Book Review: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead
by T. Kingfisher (Kingfisher)

What Moves the Dead is a novella retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher” that is a delight for readers every step of the way. You (likely) know how things are ultimately going to go, but both the characterization and the sense of place are brilliantly heightened. For me it felt like reading the actual book Dracula for the first time after seeing spin-offs that mimicked the supernatural lore but gave no hint of just how much fun it is to read that story the way it was written.

 

Three character stand out in particular. The unnamed narrator from the Poe story has a name — Lieutenant Alex Easton — and origin as a soldier from a small European nation that carves turnips over their windows and has over a dozen sets of pronouns in their language for cases like referring to children differently from adults and for “sworn soldiers.” Easton is one of these soldier who goes by ka/kan, whatever else might have been used outside of professional soldiering. Ka’s a practical person who has seen a lot in war and isn’t given to fancies, even in gloomy places like this. Ka horse, Hob, doesn’t say anything but is quite the expressive character, at least according to Easton’s inner monologue. (This really felt like Geralt and Roach from the Sapkowski books.) Finally for the stand-out characters, there’s Miss Potter. She’s a naturalist, here in this desolate patch of land to paint mushrooms. (Not Beatrix Potter, but her aunt.) Nothing like an unflappable Englishwoman along for uncanny events. Do yourself a favor and peek at the endpaper art if you see this book on a shelf. Really sets the tone.

 

Recommended for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, or — of course — fans of Edgar Allen Poe.

 

( official What Moves the Dead page on the official T. Kingfisher web site — T. Kingfisher is the pseudonym used by Ursula Vernon for her works for YA and Adults )

 

Recommended by Garren H.
Public Service — Bennett Martin Public Library

 

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