

If you, too, would like to find mushrooms more terrifying than they already are, you can find What Moves the Dead on shelves now at your favorite local retailer.

Ok, I’ll say it: I’m really struggling to get on board with the current trend of fungi-based horror.

I just…mushrooms? Really?

Anyway, T. Kingfisher brings us mushroom terror meets The Fall of the House of Usher here, which was…fine as a concept, although plot wise it’s a fairly literal interpretation, which (combined with the villain being, um, fungi) really tamped down the suspense.

I do love Kingfisher‘a ability to write horror books that are creepy without being gratuitous and grotesque, and this one meets that criteria as well as the rest.

And while the short length of the book is nice in some ways, it deprives us of a chance to really get to know the characters, which tend to be one of the best things about Kingfisher’s novels.

The setting was well-rendered, and certainly reminiscent of Poe. Part of me wonders if this might actually be a better read if you haven’t read the story that inspired it, but maybe I was just put off by all the goofy fungi stuff.

I had never read The Fall of the House of Usher, so I now need to! I was a Biology major and really like the horror genre so this was a perfect quick read for me. I enjoyed that it was mostly fast-paced and they did a great job keeping me on my toes. Its interesting to read how the fungi infected the lake water and anything that touched it became infected too. I wonder how many animals besides the fish and hare's also became infected. Scary to think that fungi could inhabit your body and take over the world!

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account for months, until today. Because of this, I was unable to see which books I needed to read. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What Moves the Dead is a re-imagining of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. The atmosphere of the story is spooky and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The author makes you interested in the characters. It's a great retelling of the EAP story and I recommend it to all EAP and horror fans!

Alex Easton receives a letter from his old childhood friend Madeline stating that she is dying and he should come. Feeling the pull of old friendship, he rides his faithful horse Hob the distance to reach the House of Usher where Madeline lives. He is astounded by the condition of the once elegant home, the strange behavior of the wild life, and the eerie mountain lake in front of the estate. Madeline is an absolute ghost, a shell of the girl Alex remembers so fondly. Strange behaviors and creepy hairs growing from her body are also a grave concern. Alex must understand what is causing her sickness before it's too late.

Apparently this is a nod to The House of Usher which admittedly I've never read. I did find it creepy, eerie, and interesting enough to keep the pages turning and fulfill my desire for a Halloween read. Less ghosts than.....ick in this one, but still fun and super quick. I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt but I otherwise enjoyed it. Perfect quick read for folks who want to dip their toe in the murky waters of gore but not be full on disgusted.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review!

I love T. Kingfisher and have devoured each of her books that retell a classic horror story. I was incredibly excited for What Moves the Dead and Kingfisher's take on Edgar Allan Poe, only to find myself disappointed. While I did enjoy Alex Easton and found them to be a well thought out character, their backstory in a fictional country was confusing and unnecessary. I loved that they were a non-binary and non-binary people exist in history, why create a whole country to justify this character's identity? The inclusion of Beatrix Potter's Aunt also felt random. I found that much of the plot began to feel redundant, probably because Poe's original story isn't that long and so much of What Moves the Dead read like filler. Most fans of Kingfisher will probably enjoy this book, but I'm not sure fans of Poe will. My favorite part, were the pictures of the end pages and the cover art. The illustrators are fantastic.

One of my favorite horrors of the 2022 season! T. Kingfisher consistently delivers compact horror novellas. Based on Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", this novella has all the creepy gothic vibes. As the cover indicate, horrifying rabbits play a big part!

DNF’ing at 35%. I just can’t bring myself to pick this one back up.

I will say it lives up to the retelling; it just isn’t for me.

This was a very good retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. I really liked the exploration of the “why” and the horror of something so small as fungi.

This was a fantastic spooky read! A reimagining of The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe, What Moves the Dead is the perfect blend of anticipation, creepy imagery, and a vibe that will make your hair stand on end! I loved everything about this book, and I expected no less from T. KIngfisher. I enjoyed the snark and humor of the characters, along with the gothic energy. The disgusting descriptions were amazing! If you love creepy stories, this one is a necessity!

Most of the time I spent reading What Moves the Dead I could only think of one thing; that it is so similar to Mexican Gothic in its use of fungus/mold as the antagonist. Due to this, I actually had trouble focusing on the actual story T. Kingfisher was telling. Thus I wish that the Authors Note was at the front of the book, instead of the back, as in it Kingfisher admits the similarities to the amazing Mexican Gothic, as well she notes the differences and how a fungus/mold can be dangerous and sentient (if you will) in different ways. I think going in knowing that Kingfisher was aware of Silvia Morena-Garcia’s amazing novel would have helped me enjoy the story more. I’m a bit defensive of fellow Canadians (such as Morena-Garcia) as it’s just a bit tougher for us to get published and gain a huge following as our counterparts to the south and even in the UK.

All that said this is a solid story. I’d say it wasn’t quite as scary as I had hoped for. I didn’t have the shivers too many times and the atmosphere in general just didn’t hold the creepiness I like in a horror story. I think that’s because our leading lady is very pragmatic about the situation (and maybe because I was too fixed on the similarities to Mexican Gothic). Although I did find myself repeating (as I went to bed one night) ‘the dead don’t walk’ as a bit of a mantra and reassurance.

The most interesting part of the entire novel for me is actually not relevant to the main plot, that is Kingfisher’s explanation, early on, of the multiple types of pronouns used in this society. I wish we could adopt something like it for our own!! Instead of just male and female, there is a gender neutral/non-binary pronoun and even a pronoun just for soldiers (regardless of gender). I do wish more was said and explored about a character that would lack gender (literally as it’s not human); but at least the acknowledgement and handling of pronouns was done. That felt like a huge step forward and I can’t wait to tell my non-binary friend about it later today when I see them!

Overall the length felt appropriate, not too short nor too long, to tell the story and get to know the characters. While it wasn’t jump scary or all that chilling for me; What Moves the Dead was certainly well written, the plot organized sufficiently, and the characters real enough. I look forward to reading some of Kingfisher’s past novels (she has two prior) to see if I can enjoy her writing better when I’m not obsessed with defending Mexican Gothic against what I’m reading.
I do really appreciate Kingfisher telling everyone to go read Mexican Gothic however. I too will echo that statement; but I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading What Moves the Dead. Just know that it will feel very reminiscent with the use of mold/fungus as the unusual antagonist of each situation.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

This was super weird. I…. liked it? It was unusual. I haven’t read the Poe story that it was based on, but I’d love to, especially now. It was an enjoyable (weird) read but not necessarily one I’d recommend.