What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves The Dead 

• Author: T. Kingfisher 
• Published: July 12th, 2022
• Publisher: Tor Nightfire 
• Rating: 5/5 

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Goodreads synopsis 

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all. 

My thoughts 

This was my first book by T. Kingfisher and on of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and I absolutely loved it. I can safely say that she is now a new favorite author.  

The story is a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe I’m not familiar with the story but I can tell you this was a nice short creepy, gothic/horror story that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

The story takes place in the year 1890 and we follow Alex Easton, he received a letter that one of his childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, and he decides to visit. Once there, he is surprised to see how bad the living conditions are and the state of health of both Madeline and her brother Roderick. 

This was a bit slow but addicting, the suspense, the creepy and gothic atmosphere kept me from putting this book down.  The writing was beautiful and made the visualization easy for the reader (at least for me) .  The author’s way of describing the fungi and the things happening inside the dilapidated mansion was great.  We also  get some interesting, likable side characters and let’s not forget the hares and their odd behavior, it was really creeping out.  

Overall, a very creepy, engaging, short (about 131 pages)  entertaining story that wraps up very nicely in the end. I want to add one last thing, the illustration in the cover and the endpages were a nice added touch, oh and make sure to read the author’s note.