What Stalks the Deep

T Kingfisher
Completed 11/10/2025, Reviewed 11/16/2025
4 stars

Third in the Sworn Soldier series, this book was pretty good, but again, like What Feasts at Night, not as perfect as What Moves the Dead.  This novella is very creepy, as it mostly takes place in an abandoned coal mine.  Kingfisher’s prose once again is the star as it makes the exploring of the cave so very claustrophobic.  The past books were nods to Poe and local folklore.  This one is a nod to the Chthulu mythos.  It’s a satisfying read.  It just didn’t grab my whole being.

Alex Easton, the gender fluid soldier from Gallacia, and her trusty companion Angus begrudgingly sail to America at the request of James Denton, the doctor whom they befriended in the first book.  Denton’s cousin Oscar went missing in a coal mine in West Virginia. The mine had stopped producing coal a while ago and has been rumored to be haunted.  Oscar’s companion survived but is now living in an alcoholic stupor in the town near the mine.  So Denton, Easton, Angus, and Denton’s Boston companion John Ingold retrace Oscar’s steps and find mysterious lights and slushing sounds.  They also find that there has been a recent spate of gruesome deaths nearby that may be linked to the missing Oscar.

I love the characters of Easton and Angus.  It turns out that Easton is somewhat claustrophobic.  When crawling through tight spaces, their inner dialogue alone gets them through the ordeal.  Angus continues to be a wonderful companion who almost always can anticipate Easton’s needs.  I like the fact that no one can pinpoint his age or nationality.  I picture him as kind of a big daddy bear.  Denton was harder to appreciate this time.  I like him in the first book, but here, he’s less level-headed.  I guess that’s appropriate considering he holds onto the hope that Oscar is still alive.  Still, I felt like he was too irrational for the situation.  I really liked Ingold.  He was obsessed with the science behind the cave and the strange findings within.  He’s described as a person who is not just content with an answer but must continue to drill down into the details to learn as much as possible.

This being another novella, it’s hard to explain too much without spoilers.  But the creature stalking the deep is surprisingly well described, despite being very esoteric.  And I did like that there was a good creature and a bad creature.  It made for a thrilling ending.

I give this book four stars out of five.  It’s really good, but not for the claustrophobic.  It spends a lot of time in the mine and there’s quite a bit of body horror.  But if you are into horror, I think you’ll be satisfied with this.  T Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon is one of my favorite authors these days.  I’ll continue reading this series and I’m sure I’ll read more of her other works in the future.