Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - What Moves The Dead

T. Kingfisher comes in clutch yet again. What a creepy and eerie story. I was in fact quiet scared while reading this. Still love mushrooms but now I'm a bit terrified of them.

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throwback682's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

This is a pretty damn brilliant concept and retelling of Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher.

It sort of provides a logical scientific explanation for the downfall of the Usher siblings and their ancestral home, but while at the same time making it even MORE creepy.

What the author did to fill out the character of the narrator was really interesting, I liked kan a lot.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Ahh, T Kingfisher, inspiring me to read out of my comfort zone and into the world of classic haunted houses, creeping dread, and

zombifying fungi

.

This *just* passes my personal Doctor Who/Star Trek measuring stick of tolerable horror (i.e., I can tolerate science fantasy stories that are as unsettling as the scariest episodes of those shows as long as they're also creative, interesting, thoughtful, contain endearing characters, etc.).

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star_charter152's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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danimacuk's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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shadowykittenwizard's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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bohemianhermit04's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD is a retelling of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", which I waited to read until after I'd finished the retelling. This was a good decision, leaving me room to enjoy what the novella actually does rather than waiting for the scant events from the original story to play out. The cast of characters is larger and significantly more developed than in the original, which is good. The particular fungal incursion is resolved, but as this gets a sequel I doubt the problem was handled once and for all, merely suppressed in this particular instance.

Things I love, in no particular order: the way pronouns and gender are used; the appearance of a relative of Beatrix Potter, who was a children's writer/illustrator because of sexism precluding her from illustrating botanical texts; the way the discovery of the cause is approached; how creepy the hares are.

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