Plot Summary
What Moves the Dead is a gothic retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s original short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, though in a novella format. For those unfamiliar with Poe’s short story, we enter upon the Ushers’ mansion home, falling into disrepair. Madeline Usher is sick and her brother, Roderick Usher, also appears to be showing signs of sickness. A family friend receives a letter and arrives at the Ushers’ bleak home to investigate and assist in any way he can. Will it be enough, or will the House – or the Ushers themselves – meet their ultimate end? This is about as far as similarities between the two stories go.
Initial Thoughts
In What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher more than accomplishes what she set out to do. Had I read the author’s note at the back of the book prior to purchasing this novella, I never would have hesitated. In reflecting on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, Kingfisher reveals, “…it’s short, and while there’s a lot to be said about economy of storytelling, I found myself wanting more. I wanted explanations.” She addresses the very essence of my thoughts and feelings about Poe’s original work. That alone would have swayed me more quickly to read Kingfisher’s book than any of the critics’ reviews on the back cover of What Moves the Dead. Kingfisher employs a fantastic nod to Poe’s original yet fleshes out the details of the scenery outside the Ushers’ home, in the forest beyond, and of the characters’ histories in ways a short story could never capture.
A Brief Comment on Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher
In a way, this review is also a review of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (hereafter shortened to TFOTHOU). In TFOTHOU, Poe does a beautiful job of describing the atmosphere of the House and its surroundings in typical Poe style. He is masterfully poetic, using literary devices such as personification and alliteration in ways that permit readers to truly feel the depth of the House and its residents. Poe’s story starts with, “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens…” The beauty of prose in this work captivated me. However, by the end, I found myself bothered by the frequency with which Poe used the word, “countenance”, to describe a given character’s demeanor. Even worse, by the end of the TFOTHOU, I did not feel the terror I expected in a Poe story. Perhaps this was because I watched the Netflix mini-series of the same name created by Mike Flanagan, which also paid massive respect to Poe and weaved multiple of his works into one overarching story primarily centered on the Usher family. I loved Flanagan’s TV-series creation so much that Poe’s short story felt extremely lacking. I understand the biased view I hold of TFOTHOU due to the order in which I devoured content sprouted from and clearly inspired by the Ushers. However, this does not change the fact that I felt his story needed more: more length, more background for its characters, and more terror. On this note, T. Kingfisher delivers.
Critique of What Moves the Dead
What Moves the Dead is a fantastic reimagining of Poe’s work and gives rise to what his tale needed. The added length, the dreadful scenery outside the Ushers’ home, and the conveyance of the characters’ fears allowed a deeper connection with Kingfisher’s work than with Poe’s original, too-short story. And Kingfisher has a style which is clearly inspired by Poe’s at times, yet is refreshing, while subtly addressing current topics in ways that do not permeate and invade the focus of the story. What Moves the Dead begins, “The mushroom’s gills were the deep-red color of severed muscle, the almost-violet shade that contrasts so dreadfully with the pale pink of viscera.” While the cover of this book is stunning, I cannot deny that Kingfisher’s description elicits deeper, more gore-infused coloration and sets the scene for a horrific, atmospheric novel.
If it makes a difference to you, Kingfisher introduces a character whose culture utilizes five-plus pronouns for its people: the typical he and she as well as a version for boys / girls, and soldiers, among others. It does not become a focus of the story, but the pronouns are occasionally sprinkled throughout the novella, adding complexity to the characters but not in a way that makes understanding the novella a difficult task. It was extremely well-done, and I appreciated the reference to some of the issues with gender-identity we are encountering today, without actually speaking to a particular stance on these issues and without detracting from the focus of the story. If gender identity and pronouns are a topic that you are not interested in discussing or reading about, do not let this prevent you from buying this book. The backstory is mentioned in a few paragraphs across two short pages, and only to introduce the ka and kan pronouns, which are used when referring to soldiers of Gallacia. These pronouns, when rarely used, do not distract from the story but add to its lore.
I highly recommend What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher. The sequel, What Feasts at Night, is already in my hands, in my thoughts, in my dreams. This is a gothic tale that won’t be leaving my mind any time soon. I’ve been famished recently when it comes to horror, but T. Kingfisher will hopefully be sustaining me in the meantime. I know I devoured this one and am hoping the follow-up lives up to my expectations. I should also mention the paperback copy of this book feels so great in the hands that I was hoping What Feasts at Night would be offered in paperback. It seems the follow-up novella is too new, so I was forced to purchase the hardcover. I must say that it is not quite the same, and I have a bit of a thing where I like all my series to be in the same print format, especially if I plan to keep them long-term.
Hope you enjoyed the review. Looking forward to following up soon with a review for What Feasts at Night. Please share your thoughts and subscribe. Thank you.
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