What Moves the Dead

T Kingfisher
Completed 6/6/2025, Reviewed 6/7/2025
5 stars

Whenever I pick up something by T Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon), I’m always amazed at the beauty of her prose.  And I’m astounded that she moves so easily between genres.  I may not always love the book, but I never dislike it.  This time, I loved it.  I read this novella in one sitting.  It’s a horror story, inspired by Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.”  I used to read a lot of horror, especially Stephen King and the weird worlds of Clive Barker.  This was a great return, leaving me creeped out on my couch until the end and begging for more.  Fortunately, this novella is the first of three, the second of which is a nominee for this year’s Hugo.  This first was a nominee in 2024.  

Alex Easton is a “sworn soldier,” a career soldier in the Gallacian army who has given up their identity including gender.  After the end of a particularly useless war against Bulgaria, they receive a letter from an old friend, Madeline Usher, who writes that her brother is convinced she is going to die.  Easton travels to the Usher house, finding it decayed, covered in mold and mushrooms.  Roderick, Maddy’s brother who served with Easton, is pale and suspicious, but welcomes Easton in.  Also at the house is Denton, an American doctor friend who is baffled by Maddy’s illness.  When Easton sees her, they can’t believe how gaunt, frail, and cold she is, clearly near death.  Easton and the American, along with a Miss Potter, a plucky older denizen of the nearby town who is an expert on mushrooms, try to solve the mystery causing Maddy’s illness.  What they find is too terrible to imagine.

Gah!  It can be tough giving a plot summary for a novella without spoilers.  I do think I succeeded though.  😊  I really liked Easton.  Despite being a career soldier, they are suffering from what in 1890 is called soldier’s heart; in today’s terms, PTSD.  They often have flashbacks to scenes from the war as well as nightmares and panic attacks.  Needless to say, the strange happenings at the Usher house provoke these episodes.  Still Easton finds a way to cope with the problem at hand, trying to piece together the puzzle of Maddy’s illness.  Told in first person, I easily empathized with them and found them quite likeable.  

Despite being a horror story, there is a lot of humor to relieve the tension.  Miss Potter is a hoot.  She is bitter that the Royal Mycology Society won’t publish papers by women, it being the Victorian era.  But she is perhaps the most knowledgeable person on fungi in all of Europe.  Angus, who also served with Easton and is a sort of gentleman’s gentleman for Easton, comes to the Usher house as well.  An older man who also served Easton father, Angus seems to fall for Miss Potter amidst the creepy happenings on the property, lending some humor of unspoken impropriety.  Denton is not so stereotypically American, having a soldier’s heart as well from treating the wounded during the Civil War.  His job was mostly amputating limbs, leaving him with horrible nightmares.  The humor with him mostly comes from Easton, Potter and Angus’ observations American customs.

On the creepier side lie the Maddy and Roderick.  Maddy is frightening to be around, though she was an occasional playmate of Easton’s when they were younger.  Roderick, their buddy, seems to be on the verge of mental collapse from caring for his sister.  And then there are the weird zombie hares all over the property.  There’s one scene where Easton rides into the nearby woods, only to end up surrounded by these strange, staring, fearless creatures.  It all adds up to creepy good times when you are alone at home at night completely engrossed in the book.

I give it five stars out of five.  The book is very slow paced through much of it.  I did not find this problematic though, it enhanced the creepy atmosphere of the Usher residence.  And not having read Usher, though I’ve read other Poe, I can see Kingfisher emulating Poe with the atmospheric style and gorgeous prose.  I must say, I simply love reading her books, like her current Hugo nominated novel, A Sorceress Comes to Call.  When I finished “What Moves the Dead” last night at ten p.m., I couldn’t wait to begin this year’s nominated novella to see what happens to Easton next.  And I’ll probably read the third in the series whether it’s nominated for a Hugo or not.