Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Sworn Soldier - What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

51 reviews

neni's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

Great short read for Halloween. The gothic haunted manor vibes were awesome, the inclusion of fungi as a horror mechanism worked really well with the setting and the main character was funny and likeable. This author is good at creating spooky stories with frequent funny dialogue in the middle which I like because it breaks the tension and makes the characters more likeable. The ending felt rushed and a bit unsatisfying but I understand this wasn't supposed to be an incredibly developed story. Reccomend if you're looking for a quick spooky read.

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sunny_bumblebee's review against another edition

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mysterious

2.0


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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.25


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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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

5.0

this was so indescribably horrifying and bone-chilling. it’s a twist on a familiar story but didn’t fail to still make me quiver. i would recommend this to anyone who likes horror, classic retellings, and fungi.

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ramreadsagain's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

In a few words: fantastic cover, grossly entertaining and fascinating read.

In more words:
This isn’t as horror horror as I was expecting it to be but the creepy vibes were immaculate. As a zoologist I’ve always been equal parts horrified and fascinated by the ‘zombie’ Cordyceps fungus so the realisation of that being where the book was going was stomach-churning.

Even with that realisation the book never went where I expected it to. The intelligent life, the (mainly) happy ending and the delightful characters all caught me off guard.

The narration is surprisingly light-hearted, which is partly my only problem with the book as it felt quite modern and it was only when it explicitly placed the time as the late 19th century that I had any idea when it was meant to be set (aside from the Beatrix Potter easter egg!). It’s not too much of a problem though as it was very fun to read, often incredibly funny and managed to not take me out of the tense creepiness too much. 

The addition of neopronouns and culture of ‘Gallacia’ was excellent also. And I loved Hob! 

Overall I’d recommend this to pretty much anyone and it’s been my favourite read for quite a while.

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sunsetcity's review against another edition

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

4.0


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vanesst's review against another edition

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

3.0


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bibrarian_'s review against another edition

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

5.0


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mayr3adsab00k's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4.00 stars
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TW; Body Horror, Animal Cruelty, Gore, Animal Death, Death, Suicide, Fire/Fire Injury
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T.Kingfisher does it once again, this modern retelling of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" exceeded all expectations that I had. What started off as a pretty simple retelling turned into something I didn't expect at all, I love how in this adaptation we see Madeleine as a full-forced detailed character, her presence adds a lot more to the story than in the original. Having a non-binary narrator really enhanced the novel as a whole, and by doing so, really brought in the element of a modern horror story.

When Alex Easton a retired soldier receives word that their childhood friend Madeline is dying, and her brother Roderick has been consumed by the madness, they race back to the Usher house in Ruritania. This entire book gave me creepy vibes, from the fungal growth to the possessed animals who move in mysterious ways. Every page of this book kept me on my toes as I didn't know what to expect. The scenes that took place at night were the ones to creep me out the most, the eerie description of the way that she moved and the voice that came out of her mouth was spine-chilling. Alex must team up with an American doctor and British mycologist to get to the bottom of what happened in the house before it becomes too late and consumes them all. 

This short novella makes for a good one-sitting read, it makes the perfect paranormal/mystery/fantasy/horror. So if you're into any of those, I highly recommend you check this one out!

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