After finishing Dhampira, the next ARC on my reading list was another vampire romance. Not wanting to get the two mixed up, I wanted a palate cleanser in between. I wanted something short with a unique voice. A novella from T. Kingfisher fit that description perfectly. It had been waiting a long time in my pile of books to be read, too. Since I was doing a lot of flying that week, having the physical book in my hands was a big plus. I was extremely happy to finally get around to What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher.

Summary:

What Moves the Dead is a reimagining of the short story The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Much of the original narrative has remained, as well as the story’s haunting atmosphere. However, expanding the length into that of a novella has allowed much further exploration. Here, retired soldier Alex Easton has answered the summons of a friend. Easton has been essentially lifelong friends with a pair of siblings. The sister Madeline’s health is now failing, and her life is drawing to its end. Her brother is doing everything within his power to keep her comfortable, and wearing thin with the effort. He will need even more support after her passing.

When Easton arrives, it immediately becomes clear that Madeline’s illness is unusual to say the least. The doctor is unable to answer many of the questions that arise, nor do all the answers that he does have line up easily. Perhaps most concerning of all, it seems that the illness may not either begin nor end with Madeline.

My Thoughts:

While I am a big fan of much of Poe’s work, House of Usher has never been one of my favorites. It wasn’t that I found the concept of the story lacking in any way, but I never felt it carried the same weight as many others of his stories that I prefer. Upon examining this further after completing What Moves the Dead, I now think I better understand and I’ve developed a much deeper appreciation for the original story as well as a newfound love for this new version.

The protagonist’s voice made a big difference for me. I found Alex Easton to be an extremely accessible entry point as a reader. This primed me to view the story with fresh eyes. Our narrator’s more modern vocabulary helps here, but it’s mostly attributable to Kingfisher’s talent for crafting relatable characters. Viewing Easton’s new perspective of the horror allowed me to see it more fully. In an author’s note, Kingfisher also expresses that her motivation in writing the story was to dive deeper into a cause for the strange events that take place. In doing so, she consequently created new potential repercussions as well. These seemed a lot more far-reaching than those implied by the original version of the story.

To be clear, this is not a simple retelling. In order to create this new twist on the known tale, Kingfisher has created a second world and narrative in the margins. As these details grow, they start to press in on the original details, adding to that claustrophobic feeling. What Moves the Dead also does a wonderful job of preserving the eerie and surreal atmosphere from House of Usher. Easton’s speech is not as lofty, but descriptions are still hauntingly poetic and deeply unnerving.

There are now two more Alex Easton stories that T. Kingfisher has published. The three books are known as the Sworn Soldier series. I already have one of them waiting on my shelf, and I’m keeping my eyes out for the other. I also have a couple other of Kingfisher’s works sitting in my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to as well. Her books haven’t let me down yet, and she’s keeping her place as one of my auto-buy authors.

Content Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Injury & Medical Content, War, Chronic/Terminal Illness, Animal Death, Fire/Burn Injuries, Transphobia, Vomit, Suicide, Body Horror

After I Finished What Moves the Dead

As I said, I picked up What Moves the Dead as a palate cleanser between two romances with vampires at the center. The second of which will be coming out this coming Wednesday, May 13th. Some weeks back, I was scrolling through social media and found a post from this author. She was marketing her upcoming book by making a post for each of the factions that feature in this novel, and tracking which one performed best. I thought it was a fun idea, so I followed along and volunteered when I saw she needed ARC readers.

I’m on Team Mentem, by the way. If this is the first you’re hearing about it, you’re with us now.

My next review will be for The Vampire and his Star Weaver by Devon Atwood.