What Moves the Dead - Review

Author: T. Kingfisher

Genre: Novella / Horror

Format: Hardback

Pages: 176

Well, know that's a new fear unlocked. I already have a weird allergy to mushrooms. Now that combined with this book is like a whole new fear I didn't know that I had. And, I don't if it's the mushroom part that freaks me out, or the side effect, or like the talking thing. You know what, it's all of the above. Then entire combination of everything in this book just absolutely now, and now my dreams have been weird. And, I want to be upset but this is why I read this book. To have an actual reaction to the sorry, and once again one of Kingfisher's books messed me up. Just like I knew it was going to.

For the record, I've started Twisted Ones twice, and just the alien creature vibes screw with my soul so much I've never been able to finish it. I have many, many reasons for this, and if you want to hear about them. Drop me a line in the comment section. But now, onto the review.

Despite everything said above, I loved this book. Literal decades have passed since I read Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. I was in high school, and all I remember is the bare bones of the story. I also remember there being some weird creepy vibe between the siblings so huge thanks for that subtext not happening in this story. But! That being said, I really didn't need to remember more than the bare bones because Kingfisher took that story and made it her own.

Easton as the narrator was amazing because instantly I liked kan. There are few things better than when the narrator whose telling the story has no idea what was going on. But, you have to give it to Easton, kan never stopped trying to help, trying to solve the mystery of what was happening to the Ushers. Seeing the story through Easton's eyes is what gets your heart rate up as read. Once the story picks up the pace and everything starts to fall apart. That's when this story gets hard to put down. Because Easton has a theory, you as the reader have a similar theory, and now you have to know. 

How is the house going to burn?

Now if you've made it this far in the review, you'll notice that the last chapter was a little different. That's because the use of pronouns in What Moves the Dead is a little different from the world that Kingfisher created. Ka and kan are used in place of they and them, and Kingfisher even goes into a bit of a fictional history lesson about more pronouns from Easton's homeland. I thought it was really cool how that little bit of fan fact from Easton later tied into the creepiness of the book. But, it was a solid and interesting way of weaving nonbinary language into the storyline. And, hopefully, I did them justice above.

The other thing I need to mention, and I love this about books, is I put this book down when I got hyper-focused on another book I was reading. When I came back to What Moves the Dead I was able to pick the story back up like I hadn't put it down at all. That's how well this story flows because I about a week had passed since I last picked it up. And, for context I"d finished two books and worked an almost fifty-hour week between readings. So that's a huge plus for me.

I need to pick up more books by T. Kingfisher. Maybe even try to give The Twisted Ones another go and just accept the fact I'll sleep with the lamp on for a few nights.

HAPPY READING!!