Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Sworn Soldier - What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

137 reviews

killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Oh, this was delightful!

Atmospheric, dark, and a sort of subtle terror within the imagery that creeps along the back of your neck and holds you hostage up until the last chapter. 

That last chapter is what kept it from being a 5 star read for me. It has a rather lack luster climax, which in a Gothic style horror isn't a bad thing, but the ending is abrupt and a tad disappointing. 

As a retelling, I think T. Kingfisher knocked it out of the park. The fungal element was well thought out, and the imagery was beautiful. If that ending would have been a bit more.. complete, I suppose, it would have been phenomenal.

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jportfolio's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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matcha_cat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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megj23's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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some_froggish_lad's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

 Also on Snow White Hates Apples.

Creepy home, creepy hares, creepy fungi and creepy atmosphere basically sums up what What Moves the Dead is.

As someone who has never read Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher , I didn’t know what to expect. So, I went into this novella, hoping for a lush, gothic atmosphere and for it to be hair-raisingly unsettling — and it delivered in spades, plus touches of sci-fi that’s even more unexpected but nonetheless welcomed.

Our protagonist here is Easton, a non-binary retired soldier who visits their dying childhood friends in a rural countryside where their estate is a dilapidated, severely decaying mansion. What’s more shocking is the state of their childhood friends who appear to be just shades of who they were during their healthiest and happiest. The events that follow are equally disturbing and intriguing. Though I felt more and more unnerved as I read, I couldn’t stop either. I felt the same as Easton as the mycologist poked at one of those ghastly fungi that released incredibly foul odours; as the doctor who opened up one of the hares and found something both explainable and inexplainable by science.

Even so, there were parts of the narrative that felt too long-winded. While I do understand that they were important for context and worldbuilding purposes, I wished it was spread out a little more so it felt less like an information dump. Still, What Moves the Dead remains a fascinating, disquieting read that I think many fans of gothic horror would enjoy.
 

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batcaves's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25


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kshertz's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was equal parts terrifying,   Brilliant, and emotional. How it’s all packed into this tiny book is a mystery. Is there anything T. Kingfisher can’t do? Amazing. I don’t even like horror but this horror has purpose and excellent execution. You get attached to characters and the spooky horror and everything happening around the setting end up making sense in the most fascinating way. Definitely worth a read!

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hwesta's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't read a lot of horror, and the handful of times I have it hasn't done much for me even when I could tell the book was otherwise well written. I had to stop reading this book two or three times because I was so unsettled and needed to step away.

Very good book, I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the underpinnings of the horrible things, I never want to think about mushrooms or hares again

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rambleroam's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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