What Moves The Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)

by T. Kingfisher

An instant USA Today & Indie bestseller. Winner of the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel 2023 and finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novella 2023.



From the multi-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.”

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.

• ISBN13: 9781803360072
• Publish Date: 18 October 2022 (first published 12 July 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Titan Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Did you read (and love) The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe? Then perhaps you would be interested in hearing about What Moves the Dead, a creative retelling of the story – in a very visceral way.

Madeline Usher is dying. When the news finally makes its way to Alex Easton, they rush to her bedside as quickly as possible. Only when they arrive at Madeline's ancestral home do they find...not everything as it should be.

There's a secret in the House of Usher. A secret full of rot, decay, and nightmares. It will take the help of an unexpected ally for Alex to survive – let alone solve this mystery and save their friend.

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

With What Moves the Dead, I have officially read three T. Kingfisher books. And I'm already prepared to say this: T. Kingfisher is a genius. I love everything she writes and will be making a point of reading everything in her backlog and keeping up to date on all new releases. I'm hooked.

I've seen a few Edgar Allen Poe retellings over the years (usually in graphic novel format), but I've never seen anything like this. It made an already visceral and haunting tale (The Fall of the House of Usher) more...everything. It's borderline too much; it's so well done.

On that note, What Moves the Dead is not a read for everyone. It gets graphic at times, as one might expect. However, the unique twists and compelling writing style were enough to get me through the worst of it. Hopefully, other readers will feel the same way!

To say that What Moves the Dead is a visceral read would almost be an understatement. The complexity of this tale is unsurpassed. The characters are rich and intense, carefully crafted to change and morph throughout the tale. Then there's the atmosphere, which is so heavy that it may as well have been an additional character. It's brilliant.

Once again, I am blown away by T. Kingfisher's writing. I was so surprised by how much I loved What Moves the Dead – and I went into it expecting to fall in love. If you adore creative retellings, please give this one a try.

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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