What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher | Book Review

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What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Series: Sworn Solider #1
Published by Tor Nightfire on July 12, 2022
Genres: Gothic, Horror, Retelling, Sci-fi, LGBT
Pages: 165
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased

Content Warnings: Alcohol, Death, Suicide, Attempted Murder, Fire, Gore
Rating:

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 Ruravia. 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 must say I love a good retelling and I love T. Kingfisher's retellings and reimaginings. What Moves the Dead is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and offers a unique perspective of the events mixed with sci-fi elements. If you enjoyed The Last of Us (game or TV series) then this is the book for you as fungi play a central role in the story.

What Moves the Dead follows Alex Easton, a non-binary soldier, who comes to aid their friends in their time of need. When they arrive, they find the Usher house dilapidated and overrun with weird fungi, a lake that glows, hares that behave oddly, and two very ill Ushers, especially Madeline Usher who seems to be more dead than alive. As the story progresses, things get weirder and weirder, creepier and creepier. While I would categorize What Moves the Dead as horror, it does not keep you up at night horror, but it's certainly enough to induce anxiety or feelings of unease and dread.

T. Kingfisher does an excellent job representing non-binary individuals and even creates an entire set of pronouns unique to Easton's home country, pronouns that are thoroughly explained and respected more often than not (there is some misgendering). Because the other characters fully accept Easton for who they are, it's easy for the reader to catch on to the pronoun usage and accept their existence. Kingfisher also does an excellent job addressing issues of misogyny in the scientific community, showcasing an amateur woman scientist who is a force to be reckoned with and who isn't clumsy or ditsy. As a scientist myself, women are often depicted as smart yet clumsy or ditsy to avoid appearing too masculine. I loathe this trope, and I am so thankful Kingfisher avoided it.

What Moves the Dead is a highly atmospheric slow burn, albeit short. The story gradually unfolds, which aids in growing the suspense and dread felt by the reader, and often includes some light-hearted humor among the suspense. Kingfisher is a truly gifted storyteller with unique prose that will leave you wanting more. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, atmosphere, science, and character development, as well as the unique reasoning behind the fall of the House of Usher. I will likely reread this book in the future, despite my current rating of 4 out of 5 stars. I am so excited to continue Easton's journey in the next book in the series What Feasts at Night.