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A review by ramreadsagain
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
In a few words: fantastic cover, grossly entertaining and fascinating read.
In more words:
This isn’t as horror horror as I was expecting it to be but the creepy vibes were immaculate. As a zoologist I’ve always been equal parts horrified and fascinated by the ‘zombie’ Cordyceps fungus so the realisation of that being where the book was going was stomach-churning.
Even with that realisation the book never went where I expected it to. The intelligent life, the (mainly) happy ending and the delightful characters all caught me off guard.
The narration is surprisingly light-hearted, which is partly my only problem with the book as it felt quite modern and it was only when it explicitly placed the time as the late 19th century that I had any idea when it was meant to be set (aside from the Beatrix Potter easter egg!). It’s not too much of a problem though as it was very fun to read, often incredibly funny and managed to not take me out of the tense creepiness too much.
The addition of neopronouns and culture of ‘Gallacia’ was excellent also. And I loved Hob!
Overall I’d recommend this to pretty much anyone and it’s been my favourite read for quite a while.
In more words:
Even with that realisation the book never went where I expected it to. The intelligent life, the (mainly) happy ending and the delightful characters all caught me off guard.
The narration is surprisingly light-hearted, which is partly my only problem with the book as it felt quite modern and it was only when it explicitly placed the time as the late 19th century that I had any idea when it was meant to be set (aside from the Beatrix Potter easter egg!). It’s not too much of a problem though as it was very fun to read, often incredibly funny and managed to not take me out of the tense creepiness too much.
The addition of neopronouns and culture of ‘Gallacia’ was excellent also. And I loved Hob!
Overall I’d recommend this to pretty much anyone and it’s been my favourite read for quite a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcohol and Animal cruelty