Reviews tagging 'Gore'

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

189 reviews

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I finished this in one night!! I loved it! The writing was exceptional, the story was so captivating, and the atmosphere was very creepy. Definitely read if you like Gothic Horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Animal death

p0tat0es_'s review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-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

Definitely recommend it! Pretty short read but good overall, doesn't really pick up untill the end. It's a new and interesting interpretation of the classic "Fall of the house of Usher," if you like darker stories and a sense of mystery then this is definitely the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Gore and War

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense 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? No

3.75

As I was reading, I had the sense that the story was somewhat familiar but I just couldn’t place it. Turns out it’s a reimagining of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of The House of Usher. I did immediately reread Poe’s short story after I finished to see what this author built off. It took a while for it to fully become interesting but I liked the ending, the realization of what’s happened to Madeline and the plan for Alex. Other than that, it was nothing great or noteworthy for me, just not bad at all. I’ll probably reread at some point though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, Murder, Grief, Body horror, Blood, and Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

acorny's review

dark funny 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

3.75

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel. It was predictable (which didn’t particularly bother me but it made it less exciting) and not particularly scary but the descriptions of the hares and Maddy’s ailment was vivid and will stick with me. I also like the exploration of gender in this retelling. The narrator added some brief moments of humor and was believable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Suicide and War

booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Gore, and Death

Moderate: War, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Suicide

flaminggecko's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Misogyny, Classism, Terminal illness, Grief, Murder, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Animal death

Moderate: War and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent

lizzisok's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gore, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood and Body horror

jackal_crow's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Suicide

gonetohilo's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

I was initially pretty unimpressed with this book. The prose was a bit too simple, both for my tastes and for the mood it was trying to set.
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. 

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

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