What Moves the Dead
Ratings281
Average rating3.8
Now having to explain my thoughts for this book.
I mean I am not even sure how to discibe it. I can not say I loved it, but I also can. I loved the creepy horror vibes. It gave me the usual vibe in the storyline from the ‘elder' horror books. Not to say I have read tons but those I have read had a simmilar vibe. But not really also, it was deffintly moderised. So it felt actually both more and less sacry a the same time to read. I mean my mind was pulled into the story were I just felt engaged and wanted more. But I never had to stop caus the writing style was boring, something I often have to do with older books as the writing style is more dense often.
So I was way more pulled into the horror but also BECAUSE it is using easier words and is more moderised in the language it feels way easier to just brush it off and not ‘feel' it for real.
I mean I enjoyed the book and I was enterained ll the way. I could have it longer and maybe a little more complicated language.
But it was honestly pretty good
I loved this retelling of Poe's short story!! First of all, I really enjoy Poe's short stories and I genuinely loved the characters, their interaction and the story in this book!! And as someone who doesn't read horror because it's too scary, this is just the perfect amount: enough to terrify me but also not too much to make me want to close the book and hope I don't get nightmares. I also loved the focus on fungi!! I'd like to know more about them now but at the same time I don't lol
I've never read the original House of Usher story, and had no idea going into this book that it was something of a retelling. I'm not sure if that paints my opinion of this book any differently, other than the fact that as the characters revealed their names to be Usher I had an inkling that there was some homage going on. To be completely honest, what was happening throughout the book felt painfully obvious, especially from seeing the book's cover and reading just into the intro chapter. Still, I enjoyed the journey the main character took me on and how I was following their thoughts. The pacing felt great and I loved the inner monologue as I was strung along–This is both a praise and an unfortunate feature as I feel I would've loved the book more had there truly been something hair-raising on the other side of the end reveal. Still, the reveal at the end of the book was sufficient enough so I'm not going to mar the book for that. My one and only confusion was actually about the land Galatia that the main character hails from, and their very overt disdain for America. While I enjoyed these flavors and was actually curious to know more about Galatia especially, I felt wholly confused by these inclusion only because I thought they were leading to something. I'm not going to get hung up on things which amount to character quirks and worldbuilding, I just got an impression due to their prominence that they were going to amount to something significant. This small note aside, I would gladly recommend this to anyone who wants to read something haunting yet familiar.
Again, I'm not sure if I read the synopsis and then forgot it. It is entirely possible that I just saw [a:T. Kingfisher 7367300 T. Kingfisher https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1642281799p2/7367300.jpg] and added to my tbr.This weaves great thematic elements, emotional atmosphere, and social commentary (what it's like to be a woman, a soldier, of a particular class, nationality, etc.).
7.5/10 I need to brew on this one. It's got some great moments and I'll be honest. I don't know the original story so maybe after some context I'll appreciate it more
Honestly, I dreaded picking this book to read. I did not have a good time at all.
3.5 stars. A retelling of Poe's Fall of the House of Usher. Fairly predictable, probably even more-so to people who've read the original story, but fun! I enjoyed it :)
This is a no for me. I got more than half way through and nothing about the plot, characters, atmosphere or mystery kept me interested.
I went into this expecting a gothic body horror, and it wasn't at all gothic, and the body horror was extremely mild for the most part.
The main character was quite charming in a quippy Whedon-esque kinda way, but they, and all the other characters, react to the events unfolding around them with such a casual “huh, would ya look at that” kind of quality that makes it very difficult for me as a reader to feel very invested or horrified myself. And the twist on Poe's original is pretty much a foregone conclusion from the first chapter, really, and the ending was a bit too rushed and pat for my liking.
I would definitely read other books by this author because I think I could enjoy their writing with better-managed expectations or a different setting, but this didn't scratch the itch I wanted it to scratch (which is more on me, I guess).
This book was a great read that I didn’t want to put down, the main character was interesting funny even throughout the more serious tone of the book. I enjoyed the other all creepy vibe of the book and felt the suspense climb. However, there is something I can’t quite put my finger on which leads me to give it a 4 over a 5, something is missing though I am not exactly sure what it is was, just felt me feeling like there was something lacking. All round though I do suggest this book to anyone who loves more subtle and slow horror.
3.5 stars
Fast and fun read. Honestly, I wanted more stuff on Easton, the siblings, and the tarn. There were some incredible paragraphs with creepy hares. I wanted more hares, more weird, and more time with everything. But it was delightful.
This was so creepy and atmospheric! I really liked it! I've seen a lot of thing comparing it to Mexican Gothic, which I can see. The creepy Victorian fungal horror stuff. However I do think that this book was a better length. This story really lent itself to a shorter page length in my opinion since it made the pace fast enough that I didn't get bored.
5 ⭐️s
I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Poe’s work. I tend to love the premise of gothic stories but end up let down by the end. This one wasn’t like that. I enjoyed the characters, especially their banter. Kingfisher does a wonderful job of creating a foreboding, damp, claustrophobic atmosphere that clings to the reader throughout.
I have mixed feelings about this one. It was sorta creepy, but not enough to prevent me from reading at night. It might have been better if I hadn't already read Mexican Gothic. It wasn't super long, which was nice, but I didn't really feel any attachment to the characters.
The beginning was slow, but I kept at it because so many people told me they enjoyed it. I'm glad I did. There weren't really any mysteries because it seemed obvious what was going on, which surprised me. The strength of the book is the creeping horror and the body horror. I did enjoy seeing them investigate what was going on and their discoveries. I'm glad I stuck with it and it was a good book to usher me into my 2024 reading goals of reading slower.
Oh this was fun! To wrap up April, I read this one. I had so much fun putting this mystery together and honestly was shocked at the twists! I really do t have much to say about this one tbh.
This was an excellent story that involved something I didn't think I would find interesting and scary. It has the perfect creepiness as well that just gets you hooked. And it's based off of Edgar Allen Poe, what more could you want?!