Reviews with content warning for Body horror - What Moves the Dead

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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dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

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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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thrynnies's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

There is nothing quite like placing a finished book in your lap, sitting back with slightly glazed eyes, and thinking "what the heck did I just read."

Don't be fooled by the shortness of this novella, it packs a potent punch and feels like its just the right amount of pages. I'd previously read <i> A House with Great Bones </i> by this author and the last quarter of the book totally lost me, despite loving the first bit intensely.

This author really knows how to write in a way that intrigues and thrills you. The descriptions are just enough to leave the rest up to your own horrifying imagination and I could picture everything going on quite clearly!
My one small gripe is that the main character took a while to describe themself. I understand why and sometimes first-person POV is a beast to write in that way but I had already gotten a clear image of them (kan?) in my head and had to do some awkward backpedaling. But such is the life of a visual-heavy reader, I suppose.

I was pleasantly satisfied with the entirity of the plot of this one

though the conclusion of it all did roll out a bit quickly and the final pages tumbled between being too much and not enough, I'm not sure I would have added much to it but I did have questions. Don't all horrors leave you with questions though?

. I loved the atmosphere of the story and it managed to be more horrifying than its predecessor, <i> The Fall of the House of Usher </i>.

I was curious if the author was going to bring up possible incest themes--I only mention this because I wrote a paper about Poe's Usher in uni and if you are curious, no that isn't really expounded on, and is left just as curiously and strangely vague and perhaps up to interpretation

There is something deeply unsettling about things growing inside your body that you are unaware of and I think I will never quite look at mushrooms the same way again.

Suffice to say, the horror in this novella was just the right kind for me. It teetered between fantasy, science fiction, historical, and (of course) settles snugly at the cozy spot of creepy as all get out. Seriously, this book is very unnerving in all the right ways.

the scene with the hares...goodNESS. I could feel all my hairs stand on end

Very pleased to try another novella in the series :) Until next time~

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adliteracy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This short novel tells a spooky and unnerving story, full of mystery and visceral imagery.

I'm not familiar with Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher" so I couldn't effectively compare them or even appreciate the allusions; but, the language used by the author conveyed the 19th-century dryness and sensibilities that I recognize from works by Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. The fantasy elements combined with this really well, and it was a great combination between Kingfisher's own writing style, influenced by an homage to an earlier style.

This haunting book stuck with me a little too well to read it before bed, but I also found the grotesqueness to be weirdly satisfying. The pacing was a slow burn, as opposed to a suspenseful thriller, and very effectively told.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a scary story and are looking to be just a bit creeped out by the unnatural.

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adragoninspace's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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beautifulminutiae's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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