Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

77 reviews

almostqualified's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Chronic illness and Death

Minor: War, Terminal illness, and Suicide

aubreystrawberry's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Medical content, Terminal illness, Body horror, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Grief, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Suicide

some_froggish_lad's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Body horror, War, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Death

batcaves's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Ableism, Classism, Self harm, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit

not_another_ana's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

3.75

Every sense I had honed over years on the battlefield was screaming that something was not as it appeared. I could feel it. The dead don't walk.

When retired officer Alex Easton receives a letter from their friend Madeline Usher claiming that she's dying they don't hesitate and immediately head for the Usher estate in Ruravia. Upon arriving Alex notices that both Usher siblings are worse for wear, as is the house and its surroundings, and something odd is going on with the hares around the property. As the days pass and Madeline's condition worsens and becomes stranger, Alex must uncover the secret behind this disease unless they want to become the next victim of this illness.

A retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's well known "The Fall of the House of Usher" with a twist, I really enjoyed this. It expands on themes of the original one, and its longer, while not being a carbon copy. T. Kingfisher adds her on brand of horror to this tale and you can feel her style leaping out of the page. The standouts in this book were the characters, they are all fleshed out and meticulously constructed. I specially like Alex, their narration was funny but didn't downplay the horrors. The answer to the mystery was quite good too and creepy enough to compete with Edgar Allan Poe. I do wish that the pacing had been a bit tighter. For a novella it felt like the introduction dragged on and the action entered the frame quite late.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Animal death, Body horror, and Death

tifftastic87's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, and Body horror

Moderate: Gore and War

Minor: Vomit

karatics's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Chronic illness, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Confinement

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

A marvellous retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher” with a twist on gender and the destructive aspect of nature upon the human body, this is one of the most spooky books I have read this year. I will never look at hares the same way again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, and Violence

Minor: Drug use, Cursing, and Death of parent

Beware of strangulation, possession by parasitic fungus, fungi and mold, deterioration of property mirroring deterioration of the human body, infection, and drowning in pools of water.

tnm94's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Animal death, Death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Misogyny and Transphobia