Reviews with content warning for Vomit - What Moves the Dead

This was a fast and interesting read. The first half of the book was a little slow, and the last half a little fast, but overall the pacing added to the element of mystery. It wasn't hard to guess where the story was going, in terms of the fungal poisoning, but smaller aspects of the mystery were still surprising.

Madeline having been dead since before the start of the events of the novel was an interesting twist. It makes a lot of sense looking back. It's also really neat how the integration of a language with so many pronouns into the plot through the character of Alex creates further interest and intrigue in how Maddie and Alex interact concerning the way she references the fungus as if it were a child. I don't have any particular love of Poe, beyond the general appreciation, but this was an engaging use of his premise.

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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Oh, this was delightful!

Atmospheric, dark, and a sort of subtle terror within the imagery that creeps along the back of your neck and holds you hostage up until the last chapter.

That last chapter is what kept it from being a 5 star read for me. It has a rather lack luster climax, which in a Gothic style horror isn't a bad thing, but the ending is abrupt and a tad disappointing.

As a retelling, I think T. Kingfisher knocked it out of the park. The fungal element was well thought out, and the imagery was beautiful. If that ending would have been a bit more.. complete, I suppose, it would have been phenomenal.

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cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Ouch

Unfortunately, this did not hold up to my expectations.

First of all, I don't see the need for this fictional world that Kingfisher has created. She spends valuable pages explaining a world that isn't relevant to her story. That's not to say that I don't like it, but I wish she would've chosen one or the other—fantasy novel or a short horror story.
Because the mystery doesn't really start until the book is nearly done. I never really got the feeling of something ominous or even anticipation for what happened next. Well, that isn't entirely true. The part about the rabbits really intrigued me! But Kingfisher's writing style here seems too—rushed. She's moved on to the next point before she ever lets the last impression set in. I want more detail—insight into the characters.
Still, I like that she writes a non-binary character without writing an LGBT novel. I'm gay myself—I have nothing against them, but representation in genres that aren't LGBT is important, I think. Normalises it.

Another thing I'd like to mention, is that I personally didn't like at all the part where the fungus learns to talk and speaks through Madeleine and stuff. It was boring, really. Felt cliché and wasn't actually eerie in the least.

Well, as a whole, I just think the mystery and horror never struck me. I very rarely read horror at all, but I do love Poe's work, so this disappointed me deeply.

However! Not a bad book. As I said, there were parts that intrigued me, but I'd really expected more of this book.

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hwesta's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't read a lot of horror, and the handful of times I have it hasn't done much for me even when I could tell the book was otherwise well written. I had to stop reading this book two or three times because I was so unsettled and needed to step away.

Very good book, I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the underpinnings of the horrible things, I never want to think about mushrooms or hares again

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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Solid horror, very creepy, super cool universe--love how the main character's culture has a distinctly gendered soldier class that many readers would classify as non-binary. Also one of the only books I've read with a character with tinnitus, whose disability was well integrated in the story.

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tifftastic87's review

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dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It took me a minute to decide if this was a 5 ⭐️. In the end because I had to think about it, it's not. But it's close.

I really loved how the characters interact, especially Easton and Hob the horse. I like the simple use of pronouns woven into a made up foreign language and how the culture is heavily featured in Easton's character. I loved that there was an English woman who was a mycologist as one of the unlikely heroes.

This was a fun story and I found myself wishing for more.

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