Reviews with content warning for Death - A Queda da Casa Morta

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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acorny's review against another edition

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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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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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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socialpsysteph's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I have been seeing this book pop up since it was released and it really seemed like there were differing opinions (with some really hating it) but I was hopeful. And I was right, this was right up my alley. This is a Fall of the House of Usher retelling and it's done beautifully. It was dark and gothic and creepy and everything I wanted it to be. Definitely has Mexican Gothic vibes.

This book counts for the Magical Readathon Alchemy Side Quest.

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keiraonyxraven's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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oliver_thorne's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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curvybeautiful's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kirtreads's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.5

This is my second time reading this, first time reading the audiobook.

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!

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