Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - What Moves the Dead

The horror ramped up at the end and was grotesque, but the pacing was a bit slow for me leading up to that. I really like this overall length for a horror story though, but I wanted more horror overall. This novella is based off of the short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allan Poe and I felt like it elaborated well on the original while adding something new and fresh. I really appreciated the discussion related to a non-binary character and the fictional history associated with that character's backstory, but it didn't have much bearing on the story, if any, so it felt a little irrelevant in such a short novella. I'm hoping that comes into play more in the next book! In general I really enjoyed all the characters and found them interesting and human.

If you're looking for a horror novella that might creep and gross you out at the very end, with phenomenal writing and interesting characters, this one is for you!

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godfrina's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I have never read Poe's original.
This retelling, however...if you weren't scared of the effects of mold in your walls, you will be thinking about it afterwards.
Atmospheric, gothic, fast-paced horror story! I'd recommend a read on a gloomy Saturday in November, get cosy, get creeped out!

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cranshrooms's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I DEVOURED this book on a rare day off. Like an animal. And I [censored] loved it. I have loved EAP since I was 8, and this scratched an itch I didn't realize I still had. I loved how the author brought in a discussion of new pronouns, gave them valuable and compelling cultural context, and then also made it relevant to the horror!! Wow. Wow. Loved it. The writing style was very Poe meets Doyle meets 2015 Tumblr user and it was absolutely perfect. The science and horror melded perfectly. I'm going to be a freak about this book for some time.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Ahh, T Kingfisher, inspiring me to read out of my comfort zone and into the world of classic haunted houses, creeping dread, and

zombifying fungi

.

This *just* passes my personal Doctor Who/Star Trek measuring stick of tolerable horror (i.e., I can tolerate science fantasy stories that are as unsettling as the scariest episodes of those shows as long as they're also creative, interesting, thoughtful, contain endearing characters, etc.).

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