What Moves The Dead by T Kingfisher
Publisher – Titan
Published – Out Now
Price – £2.99 Kindle eBook £8.99 paperback
When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.
Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.
Science and horror have a long history – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a brilliant exploration of the old and new worlds of magic and science creating something magnificent. As our understanding of the world has improved, we have still though not just consigned horror to the land of out of date myth we have instead seen things evolve. Vampirism can be a blood born diseases just as much as some strange demonic force. In T Kingfisher’s enjoyable What Moves The Dead we have a new take on Edgar Alan Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ which offers another interesting spin on events.
Alex Easton has received word that their friend Madeline User is dying and has rushed to her home where she is being cared for by Alex’s former army colleague Roderick Usher. Alex finds a strange, dilapidated house a furtive Roderick and a baffled american doctor Denton. In the countryside a puzzling British mycologist named Eugenia Potter and very little makes sense. The Ushers are relatively young but appear on the edge of death. The town view the land and house with suspicion. Alex must try to work out what is going on before it gets too late.
This is a fun light horror tale that errs more to the side of enjoyable spooky mystery than aiming to chill the blood. I really enjoyed the way Kingfisher creates their cast and plays with the original story. One more noticeable than Easton a non-binary solider who explains that their society sees anyone be they originally male or female can upon becoming a soldier achieve a different gender even in language. They’re middle aged, battle hardened, a sense of humour smart and our narrator. Alex’s voice is matter of fact and amiable and like many Kingfisher characters able to win us over in strange situations.
Overall, the way this mystery pans out though is a little obvious if you know about certain animal diseases and fungi. As such I found the tale while has dark and scary moments it did not create any surprises and perhaps needed more pace to drive the tale and less homage to the classics. It is a fun diversion but not for me the strongest of Kingfisher’s horror work but those seeking a spooky thrill will I think enjoy with the lights down low.
