Title – What Moves the Dead
Author – T. Kingfisher
Published – July 12, 2022
Genres – Gothic Horror, Retelling, Fantasy
Page count – 165
Series – Sworn Soldier #1
Goodreads Rating – 3.87
My Rating –
Table of Contents
Summary
From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood best friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruravia
When 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 Rodrick 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.
Quick Thoughts
*Alex the main character and the narrator is non binary so I will be using they/them pronouns though in this fictional country, they have their own pronoun rules*
If you’re looking for someone to compare and contrast this to Edgar Allen Poe’s classic I’m sorry but I’m not that person. I have not read it yet but am definitely planning to in the future
This book’s beautiful cover caught my eye in Barnes and Noble, and I’m so glad I brought it home. It helped me discover my love for a new genre: gothic horror. This quickly became my #1 read in 2024 so it’s only fitting to be my first book review in 2025. I read this on my yearly camping trip, and it was the perfect book to bring to a cabin in the middle of the woods. It’s short at only 165 pages but fully grabbed my attention. It has the same vibes as a Tim Burton movie, perfectly odd and unnerving.
Characters
Even though this book was short it does an amazing job at getting you invested with the characters.
The main protagonist, Alex Easton, a retired lieutenant, is our sole POV in this novella. Though I usually love duel or multi-POV in books, I enjoyed being in their head. They are a narrator with a lot of sarcasm and humor. They are good for saying a line that adds some comedic relief while also taking the situation seriously. Their Animal companion Hob, a horse, is just as hilarious and witty as his owner.
Madeline Usher, the childhood best friend Alex has come to the Usher home to support shocks Alex when they arrive with her behavior and appearance. They expect to see a sick woman and are disturbed when what looks back looks more like a ghost.
Roderick Usher, Madeline’s twin brother also shocks Alex when they arrive. Alex notes he doesn’t seem in much better health than Madeline. Could he be getting what Madeline has?
Denton, an American doctor had been called to the house by Roderick to see to Madeline and her odd appearance and behavior.
Eugenia Potter is the first character we meet besides our narrator. She is a mycologist who introduces and explains the local fungi to Alex
Plot
This is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher.
It opens with Alex arriving in Ruravia, the home of her long-time friends, the Ushers. She received a strange letter from Madeline. The letter urged her to come and visit as her brother thinks she is on the brink of death. The area is covered in mushrooms they don’t recognize until Eugenia Potter – a mycologist explains what she knows
When Alex finds themselves at the manor the state of not only the house but their friends shock them. Madeline’s and Rodericks’s faces and emancipated bodies seem to reflect the manor’s dilapidated and rotting condition. Alex soon finds out Roderick had called upon an American doctor, Denton, to care for his sister and he is just as confused at what is afflicting the Ushers
It’s not just the siblings’ appearance that’s bizarre. Roderick is extremely anxious and claims to be hearing things in the walls. Madeline is sleepwalking and speaking like a child. The area is surrounded by red mushrooms that smell like death. The townsfolk talk of rabbits that seem possessed. What is happening with that black, pulsing glowing lake?
With the help of the doctor and the mycologist this retired soldier must figure out the strange and creepy happenings affecting his friends and their surroundings.
Setting
This novella takes place in 1890 at the Usher family manor in the countryside of Ruravia- a fictional country. The entire setting seems overrun with decay, rot, and fungus. The surrounding area is infested with mysterious fungi that smell like death. The house is extremely damp, covered in mold, and collapsing. The lake on the property has a strange unnerving feeling surrounding it.
My Review
There is a reason this book was my #1 in 2024. The mix of vivid imagery and the perfect amount of creepy made this impossible to beat.
The story was the perfect mix of odd and creepy without being too much. I read this while camping at a cabin in a state park and was the perfect amount of unnerved. It may be short but I was fully ingrained in all 165 pages.
The author T. Kingfisher absolutely captivated me with their descriptions of the Ushers and their surroundings. The sense of decay, rot, and death was almost palpable. The description of the rotting soggy books in the library sticks in my mind even today. The movement and strange behavior of the rabbits was described in such a way that I felt a shiver down my spine. I almost felt like I could see the dilapidated house crumbling around the Ushers. I picture Madeline and Roderick’s ghost-like appearances perfectly.
The ending I predicted early on but I don’t mind that at all. The story gripped me enough I didn’t need a shocking twist.
I loved unwrapping the oddities of the Usher home and will look for more books by this author. I should probably read the classic this was based on too while I’m at it.
I got a great book recommendation from the author’s note at the end of the book which I also loved. A review will have to come soon for that one. If you have any other recommendations of books like this one let me know! I fell in love with this genre and im looking for more.
Goodreads link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724626-what-moves-the-dead
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