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A review by bibi_reads_writes
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
4.0
“Imagine if an architect wanted to re-create Budapest, but on a shoestring budget and without any of the convenient flat bits. While fighting wolves.”
It’s official: T. Kingfisher is an auto-buy author for me. The prose, the atmosphere, the humour! I preferred the first installment, but I still had a great time reading this one. 3,75⭐ rounding up to 4.
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
❤️ Atmosphere
❤️ Skillful and effortless nonbinary and genderqueer representation
❤️ Funny and fascinating narrator
❌ Slow start
❌ Underwhelming ending
Trigger Warnings: alcohol consumption, anxiety, war trauma, blood and gore, misgendering, and magical coercion or possession. Mentioned, off page: potential sexual abuse and murder.
Plot:
Retired soldiers Alex and Angus return to Gallacia, hoping to welcome their mycologist friend Miss Potter in time for mushroom season. They arrive to find the hunting lodge filthy and deserted, soon learning that the caretaker has passed away. But there is something mysterious about the old man’s death, and the way the villagers refuse to talk about it. Joined by a feisty widow and her kind grandson, Alex, Angus, and Miss Potter will try to stop the old evil that’s trying to claim more lives.
Who doesn’t love a good, short creepy folklore tale? The story beings with a rather long description of the story setting. There is a mysterious death, suspicious small-town locals, superstitions, and folk tales. Our protagonists are skeptical at first, but they soon realize that the stories might be true after all. I thought that the story was very slow to start (I remember being 40% in and feeling like the story hadn’t really started), but Alex’s funny and witty narrating made it fun to read nonetheless. There was more humour and less horror than in What Moves at Night, with a lot of emphasis on suspense and atmosphere. For me, the ending was slightly underwhelming. I would have preferred a faster pace with a more impactful climax, but I still had a good time reading it and cackled more than a few times.
Characters:
Such a loveable bunch! Alex is a fascinating and funny narrator, and kan (a nonbinary pronoun that only sworn soldiers can use) interactions with pretty much everyone, and especially Angus and the Widow, are *chef’s kiss*. Miss Potter is, again, my favourite. Such class! I could read stories about them over and over, and I’m quite sad that this was only a 2-book series.
Writing:
Kingfisher’s writing never fails to impress me: elegant and sharp, evocative, complex yet accessible, extremely funny without feeling forced. There are so many details that make me smile or laugh. It’s really refreshing, and I’ll never stop praising and recommending it.
It’s official: T. Kingfisher is an auto-buy author for me. The prose, the atmosphere, the humour! I preferred the first installment, but I still had a great time reading this one. 3,75⭐ rounding up to 4.
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
❤️ Atmosphere
❤️ Skillful and effortless nonbinary and genderqueer representation
❤️ Funny and fascinating narrator
❌ Slow start
❌ Underwhelming ending
Trigger Warnings: alcohol consumption, anxiety, war trauma, blood and gore, misgendering, and magical coercion or possession. Mentioned, off page: potential sexual abuse and murder.
Plot:
Retired soldiers Alex and Angus return to Gallacia, hoping to welcome their mycologist friend Miss Potter in time for mushroom season. They arrive to find the hunting lodge filthy and deserted, soon learning that the caretaker has passed away. But there is something mysterious about the old man’s death, and the way the villagers refuse to talk about it. Joined by a feisty widow and her kind grandson, Alex, Angus, and Miss Potter will try to stop the old evil that’s trying to claim more lives.
Who doesn’t love a good, short creepy folklore tale? The story beings with a rather long description of the story setting. There is a mysterious death, suspicious small-town locals, superstitions, and folk tales. Our protagonists are skeptical at first, but they soon realize that the stories might be true after all. I thought that the story was very slow to start (I remember being 40% in and feeling like the story hadn’t really started), but Alex’s funny and witty narrating made it fun to read nonetheless. There was more humour and less horror than in What Moves at Night, with a lot of emphasis on suspense and atmosphere. For me, the ending was slightly underwhelming. I would have preferred a faster pace with a more impactful climax, but I still had a good time reading it and cackled more than a few times.
Characters:
Such a loveable bunch! Alex is a fascinating and funny narrator, and kan (a nonbinary pronoun that only sworn soldiers can use) interactions with pretty much everyone, and especially Angus and the Widow, are *chef’s kiss*. Miss Potter is, again, my favourite. Such class! I could read stories about them over and over, and I’m quite sad that this was only a 2-book series.
Writing:
Kingfisher’s writing never fails to impress me: elegant and sharp, evocative, complex yet accessible, extremely funny without feeling forced. There are so many details that make me smile or laugh. It’s really refreshing, and I’ll never stop praising and recommending it.