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kirtreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Second time around the beginning felt a little slow, but I get that some world building had to happen until we could really get into the story. Once the plot picks up it really is great. Despite knowing the ending it was still a fun read.
Didn’t love the narrator for the audiobook, but the accents were just a little off for me but overall really enjoyed the book!
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide and War
Minor: Vomit
keishbby's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness and Body horror
Minor: War
lunaquarius's review
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: War
gonetohilo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was descriptive enough, but very repetitive in a way that I could tell was trying to be a stylistic choice that unfortunately just fell flat.
This may be a very personal gripe, but I think it did the book no favors that the prose read very modern which feels at odds with it being a story set in the 19th century.
Luckily, once the pace picks up about a third of the way through, it gets less noticeable. It's still present, but the action and dialogue between characters were engaging enough for me to shift my focus completely.
The ending read to me more as action/thriller than horror, but I did genuinely enjoy the imagery presented. Maybe the mood just wasn't set properly for me, but I still love the general concept and mechanics of the Usher's affliction. There was clearly a lot of thought put into how things work in this world.
Overall, I think it's a fine book! Don't take the 3 stars as a discouragement to read it. It's an above-average score, and my issues with the writing style are subjective. I would not have written this long of a review if I didn't care about the book at all.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and War
lazmataz's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Murder, Medical content, Death, Grief, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
winglesswarrior's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: War
perifairy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Gore, Chronic illness, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Transphobia and War
Main character does not face transphobia on page, just alludes to experiencing it in the past. Book as a whole is very thoughtful on the characters own gender, and gender within the fictional culturethebigemmt505's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
What Moves The Dead is unique retelling of The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe written by T. Kingfisher. It follows Alex Easton’s journey to the House of Usher, following the reception of a letter from the sister of one of ka’s close army friends.
Now, admittedly, I haven’t read the original- I just pick up books when I find them interesting, I suppose. Even without the context of Poe’s story, I really enjoyed this one! The writing is fun and easy to read, but not lacking in great description and very solid dialogue. I find fungi fascinating, so having it be a driver of the narrative was entertaining and interesting. The depiction of the hares was downright disturbing and worked well. The characters are well-characterized, as much as is needed for the story, anyways. Alex Easton is a delightful character to read. Ka’s quick humor and fascination with people’s passions makes the character super likable, even without the narrative being strictly character driven. It’s a really unique portrayal of a queer character as well, and very refreshing in the wake of so many forced, hetero-ified, cliché portrayals found in a myriad of other novels being released today. (I don’t say this in the grifter way- I’m one of the LGBTQs myself, and I do love a lot of queer media, but dear lord do some need to get better at writing! The main draw of a book doesn’t have to be watered down queer-ness, people.)
I don’t have many critiques as far as the writing goes. My rating quality wise is closer to a 4/5 or even 4.25/5, but I suppose the story didn’t pack the full punch I wanted it too. I don’t think that’s what the story was necessarily going for though, so I wouldn’t call that a flaw. It comes down to preference more than anything else. I also feel as though Madeline could’ve had a bigger presence in the story before the end, and that might’ve made the climax more effective. Anyways, it was a really nice read!
Overall, What Moves The Dead is a fun little re-telling of a classic that anyone who is into horror should add to their list.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide and War
bibble_kingly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Chronic illness, Medical content, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
Moderate: Medical trauma, War, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia
orasmis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Suicide and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol and Mental illness