Book Review: What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

"What Moves The Dead" by T. Kingfisher 

"I did not know how to deal with this sort of death, the one that comes slow and inevitable and does not let go. I am a soldier, I deal in cannonballs and rifle shots. I understand how a wound can fester and kill a soldier, but there is still the initial wound, something that can be avoided with a little skill and a great deal of luck. Death that simply comes and settles is not a thing I had any experience with." 

"Headache is always preferable to heartache, and if you’re focusing on not throwing up, you aren’t thinking about how the friends of your youth are dying around you."

"I am not the solider I was. None of us are what we were." 

Alex Easton is a retired lieutenant who hasn't heard from Madeline Usher or her twin brother Roderick for many years. When a letter arrives from Madeline, expressing she believes she is dying and wishes for Alex to come visit, Alex is unsure what to expect. Upon arrival at the Usher mansion it becomes quite clear the house is in terrible shape. Seemingly rotting from the inside out, the land doesn't appear much better. The only thing worse is the state that Alex finds Madeline and Roderick in. Both are emaciated and substantially ill but Roderick won't travel without his sister and Madeline is in no state to do so. 

Weirder than the house is the fungi that grow about and the hares that limp around. Even the lake appears to glow. 

Alex is certain this strangeness knows no bounds, until the dead begin to move. And what moves the dead you may ask? Only Madeline seems to know. 

Poe has been a lifelong love of mine which made me leary to read this retelling. I wondered how anyone could write the story about the Usher's better than Poe did. While this story touches on much of the original, it also stands on its own. 

I thought the inclusion of a non binary character to this story was incredibly unique. Even more unique than Alex's character are the original sets of pronouns that are discussed in the book. This was wonderfully done and not at all what I was expecting. 

The fungi descriptions and explanations are everything that I didn't know I was missing from Poe's original. The mushrooms offer a very scientific explanation for the sickness that has overrun the Usher's and their mansion and I appreciated so much that this author chose to give us the ending we didn't receive in Poe's story, as many who have read it know that its ending is very open ended. 

Both the hares and the fungi reminded me deeply of Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", which is another favorite classic of mine. I felt such disbelief and wonder at the same time while reading Alex's experience inside the mansion. The Gothic type setting and language and the nod to Hamlet were especially my favorite. It's definitely made me reconsider the DNF choice I made in regards to "Mexican Gothic". I might have to give it one more try. 

Also, once you read this book, nothing beats its title. I love that moment in a book when you realize why it's called what it is and this story's realization is both stunning and disturbing. It deserves to be read an entire second time.