T. Kingfisher

From T. Kingfisher, the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." *A very special hardcover edition, featuring foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.* 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. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

What Moves the Dead

From the award-winning author of “The Twisted Ones” comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

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.

tianna

“I still hear her,” he added. "I can hear her now. She's in there. She isn't dead. She isn’t dead enough.”

“The dead don't walk,” I said, hearing my voice rise angrily. “You of all people should know that."

It did not try to escape. That was somehow the most horrible part of all. It crawled back to its position in the circle of hares and it sat up, despite half its skull being missing. It turned its head so that its remaining eye pointed at me and tucked its paws against its chest like all the others. 

Whatever looked out at me through that eye was not a hare. 

There were no stars. I believe I stared for at least half a minute, while this knowledge worked slowly through my brain. It was an overcast night. The sky was dark gray with a sliver of moon just edging through. I 

looked back down, at a lake full of stars.

People join for all reasons. There are people who really, really don't want to be women and this is the best option. There are people who want to get out of the mountains and this way you get a bed and a meat meal twice a week. And then there's me.

J Nieto

The dead may walk, but I will not walk among them.

A Frenchwoman once told me that I had no poetry in my soul. I recited a dirty limerick to her, and she threw a lemon at my head. Paris is a marvelous city.

Every Gallacian soldier I know carries at least one bottle of livrit with kan. It reminds us that we are part of a great and glorious tradition of people doing gallant things in the service of a country that can't find its arse with both hands and a map.

It was fun. People get hung up on happiness and joy, but fun will take you at least as far and it's generally cheaper to obtain.

I am living for the American slander in this book 💀

It must have been terribly galling to be barred from an organization merely because one lacked the proper genitals, when disreputable Americans were allowed to join and write about underwater mushrooms.

Sometimes it's hard to know if someone is insulting or just an American.

I am never sure what to think of Americans. Their brashness can be charming, but just when I decide that I rather like them, I meet one that I wish would go back to America, and then perhaps keep going off the far edge, into the sea.

Relatable. As someone who’s worked with fungi, same…

Perhaps it would not have been so unsettling if the mushrooms had not looked so much like flesh. The caps were clammy, swollen beige, puffed up against the dark-red gills. They grew out of the gaps in the stones of the tarn like tumors growing from diseased skin. I had a strong urge to step back from them, and an even stronger urge to poke them with a stick.

Emiley Jones

Angus drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't much, and full dignity, which was considerable. “‘Tis not my place to speak on the habits of witches.

the dead may walk, but i will not walk among them.

“are they all like this?" i asked, gazing up at the bookshelves with their burden of rotting words.

I don't know how long we sat there after that, drinking our courage. Too long probably. But sooner or later you have to act or resign yourself to not acting at all. 

People get hung up on happiness and joy, but fun will take you at least as far, and it's generally cheaper to obtain.

Nganh

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. Perhaps it would not have been so unsettling if the mush- rooms had not looked so much like flesh. The caps were clammy, swollen beige, puffed up against the dark-red gills.

Alex Easton may be one of my very favorite protagonists, in horror and otherwise. 

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

I don’t know how long we sat there after that, drinking our courage. Too long, probably. But sooner or later you have to act or resign yourself to not acting at all.

Designing a vodka-like drink made from lichen. Does this world building have a purpose to the story? Probably not, but it’s a damned delight. 

The resulting drink starts starts syrupy, ends bitter, and burns all the way down. No one actually likes it, but it is traditionally made by widows as a means of supporting themselves, so everyone drinks it because you can't let little old ladies starve to death when they could be climhing mountains and scraping lichen off rocks instead.

Kingfisher infuses such an incredible sense of foreboding in her writing… And Easton is the perfect protagonist to investigate.

l have, as I have told you, reader, the psychic sensitivities of mud. It did not occur to me that I might be hallucinating, or that I might be seeing a ghost. Someone was walking through the halls at night and that someone must be real and alive.

"Sorry, boy,” I said. "I’m not good company today."

Hob's ears were the equine equivalent of a shrug. Horses don't understand a lot about the world, but I have found that they sometimes understand particular humans terrifyingly well. Mules understand a lot more about the world, but less about humans—or possibly they just don't care what humans think. I’d buy either explanation, really.

Kingfisher is a master of the opening sentence.

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.

Jasper

𓆏

mc is nonbinary 😁😁😁😁😁😁

mc is a soldier 😨😨😨😨😨😨

I was looking for an unsettling and chilling book, but this, unfortunately, did not quite meet that expectation. Though, absolutely loved the characters. I found all of them to be quite charming, and they're what made me really like this. However, the whole mystery with the illness and issue surrounding the fungi was a bit laid on thick from the beginning, so there was only little room for uncertainty and mystery. 

Mirror

I enjoyed this one! To be fair, as a big fan of fungi, anything involving fungi always have my heart. But I also personally really enjoy her writing style—it was such a delight to read her characters and their antics.

Also, I kinda understand Maddy a bit. Like yeah, if I found out some fungi could learn to talk, I would be hella impressed too. Oh Maddy, you would have loved modern scientific research and methodology. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

小燕

I enjoyed this one! To be fair, as a big fan of fungi, anything involving fungi always have my heart. But I also personally really enjoy her writing style—it was such a delight to read her characters and their antics.

Also, I kinda understand Maddy a bit. Like yeah, if I found out some fungi could learn to talk, I would be hella impressed too. Oh Maddy, you would have loved modern scientific research and methodology. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

What moves the dead is creepy and gothic and I absolutely loved reading it, although I'm not sure I'll ever see hares the same way. This story follows Alex Easton, a soldier and a friend to the Usher family and their journey to finding out what is happening with Madeline Usher and her mysterious illness. For a short book, Kingfisher spared nothing and I found the story wasn't lacking despite the length. The plot was well paced, the atmosphere was unsettling and all the little details were just perfect. I haven't read anything horror related in a very long time so this was a good reintroduction to the genre

June

From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." 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.

I was really excited about a retelling of one of my favorite classics because I’ve always loved Poe’s work. The ending was very good. It had all of the eeriness, intrigue, and horror elements that I expected from the beginning, but unfortunately, the road to get there was slow. The first half of this book was kind of tiring and clunky despite it being such a short read. I feel like this could’ve benefited from just being slightly longer so that there weren’t paragraphs of exposition at the beginning.

Nik ✨

old gothic house with mushrooms and creepy rabbits is how I would describe this book! Would be a perfect Halloween or fall read 

manar 

Svetlana 

** spoiler alert **
           “The dead don’t walk. Until they do.”

It’s been awhile since I’ve picked up and finished a book in a single day, but I couldn’t put this one down. There was the perfect amount of just enough information given at just the right times and I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters - which is rare for me in horror reads.

Cris

Patty Pforte

this was so not what i expected and i think thats why i loved it. 

what moves the dead is a retelling of poe’s the fall of the house of usher and i have to say, it’s one of the best retellings of something (not just poe’s work) ive ever read.

it is scary, it keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end and it is also so easy to get through it and enjoy every detail of it because it is so intriguing and interestingly written.

i loved how the writer wrote every character, but especially the main one, alex easton is such an interesting narrator and seeing this world from easton’s eyes is what made it so special.

i also realised i love when authors explore fungi in fiction, didn’t read that many pieces that do so but this one and paradise rot are so interesting that i will surely look for similar novels.

highly recommend this piece to anyone that loves poe and wants to see another perspective on the masterpiece that is the fall of the house of usher. you’re not going to regret it.

just… wow

this was so not what i expected and i think thats why i loved it. 

what moves the dead is a retelling of poe’s the fall of the house of usher and i have to say, it’s one of the best retellings of something (not just poe’s work) ive ever read.

it is scary, it keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end and it is also so easy to get through it and enjoy every detail of it because it is so intriguing and interestingly written.

i loved how the writer wrote every character, but especially the main one, alex easton is such an interesting narrator and seeing this world from easton’s eyes is what made it so special.

i also realised i love when authors explore fungi in fiction, didn’t read that many pieces that do so but this one and paradise rot are so interesting that i will surely look for similar novels.

highly recommend this piece to anyone that loves poe and wants to see another perspective on the masterpiece that is the fall of the house of usher. you’re not going to regret it.

Haunting horror story reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Ruins.

Rabia Sitabi

This was a small book but it felt like it was going to last forever. The last half was much better but for a while it felt like nothing was happening. 

Summerlyn Grainger

Grows more unnerving the longer you read. Ending makes you reevaluate every previous scene.

Charlie Winchester 

buny

Short and sweet. Feels kinda slow at first but the moment it picks up !!!!!!! I've never read the original by Edgar Allan Poe so I was pleasantly surprised by the horror in this (even though I wasn't particularly scared for even a sec aside from that one bit of Alex finding Maddy sleepwalking the second time) and found the entire concept of the fungus to be SO cool and felt on the edge of my seat w barely contained curiosity and wonder bc. So badass!!!!!! So cool!!!!!!!! 

The ambiance is so important to me when I'm reading my silly lil horror or mysteries so the dark gothic house of the Ushers, the sinister tarn; the sense of something terrible lurking beneath it, and the strange happenings with the gloominess had me by the throat. I'm so glad I read this in October bc reading this in ANY other month would be a great disservice to the way it's supposed to be read. All of that paired with Alex, our main character, with their sense of humor that just pertained to me so well (at times sarcastic, at times to make others feel better) was a delightful treat! The note on how it ended was also just perfect so I really have nothing to complain about for once. Safe to say, I'll be looking forward to reading more T. Kingfisher in the future 🫡💝

Finally something that hits the right spot for me !!!

Sarah Sammis

T. Kingfisher who lives on a large expanse of land, who loves to garden, but also has a healthy respect for the untamed landscape, is extremely skilled at creating visuals that will stick with a reader, and burrow into their very psyche. If those details happen to be something that the reader is somewhat squicked by, they will be in for an uncomfortable, lasting, but oddly, satisfying read. What Moves the Dead was one of those books, much more so than almost any other book I've read by this author.

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britt

i choose the perfect day to read this because it is indeed a dark and stormy night and i got creeped the fuck out at some point when i had to let my dog outside. this was amazing and i am begging that it get turns into a movie adaptation.

Eerie and enticing. I always love retellings of classic stories, and this was dark and gothic while also drawing you in. 

Erin Goss

the fall of the house of usher retellings will always get me

envie,

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!! Seriously, everything from the cover, to the premise, to the atmospheric dark writing of T. Kingfisher, the fantastically lovable narrator that is Alex Easton, down right to the author’s note. I might come back to write a longer review, but for now just know that I loved it all!

I read this for my book club. It was really well paced and a fun read. It reminded me a lot of Mexican Gothic. 

Bethany Jenkins

Kat Albanese

Kelsey Munson

A summary: 

Person goes to friends house. 
There is a suspicious lake nearby.
“Zombie” hares appear. 
Shit goes bump in the night.
And the culprit turned out to be a pretty fun guy. 

Spoiler: (It was fungi. It was fungi all along)

The end 

8/10 Quick fun read that makes me want to stare at rabbits more frequently than I used to. Just in case.

What Moves the Dead

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