Name: What Moves the Dead
ISBN: 9781250830753

T. Kingfisher

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.

What Moves the Dead

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.

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

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

J Nieto

Mirto

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.

It is a cliche 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.

Granted, the plants all looked dead or dying. Granted, the windows of the house stared down like eye sockets in a row of skulls, yes, but so what? Actual rows of skulls wouldn't affect me so strongly. I knew a collector in Paris ... well, never mind the details. He was the gentlest of souls, though he did collect rather odd things. But he used to put festive hats on his skulls depending on the season, and they all looked rather jolly.

The war is the backdrop to most of my dreams. The house I grew up in, my grandmother's cottage, and the war, as if it was a place that I lived. I can't even say they're all nightmares. Sometimes it's just where the dream is happening.

"Is it?" He turned away. "I hear the woodworms gnawing in the beams," he muttered. "Would to God that they would gnaw a little faster."

Emiley Jones

The war had been hard on my feet and my knees and my faith in humanity. 

"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 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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

chian

Kingfisher once again excels in this stand-alone novella. It has everything you could want in a novel about fungal parasites. Non-binary main character ✔ Fun, stinky mushrooms ✔ Knowing that rabbits and hares are different animals ✔ Cosmic horror ✔ An opinionated horse ✔ Definitely a recommended read!

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.

This book was quite eerie. I predicted the outcome but the way it's narrated you still feel the chills and changes/reactions it wants to give you. It was a really good book and a new concept of thriller that I hadn't imagined. I enjoyed it a lot.

Tsu 💙

Jasper

tianna

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.

Sworn Soldier: Book 1

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. 

What Moves the Dead

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