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regaliaofchaos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Suicide
moobell55's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, and Suicide
While the book does contain bodily gore it is not very descriptive and briefly mentioned. The death and killing of small animals how is described and happens multiple times throughout the book. A reference to suicide to mentioned but describes of witnessed.mr_cain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Gore, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Animal death, Death, Chronic illness, and Grief
Moderate: Blood
Minor: War, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Confinement
glitterdeww's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I thought the story, characters, and setting were all well done. In sitting down to write a review, I do feel a little bit vague. I'm not sure how to describe it... It's as if I had a craving throughout this story that wasn't entirely satisfied. I wanted a little more throughout the story, maybe a deeper dive into the setting, and I wanted it to last longer as a whole. But that said, I can't point to anything in particular with criticism. It was quite good, and I thoroughly enjoyed what was delivered.
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Body horror
bethann_coleates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, War, and Alcohol
kds247's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, Blood, Animal death, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicide and War
mishmoshroom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: War, Alcohol, Death, Body horror, Blood, Gore, and Animal death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
lycheejelly's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Animal death, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, War, Blood, Murder, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Vomit
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Creepy home, creepy hares, creepy fungi and creepy atmosphere basically sums up what What Moves the Dead is.
As someone who has never read Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher , I didn’t know what to expect. So, I went into this novella, hoping for a lush, gothic atmosphere and for it to be hair-raisingly unsettling — and it delivered in spades, plus touches of sci-fi that’s even more unexpected but nonetheless welcomed.
Our protagonist here is Easton, a non-binary retired soldier who visits their dying childhood friends in a rural countryside where their estate is a dilapidated, severely decaying mansion. What’s more shocking is the state of their childhood friends who appear to be just shades of who they were during their healthiest and happiest. The events that follow are equally disturbing and intriguing. Though I felt more and more unnerved as I read, I couldn’t stop either. I felt the same as Easton as the mycologist poked at one of those ghastly fungi that released incredibly foul odours; as the doctor who opened up one of the hares and found something both explainable and inexplainable by science.
Even so, there were parts of the narrative that felt too long-winded. While I do understand that they were important for context and worldbuilding purposes, I wished it was spread out a little more so it felt less like an information dump. Still, What Moves the Dead remains a fascinating, disquieting read that I think many fans of gothic horror would enjoy.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Gore, Murder, and War
alexandryareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: War and Death of parent