This series follows gender non-conforming former soldier Alex Easton though different horrifying experiences in the fictional country of Gallacia in the late 1800s. While the first book is a retelling of the fall of the house of Usher featuring The Last of Us style mushrooms this novella features a ghost that steals your breath.

While good, its not quite as creepy as I wanted. It could have used more substance to the horror/haunting aspects. I still enjoy T. Kingfishers writing and the characters. Maybe too much because I just wanted more.

T. Kingfisher returns with their Sworn Solider Alex Easton in this follow up to What Moves the Dead. Finally, we get to see Easton's home country as they return to their home country of Gallacia with the intent of hosting Miss Potter, the mycologist, at their family lodge. What follows is a steep decline into the world of Eastern European folklore, ghosts, and just plain old unadulterated horror.

What I absolutely love about Kingfisher's writing is that from the start, I am completely immersed in the worldbuilding. I can feel the moisture in the air and the dark sense of foreboding as Easton comes upon the abandoned lodge. With less than 200 pages, Kingfisher weaves a folkloric tale, that is truly spine tingling. Unlike the first installment in the series that is a retelling of Poe's signature short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, What Feasts at Night is its own tale of ghosts and possession. There is also a lot of references to PTSD, or Solider's Heart during WW1. which makes the events at the lodge straddle the lines between reality, hallucinations, and the supernatural.

What Feasts at Night can be read either as a sequel or as a standalone horror novella. I highly recommend it for lovers of gothic literature and fans of T. Kingfisher's previous works will not be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and T. Kingfisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sequel to What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher delivered in that it was a quick, creepy tale with the same charming characters you'd come to expect after reading the first book.
For me, What Feasts at Night was a mixed bag of pros and cons. Let's talk positives first. Overall I enjoyed this book. I think Kingfisher is skilled at writing lovable characters and humorous dialogue. The atmosphere was well constructed and I felt myself getting lost in the cozy moments at the lodge. The climax was well written and absolutely made my skin craw, something you want from the horror genre. Now onto my less positive thoughts. As much as I did enjoy this book, it felt like it was confused about its genre. I haven't read any other books by this author other than What Moves the Dead, but I assume the wit, sarcasm, and general humorous writing is probably part of their writing style, which I can appreciate. However I do not think it fit this book. I remember this being a bit of an issue I had with book 1 as well, but I think it was much more pronounced in this one. I think the best horror and thriller books do have an element of humour and wholesomeness to balance out the darkness, but given the genre, the darkness should far outweigh it. I found the narrator's constant 'funny' asides about Gallacian culture or people they've met to be a bit grating. I wouldn't mind it if it had been more sparse, but the frequency in combination with the very slow moving plot made me feel like I was reading a slightly creepy fantasy novella rather than the horror I was expecting. This leads me to the pacing, which was another issue I had. For such a short book the plot should not have taken so long to pick up. I understand the need for exposition and character building, but this is a tricky thing to balance with novellas, especially in the horror genre. All this being said, I still did enjoy the reading experience because I found myself endeared to all of the side characters and the town's culture. I would have liked this book a lot more if it had been a cozy fantasy set in the little Gallacian town, focusing on Easton's internal experience with their Soldier's Heart and tinnitus, and their dynamic with the side characters. I loved the widow, Bors, Angus, Miss Potter, and the priest. I would have loved to explore the superstitious townsfolk even more. Either this or if it had leaned fully into the horror. Less humour, crank up the foreshadowing and spooky set dressing by 100. I just feel that having it be somewhere in the middle didn't really do it for me.
I will be recommending this title to customers who read the first book, and continuing to recommend the series to folks looking for something quick or who are wanting to dip their toes in the horror genre.

Alex Easton is back w/ their trusty sidekick, Angus, hoping for some rest a relaxation after the horror at the Usher mansion. However upon arrival at their family's hunting lodge, they find that the caretaker has died under mysterious circumstances and so the lodge is really not a hospitable place for Miss Potter to visit. However, Angus finds a trusty village woman and her grandson to help with putting the lodge to rights but almost right away, poor Boris (the grandson) succumbs to the same "mysterious illness" that killed the prior caretaker. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton doesn't really believe this local folklore but knows that something isn't quite right at the lodge. Or in their dreams.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this e-arc.*

What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2)
Written by T Kingfisher
Read by Avi Roque
Book 19/250
Genre: Horror
Format: Audio/Digital, ARC
Pages/Time: 160/5hr 3min
Published: 2024
Rating: 8.5/10
Narration: 8.5/10
Horror: 👻👻👻

"Nature creates horrors enough all by itself."

What Feasts at Night is an intriguing and eerie follow-up to 2022's "What Moves the Dead". Initially, I was expecting WFaN to be another "Sporror" like WMtD, however, Kingfisher instead uses this installment to expand this world and introduce more supernatural and paranormal threats. With the Maroi, Kingfisher takes this book in a different direction but does a fantastic job at making these feel like a part of the same world. The Sworn Solder series is a must read for any fans of gothic horror!

An interesting follow-up to What Moves the Dead, although it fails to grab the reader quite as intensely. The story moves quickly, but didn't make much of an impression overall.

I thought, What Feasts at Night, was a good sequel to What Moves the Dead. I wasn’t as creeped out by this one, but still enjoyed the folklore and exploration of Easton’s PTSD.

The formatting was broken in the Kindle version, I wasn’t able to read. Leaving five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

<i>First, a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

I have to admit... I didn't love this installment <i>quite</i> as much as the first. I don't think it was necessarily written any worse or was necessarily less interesting... but there was some <i>je ne sais quois</i> between the two.

That being said, I still think this was a wonderful little novella. I love Easton and I love all the other "staple" characters, so it was nice to get to read about them all again.

I also love learning all these little tidbits about Gallicia - I actually really love when an author has a fiction country/place amongst the "real world", as it were.

My hope is that Kingfisher continues to give us these novellas in the Sworn Solider universe - sometimes it's nice to not have to commit yourself to a 500 page book to get a satisfying story.

This was a very unwise choice of a book to read before bed, but it was so gripping I kept going anyway even knowing it was probably going to give me nightmares. "What Feasts at Night" is a solid follow up to the first in this series--fast paced, frightening, and with a heavier dose of T. Kingfisher's flavor of humor than the first (an inclusion i personally loved). This one leans more supernatural than "What Moves the Dead." I want poor Easton and co. to get a break, but I want additional books in this series even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Second book in series, will it stand up to the first? With just enough alterations, Lieutenant Easton, Angus, and Miss. Potter face another supernatural ailment. I wasn't sure if the formula was replaying itself, and it wasn't! I would highly recommend picking this series up and hope we get another weird sickness.

Absolutely creepy, atmospheric, and delightful -- I read it in two sittings! If the first book wigged you out on the horror front, this one is definitely much less intense; it felt closer to paranormal fantasy with horror elements. That being said, Kingfisher keeps the momentum going; and although I didn't love it as much as its prequel, it was wonderful to return to these characters and this world.

I had a really really hard time continuing this story. As much as I love kingfishers writing, these characters just weren’t connecting for me! Overall I’m glad I read it but can’t see myself continuing this series.

Alex Easton returns to his families lodge following the events that occurred in What Moves the Dead. Hoping for relaxation and some rest he and Angus find that the caretaker of the lodge is dead. Not only did the caretaker die from mysterious circumstances but the entire village believes that the death was caused by an entity embedded in local folklore.

Let me begin by saying that I really enjoyed the first book with its literal nod to Poe’s classic, The Fall of the House of Usher?” This fell a little short compared to the first of the series. This still had some great atmospheric parts but I found it dragging throughout most of the story, and this is a short story!


2.5 ⭐️

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opionions are my own.

Easton has returned home to Gallacia for some rest and relaxation after their time as a soldier and the terrifying ordeal with the Ushers. Upon arrival at their lodge, they find it in disrepair and the caretaker missing. Easton and his attendant Angus quickly come to find that the caretaker has passed and a superstition surrounds the lodge. Easton isn't much for superstitions, but when they being experiencing strange dreams and symptoms there might be some validity to the lore.

I loved this. The gothic creepy vibe where excellent! If you loved What Moves the Dead you will loved this! Kingfisher does a great job with the worldbuilding and atmosphere. I loved the folklore aspect to the book and the heed the townsfolk give to all of their superstitions. It really enhanced the creep factor especially when Easton started having super vivid dreams. The dream sequences were exceptionally spooky and the descriptions make it really easy to visualize what was going on. You feel as disoriented as Alex does, and you aren't really sure what is happening.

While this is the second book in series, I think you can read it as a standalone. There are references to things that occurred in What Moves the Dead, and I highly recommend reading that first, but the main plot of this doesn't rely on you knowing the outcome of that book for you to follow this one. This reads more as a companion novel than a direct sequel. I do feel as if you will get a richer reading experience if you read them in publication order though.

This is a wonderfully strange novella and perfect for fans of gothic horror.

This is the second installment in Kingfisher's Sworn Sword series, which began with What Moves the Dead. This entry seemed much more straightforward than the first, but was an enjoyable addition.

Alex Easton, Angus, and Miss Potter all make a reappearance at Easton's family hunting lodge. It doesn't take long for them to realize they are the ones being stalked. The characters continue to be likeable while still being realistic, and the setting is well portrayed. What I noticed most is that this book did much closer character work and world building. There was a lot of valuable background and emotional information without weighing down the plot.

This was still an enjoyable book, but it is edging closer to what I think of as "cozy horror." Really nothing unexpected occurred. What Feasts at Night is a nice, contained experience but not as memorable as the first. I had expected something more. Which is more a compliment to the author's previous work than a true condemnation of this one.

The pivot away from a clear antecedent may be part of what I was missing. What Moves the Dead was able to subvert expectations because I already knew about the Ushers. The more general folkloric background may have cut down on that layer of enjoyment.

I was so excited to hear that Kingfisher was going to be writing another novel with Alex Easton at it's center, and while I didn't enjoy it as much as What Moves the Dead (I also did a re-read of said novella to remind myself of what happened) I still enjoyed the second installment. I think the biggest "issue" (which I put in quotations because it's not REALLY an issue) with this particular story is that it ended up going into the realm of paranormal, and thus strayed just a little too far from the first book. Maybe if I hadn't have read them back to back that wouldn't have been as noticeable, but I did, so it was. But, that's not to say this wasn't a good story. We got to see our loveable cast of characters once again (at least we got to see Easton, Angus, and Miss Potter again), as well as a few new ones. I also think Kingfisher really hit the nail on the head when talking about PTSD. This isn't a very long story (I think it clocks in at under 160 pages) but there were some pieces of it that were quite profound. That being said it does move both a little too quickly and a little too slowly at the same time. The paranormal element it did introduce was at least not one you see every day, so there was that, but when juxtaposed with our previous "foe" it felt a little too out there for me. Either way, I don't regret reading this novella at all, and I do think that fans of book one will still find something to enjoy here as well. It's not quite a shelf-talker book, but I will urge people who enjoyed book one to try this one out too, if only because I secretly hope we get a book 3 and more with Easton. There's still more in the world Kingfisher has created that has yet to be explored, and Easton is a wonderful character to explore it all with. Fingers crossed.

T. Kingfisher returns to the world of What Moves The Dead in a sequel that doesn't quite reach the creepy heights of its predecessor, but Kingfisher fans will be swept up in her characters, prose, and wit.

What Feasts at Night follows Alex, our non-binary former-solider protagonist, as they return to their home country of Gallacia and find the man who was supposed to be tending to the house has died. This death was not quite natural, which sets off another horror-tinged adventure, this time of the ghostly and not fungal variety.

There are many, many elements that work in What Feasts at Night, with Kingfisher’s effervescent way of making every situation tinged with just a touch of sardonic humor. Kingfisher’s skills are on full display as we get to know more about Gallacia, it’s history, and it’s culture. Gallacia is a strange, Eastern European inspired country with often hilarious cultural norms. One of my favorite parts of the book was that we got to know more about Gallacia, and how Alex is both molded by their cultural background and fiercely resistant to it. Through this, we learn much more about Alex and this novella becomes a fascinating character study. Additionally, once Miss Potter (the artist-mycologist extraordinaire we met in the first book) arrives, Kingfisher finds myriad ways to mine comedy around cultural clashes and misunderstandings.

Ultimately, I think readers will find a lot to relate to between how Alex and Miss Potter experience Gallacian culture. With Alex, many of us have tried to eschew and escape where we were raised. Alex obviously doesn’t have a lot of respect for Gallacian culture, no more evident than through their love of French culture, and Kingfisher slowly peels back layers to how Alex’s past informs their present. With Miss Potter, we have all been in a situation where we are trying to respect and fit into a culture that is not our own….and fail miserably despite the best of intentions. If Kingfisher’s brand of witty humor and character work is why you love these books, then What Feasts at Night will have so much for you to, well, feast upon.

The weakest element of What Feasts at Night is that it takes quite a while to warm up. In a regular novel this isn't a problem, but in the novella format this ultimately means that the "heart" of the plot begins and ends fairly quickly. We spend a lot of time with Alex and co. as they do chores around the hunting lodge, talk to some townsfolk, and have dinner parties. Readers looking for the same kinds of thrills and horrors of the first book will eventually get it, and Kingfisher is a master of painting a terrifying and horrific picture when she gets there, but the actual creepy/spooky stuff only kicks in about 2/3 of the way through the novella, In other words, just as things are getting good the book ends. The solution to the problem is a bit too convenient, and all of the conflict dissipates pretty quickly.

Of course, since this is a T. Kingfisher book, people doing a bunch of chores becomes an engaging read. Kingfisher imbibes the novella with her usual wit and humor, keeping the pages turning even when the plot doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I was laughing along with all of the awkward encounters, cultural misunderstandings, and sardonic asides. I would read Kingfisher write about even the most boring of topics because she knows how to write magnificent prose without it getting purple, and her characters come to life so fully realized almost immediately.

And I think this is where What Feasts at Night really differs from the first book. The characters shined in that mushroom adventure, but the atmosphere and the plot are what truly guided that novella. A threat was always lurking, and we readers were along for the adventure. There is much less of an adventure here and a greater emphasis placed on the characters - who are they? What makes them work?

This is no truer than with the character of Alex. Alex is working through some stuff, including warfare-related trauma and insecurities around their culture and upbringing. In many ways this is a much more personal and psychological book for Alex; while the fungal threat was mostly external, the chills and scares in this book have to do with confronting our own traumatic paths. This makes for a vastly different reading experience, as this book is less scary and thrilling, and more contemplative. This is not inherently a bad thing, but readers should be aware to manage their expectations as they dive in here!

I think the only time that the more contemplative nature of the book gets in the way is Alex's reluctance to believe what is going on around them. Despite so much evidence to the contrary, Alex just doesn't believe that this supernatural occurrence is real, and so much of the book is evidence being thrown in Alex's face, and then them just saying "nah". Thematically, there is so interesting stuff going on here about belief and fear. Alex has a deep-seated fear of mushrooms because of the first book's events, but that was a threat that was visible and tangible. This more ghostly threat of this book is vastly different, and so Alex's previous experiences don't prepare them here. In practice, however, this just slows down the middle chunk of the novella.

What Feasts at Night is a great book, which is no surprise because T. Kingfisher can do no wrong in anything she writes. I just wish that it had more of the horror elements that What Moves the Dead did, because that was why I was anticipating this sequel so much. This novella is still worth your time, just go into it with the right expectations!

Concluding Thoughts: This sequel to What Moves the Dead is more focused on the characters and less on the spooky, which will delight some readers and disappoint others. Kingfisher brings her trademark whit and charm as Alex, Miss Potter, and more return to deal with a supernatural entity threatening Alex’s home country of Gallacia. We get a lot more worldbuilding here, leading to some riotous cultural misunderstandings, and the character arc Alex goes through is nearly flawless. The novella could be paced better as it takes a bit too long to get to the horror goods, but the end is worth the journey. Highly recommended, just go in with the right expectations.

I received a gifted audiobook copy of WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. Kingfisher from Macmillan Audio.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT is the sequel to T. Kingfisher's WHAT MOVES THE DEAD. We're once again following Alex Easton, a retired soldier, in the time following their strenuous time at the Usher manor. They agree to do a favor, heading to a family hunting lodge in Gallacia, a destination that does not prove to be the place of recovery they desire. The caretaker is dead and there is a troubling silence all around the grounds.

I really enjoyed WHAT MOVES THE DEAD which was a unique retelling of Edgar Alan Poe's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, so I went into this one with high hopes. My feelings in the end wound up a bit of a mix.

On the plus side, the atmosphere that I really enjoyed in WHAT MOVES THE DEAD and in a lot of T. Kingfisher's writing is really well done here again. The silence and the rumors around it are well done to build up tension for the reader. I was very intrigued to see what the author would do with it and the different directions the story goes in this regard.

The problem that I had with this one is that it was just missing the hook of the first story. While I really like the main character Alex and following their inner dialogue, I didn't feel as big a connection to the rest of the cast. I think this is partly why the story felt a bit too slow paced here and there throughout the story.

Overall this wasn't a favorite, but I still really enjoy T. Kingfisher's writing and absolutely will be picking up more!

Alex Easton feels like they’ve just survived another war after what happened at Usher manor, and now all they want is rest, routine, and sunshine. That doesn’t seem to be on the table though as they head off to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp, forest of Gallacia.

In theory, you can relax anywhere, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by silence.

The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton can tell something isn’t quite right. Now to get to the bottom of it…

Have you ever just read a book and gone “ah, that was exactly what I needed?”. That was the feeling I had reading this book.

I fell in love with this author a while back. This novella lived up to all the hype I had, and then exceeded it. The writing is just wonderful, and I really enjoyed being back in my character’s world. I don’t often enjoy series, but this is one that I could read for a while and not grow tired (please write more). The writing is so descriptive, I can visualize the entire thing and it plays out like a movie in my head, it’s a wonderful experience. This book isn’t scary, but it is creepy and gave me chills. I love it when a book does this to me, even better when a book fills me with dread like this one did. The pacing on this was great, which is needed and especially important for a novella, and held my interest throughout.

This is an easy book to binge. I just didn’t want to put it down; it was so engrossing.

Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.