Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

131 reviews

whimsylee's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Obsessed. The quick witted gender nonconforming protagonist is an absolute delight. I will happily venture into the unknown with kan again and again. The dark gothic fungi infested mysteries of this book broke a spell of artists block for me that had gone on for over 6 months. Highly recommend if you enjoy fungi, dead things, rotting houses, and gothic mysteries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Chronic illness, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Suicide, Alcohol, Vomit, Terminal illness, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Dementia, and Eating disorder

micksland's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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 stars

I can confidently list “What Moves the Dead” as an example of an adaptation which exceeds the limitations of its source material. “What Moves the Dead” provides an updated look at Poe’s classic story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (which is highly overrated and not at all scary, in my opinion).

Kingfisher’s take replaces Poe’s unnamed narrator with soldier Alex Easton, adds in a smattering of lovable side characters, and delves into the characters of Madeline and Roderick Usher as well.

The first half of this short novel was very slow, but the second half was full of very real terror. Kingfisher did an excellent job at answering some of Poe’s unanswered questions, while still leaving a layer of mystery and occult uneasiness that pervades the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal death, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide

bookyanna's review against another edition

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

An interesting take on horror against the backdrop of a classic gothic setting. I really enjoyed Easton, and appreciated the inclusion of a central non-binary/gender neutral character. There were moments of true horror to make your skin crawl.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide, Dysphoria, and Murder

Minor: Mental illness and Misogyny

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

The pseudo fantastical nature was foreboding and creepy in a good way, but I'm not a big horror person so I mostly just wanted to get away from the sentient fungi.  I did read the short story it is based on which was predominantly vibes, and I liked this reinterpretation of it more than the original because the characters had much more depth.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Slavery, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

mr_cain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Fascinating concepts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Gore, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Animal death, Death, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Blood

Minor: War, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Confinement

glitterdeww's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-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

4.0

What Moves the Dead, crafted with care, humor, and darkness, has earned it's hype as a creative retelling of Fall of the House of Usher. This is the second novel I've read by T. Kingfisher (or Ursula Vernon, if you please), and they are 2 for 2 in Gothic charm. I will probably be shelving things by this subgenre in the future, as it is quickly becoming a favorite. 

I thought the story, characters, and setting were all well done. In sitting down to write a review, I do feel a little bit vague. I'm not sure how to describe it... It's as if I had a craving throughout this story that wasn't entirely satisfied. I wanted a little more throughout the story, maybe a deeper dive into the setting, and I wanted it to last longer as a whole. But that said, I can't point to anything in particular with criticism. It was quite good, and I thoroughly enjoyed what was delivered. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Body horror

jhaneveauguste's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Suicide, and Terminal illness

raptorq's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Terminal illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: War, Vomit, and Medical content

theaceofpages's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The mood and setting were incredible. The set up was beautifully done. The actual events were just okay. I'm not quite sure what it was, but I was hoping for something more. I don't know if it was just me but I kind of figured out the twist right at the start?

The foreshadowing wasn't exactly subtle.

It was a little repetitive because of this. Overall, not a bad read but I was expecting more given how popular it is.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Terminal illness

vickybuka's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Gore, Medical content, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, War, and Death

Minor: Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail