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What Moves the Dead Hardcover – July 12 2022
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An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalist
A Goodreads Best Horror Choice Award Nominee
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.
- Print length176 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTor Nightfire
- Publication dateJuly 12 2022
- Dimensions13.72 x 1.78 x 20.96 cm
- ISBN-101250830753
- ISBN-13978-1250830753
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Product description
Review
“A grotesque romp! It takes up residence beneath your skin and refuses to leave." – Caitlin Starling, USA Today bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence
"Thoroughly creepy and utterly enjoyable." -- Publishers Weekly
“Creepy, claustrophobic, and completely entertaining, What Moves the Dead left me delightfully repulsed. I adored this book!”―Erin A. Craig, NYT bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
“T. Kingfisher spins biting wit, charm and terror into a tale that will make your skin crawl. Poe would be proud!”―Brom, author of Slewfoot
“Dissects the heart of Poe’s most famous tale and finds a wholly new mythology beating inside it. …Pure fun.”―Andy Davidson, author of The Boatman's Daughter
“What Moves the Dead is a must-read, period.”―Jordan Shiveley, author of Hot Singles In Your Area
“A gothic delight!"―Lucy A. Snyder, author of Sister, Maiden, Monster
“A fluid technicolor reimagining of Poe's "House of Usher" that takes no prisoners…Not to be missed." – Brian Evenson, author of Last Days
"Perfectly hair-raising in all the right ways." -- Premee Mohamed, author of Beneath the Rising
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Tor Nightfire (July 12 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250830753
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250830753
- Item weight : 245 g
- Dimensions : 13.72 x 1.78 x 20.96 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #68,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #601 in Occult Horror Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

T. Kingfisher is the vaguely absurd pen-name of Ursula Vernon, an author from North Carolina. In another life, she writes children's books and weird comics. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy and the Eisner, and has won the Hugo, Sequoyah, Nebula, Alfie, WSFA, Coyotl and Ursa Major awards, as well as a half-dozen Junior Library Guild selections.
This is the name she uses when writing things for grown-ups. Her work includes multiple fairy-tale retellings and odd little stories about elves and goblins.
When she is not writing, she is probably out in the garden, trying to make eye contact with butterflies.
www.redwombatstudio.com
Customer reviews

Reviewed in Canada on October 11, 2022
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Top reviews
Top reviews from Canada
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Only heard good things, slightly disappointed by it. But thats a me probleme
It's not a difficult read, but it's riveting! Seriously, read this book! It's worth every second!
All that said this is a solid story. I’d say it wasn’t quite as scary as I had hoped for. I didn’t have the shivers too many times and the atmosphere in general just didn’t hold the creepiness I like in a horror story. I think that’s because our leading lady is very pragmatic about the situation (and maybe because I was too fixed on the similarities to Mexican Gothic). Although I did find myself repeating (as I went to bed one night) ‘the dead don’t walk’ as a bit of a mantra and reassurance.
The most interesting part of the entire novel for me is actually not relevant to the main plot, that is Kingfisher’s explanation, early on, of the multiple types of pronouns used in this society. I wish we could adopt something like it for our own!! Instead of just male and female, there is a gender neutral/non-binary pronoun and even a pronoun just for soldiers (regardless of gender). I do wish more was said and explored about a character that would lack gender (literally as it’s not human); but at least the acknowledgement and handling of pronouns was done. That felt like a huge step forward and I can’t wait to tell my non-binary friend about it later today when I see them!
Overall the length felt appropriate, not too short nor too long, to tell the story and get to know the characters. While it wasn’t jump scary or all that chilling for me; What Moves the Dead was certainly well written, the plot organized sufficiently, and the characters real enough. I look forward to reading some of Kingfisher’s past novels (she has two prior) to see if I can enjoy her writing better when I’m not obsessed with defending Mexican Gothic against what I’m reading.
I do really appreciate Kingfisher telling everyone to go read Mexican Gothic however. I too will echo that statement; but I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading What Moves the Dead. Just know that it will feel very reminiscent with the use of mold/fungus as the unusual antagonist of each situation.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
It’s set in an alternate reality Victorian era. The language is very eloquent and lyrical and, at times, grotesque. It has the feeling of a classic horror, and it explores themes such as feminism quite brilliantly.
I highly recommend checking out this chilling novella this spooky season!
Wow! It was really cool. And the title and cover art are absolutely perfect for the story. I loved that the main character was non-binary and that T. Kingfisher came up with pronouns outside of our own that forced me to take the time and learn them for the story. Having to reframe my mind for new pronouns and re-apply my knowledge every time they were used reminded me of learning a new language, and I find that type of learning to be a fun exercise for my brain and spirit. I also really liked that in the original the main character was unnamed, but in this one, they are named, but not gendered.
The imagery was wicked and I found myself looking up pictures of mushrooms between readings. The creeping of the gathered knowledge that culminates at the end electrifies the hairs on your arms (or perhaps I should say, the hyphae) and it is just an overall wonderful experience in horror and dread.
I highly recommend this book. It's a quick read, a love letter to the original by Edgar Allan Poe, and (for me) a doorway into the freaky world of mycology.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 11, 2022
Wow! It was really cool. And the title and cover art are absolutely perfect for the story. I loved that the main character was non-binary and that T. Kingfisher came up with pronouns outside of our own that forced me to take the time and learn them for the story. Having to reframe my mind for new pronouns and re-apply my knowledge every time they were used reminded me of learning a new language, and I find that type of learning to be a fun exercise for my brain and spirit. I also really liked that in the original the main character was unnamed, but in this one, they are named, but not gendered.
The imagery was wicked and I found myself looking up pictures of mushrooms between readings. The creeping of the gathered knowledge that culminates at the end electrifies the hairs on your arms (or perhaps I should say, the hyphae) and it is just an overall wonderful experience in horror and dread.
I highly recommend this book. It's a quick read, a love letter to the original by Edgar Allan Poe, and (for me) a doorway into the freaky world of mycology.

Prior to picking this book up, I decided to read the short story that it was inspired by, "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. I'm just going to come out and say it...this story was far more amazing than the original short story. I'm so impressed with how the author created such a different and expansive story with that source material.
This is not a slasher horror but man, it was scarier than if it was. At moments, I found myself gagging at the descriptions and absolutely horrified. I know it's a fictional story but the author was so detailed and descriptive that I could not help but visualize everything going on.
This would be the perfect read to have during the Autumn or Winter season due to the spooky atmosphere and setting of the story.
I clearly will need to pick up more from this author because I could not have been more impressed with this book if I tried.
Top reviews from other countries

What Moves the Dead is a short, very creepy book. It tells the story of Alex Easton; a non-binary retired soldier, who has been asked to attend his childhood friend, Madeline Usher. When Easton arrives, it is clear that Madeline and her brother, Roderick, are both in a terrible situation. Madeline is close to death, and Roderick is half the man that he used to be. Even their house is in decline, as it is decaying and rotting around them. But the truth of what is happening will be far more horrific than Easton could have imagined.
As this is a short tale - around 170 pages - you will find that the pacing is perfect. Kingfisher has created a sense of unease from the very beginning, meaning that even as Easton approaches the Usher house, you get a feeling of wanting them to turn back, but also being pulled along as though beside them, needing to see their journey to the end. Kingfisher's descriptions of the characters, as well as the house, bring this horror to life, and for a short book, it certainly still manages to pack a punch. In a way, I do wish that I had thought to read the original Poe version before this, but at least it has encouraged me to read the original sooner rather than later.

It's a genuinely creepy retelling of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" which keeps the creepiness and prevalent sense of decay and creeping horror with actual human characters who respond to the terror like actual humans.
The only problem with this book is that it could have been twice as long!


