This book was an interesting mix of comedy and horror. Seriously, the idea of fungi possessed hare just staring and the descriptions of how they moved truly frightened me, something a book has not done in a very long time.

I was a little apprehensive when starting What Moves the Dead as it was my first by Kingfisher and I typically don't have the best luck with Poe retellings or with gothic tales but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. This ended up being a solid four star read, I loved the subtle horror of the story and the gothic telling was superb. The gore was fantastic and the twist was done so well. I believe this story worked very well in novella form. I will keep this one as a recommendation to fellow horror readers.

Wonderful retelling with a fascinating innovation. It was well thought out and the flow of science behind the horror only enhanced it. One of my favorite retellings of all time - Poe would be proud.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. I really enjoyed this one. It had good creepy vibes, loved the way the story unfolded. I am obsessd with the mycologist character. Highly reccomended

Ahoy there mateys! Amazing and wonderful retelling of Poe's "the fall of the house of usher."  Creepy house, creepy hosts, and creepy hares.  I absolutely loved the narrator Easton who is a soldier with an unusual background.  This took a story that I really enjoyed as a child and twisted it in a way that made it even better.  I don't want to give too much away because the reader should watch the story unfold.  The novella contains Kingfisher's mix of humor and exquisite writing. The author's notes at the end were a delight in terms of explaining her writing process and her commentary on the original.  After reading this, I immediately went back to reread Poe's version.  The juxtaposition of the two was so delicious and enriched the horror of both.  It made me tingly with dread and I will reread this for sure.  Arrr!

"The dead don’t walk. Except, sometimes, when they do."
--------------------------------------
"It is a cliché to say that a building’s windows look like eyes because humans will find faces in anything and of course the windows would be the eyes. The house of Usher had dozens of eyes, so either it was a great many faces lined up together or it was the face of some creature belonging to a different order of life—a spider, perhaps, with rows of eyes along its head."

How many of you have not read Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Fall of the House of Usher? Ok, now how many of you read it, but so long ago that you do not really remember what it was all about? All right, the link is right above, so, really, go check it out. Take your time. I get paid the same whether you take half an hour or a year, so no worries on my part. Pop back in when you’re done.

All right, I think it has been long enough. Those who have not done the reading can catch up later. As I am sure you get, What Moves the Dead is a pastiche, a reimagining of Poe’s tale. Often these are temporal updates, moving the events to a more contemporary setting. But this one is different. Kingfisher (really Ursula Vernon) keeps Usher in the late 19th century. She supplants Poe’s thick style with a more contemporary, less florid, more conversational presentation.

Poe’s unnamed narrator becomes Alex Easton, of which more in a bit. We first meet the lieutenant examining some disturbing flora.

"The mushroom’s gills were the deep-red color of severed muscle, the almost-violet shade that contrasts so dreadfully with the pale pink of viscera. I had seen it any number of times in dead deer and dying soldiers, but it startled me to see it here."

Ok, definitely not good. Continuing on, Alex is alarmed at the state of the Usher manse.

"It was a joyless scene, even with the end of the journey in sight. There were more of the pale sedges and a few dead trees, too gray and decayed for me to identify…Mosses coated the edges of the stones and more of the stinking redgills pushed up in obscene little lumps. The house squatted over it all like the largest mushroom of them all."

The invitation (plea) to visit in this version came not from Roderick Usher, but from his twin, Madeline. Neither sibling had had any children, so mark the end of their line, as many prior generations had failed to provide more than a single direct line of descendants. Both Madeline and Roderick look awful, cadaverous, with Maddy, diagnosed as cataleptic, quite wasted away and clearly nearing death. They are having a bad hair life.

There is another in attendance, Doctor James Denton, an American, whose primary narrative purpose seems to be to provide a conversational and analytical partner for Easton.

We track the demise of Madeline. Given her Poe-DNA, we know her chances for survival are not great. (But was she really dead in that one, or just entombed alive?) Add in a delight of an amateur mycologist, Eugenia, a fictional aunt of Beatrix Potter, who was quite an accomplished student and illustrator of things fungal. Potter is a pure delight upon the page, (maybe she used some spells?) possessed of a sharp mind and wit, and a bit of unkind regard for some. Other supporting cast include Easton’s batman (no, not that one) Angus, and his mount, Hob, who is given a lot more personality than horses are usually allowed.

So, plenty of dark and dreary, but the atmospherics are not all that is going on here. Kingfisher had read the book as a kid, but rereading it as an adult, found her curiosity piqued. She noted that Poe goes on a fair bit in his story about things fungal, so decided to dig into that as a possible reason for the sad state of the Usher land and clan. The result is a spore-burst of understanding,

"…so I was reading old pulp, basically going, is there anything here that grabs me that I can see a story in. And I happened on Usher and I was like, I haven't reread any Poe in a while. And I read Fall of the House of Usher and it's obsessed with rotting vegetation and fungus. And it's really short. And they don't explain hardly anything…I wanted to know what was wrong with Madeline Usher because you get buried alive, that is a problem. And so I started reading about catalepsy which is what it was diagnosed as at the time and also fungus, there was just so much about fungus and I'm like, okay, obviously these two must be linked somehow." - from the LitHub piece

There is a particularly creepy element, in the hares around the tarn that sit and stare at people through blank eyes. They do not behave like normal bunnies at all in other unsettling ways I will not spoil here.

It is definitely worth your time to re-read Poe’s original. There are so many wonderful elements. One is a song that Roderick composes, which encapsulates the dark sense of the tale. There are some bits that were changed or omitted from the original. Poe’s Roderick was heavy into painting, an element that Kingfisher opted to omit. And he was particularly taken with Henry Fuseli, whose dark painting, The Nightmare, certainly fits well with the tale. His guitar work in the original was replaced with piano playing.

Kingfisher adds into the story a bit of gender irregularity. What to do if a non-binary person with mammaries wants to become a soldier? Well, these days, can do, but in the late 19th century, not so much. She learned of a practice in the Caucusus, borne of a shortfall of human cannon fodder. A woman could join the military by declaring herself a man, and voila, presto chango, she is legally a dude. Kingfisher took a tangent off that, giving Easton a home in a made-up European nation.

"Gallacia’s language is . . . idiosyncratic. Most languages you encounter in Europe have words like he and she and his and hers. Ours has those, too, although we use ta and tha and tan and than. But we also have va and var, ka and kan, and a few others specifically for rocks and God… And then there’s ka and kan. I mentioned that we were a fierce warrior people, right? Even though we were bad at it? But we were proud of our warriors. Someone had to be, I guess, and this recognition extends to the linguistic fact that when you’re a warrior, you get to use ka and kan instead of ta and tan. You show up to basic training and they hand you a sword and a new set of pronouns. (It’s extremely rude to address a soldier as ta. It won’t get you labeled as a pervert, but it might get you punched in the mouth.)"

This did not seem particularly necessary to the story, but it is certainly an interesting element.

So, while you know the outcome in the original, (because you went back and read the story, right?) there is a question of causation. Why is the land so dreary? Why are the Ushers so ill? Why was the family tree more like a telephone pole? Kingfisher provides a delightful answer.

So, What Moves the Dead, in novella length, (about 45K words) provides an intriguing mystery, renders a suitably grim setting, offers up some fun characters, with an interesting take on gender identification possibilities, delivers some serious, scary moments, and pays homage to a classic horror tale, while (didn’t I mention this above?) making us laugh out loud. I had in my notes FIVE LOLs. Add in a bunch of snickers and a passel of smiles. Not something one might expect in a horror tale. Bottom line is that T. Kingfisher has written a scary/funny/smart re-examination (exhumation?) of a fabulous tale. What Moves the Dead moves me to report that this book is perfect for the Halloween season, and a great read anytime if you are looking for a bit of a short, but not short-story short, creepy scare.

"DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher." - from The Fall of the House of Usher

Review posted – September 9, 2022

Publication date – July 12, 2022
I received an eARE of What Moves the Dead from Tor Nightfire in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating. Wait, why are you staring at me like that? Stop it! Really, Stop it!

For the full review, with images and links, please take a look at https://cootsreviews.com/2022/09/09/what-moves-the-dead-by-t-kingfisher/

A reimagining of Fall of the House of usher .Alex Easton a retired soldier is summoned to his childhood friends home .What awaits him is debilitated mansion and his friend Madeline very sick . Sleepwalking ,fungus play a part in this truly creepy gothic novel

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.