What Feasts At Night by T Kingfisher
I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Titan
Published - 13/2
Price - £10.99 hardback £5.99 Kindle ebook
A hair-raising standalone sequel to the bestselling and award-winning novella What Moves the Dead. Alex Easton returns to their home country of Gallacia, only to be confronted by a strange new horror.
When Alex Easton travels to Gallacia as a favour to their friend, the excellent Miss Potter, they find their home empty, the caretaker dead, and the grounds blanketed by an uncanny silence. The locals won’t talk about what happened to the caretaker. None of them will set foot on the grounds.
Whispers of an unearthly breath-stealing creature from Gallacian folklore don’t trouble practical Easton. But as strange visions disturb their sleep and odd happenings increase, they are forced to confront the dark shadow that hangs over the house…
Horror excels at changing at is realising the world is a far stranger and creepier place than we like to think it is. That can be simply down to horrible people but it also says reality isn’t quite what we were taught at school. A great horror story can be weirder and stranger than we expect and I’m pleased to say T Kingfisher’s latest Sworn Soldier novella What Feasts At Night is a brilliant combination of weird, scary and funny horror making it a delight to read.
Alex Easton a retired soldier is making their way back from Paris to the family hunting lodge in the small little known European country of Gallacia - with their faithful soldier colleague Angus in tow and on their way Eugenie Potter the acclaimed naturalist and expert in all things fungi. But Alex finds the loyal servant left to mind the lodge is unexpectedly dead, the villagers are suspicious and over the coming days the new servants and Alex find their nights unpleasant and their strength diminishing. Are monsters or something else at work?
Kingfisher has a tradition of engaging narrators and what made this tale work so well for me is Easton’s character that comes across in their narration. They’re a smart pragmatic soldier with a kind heart but also an excellent sense of sarcasm and humour be it explaining why turnips are painted on winters to the testy but funny exchanges with their new servant (but clearly in charge) The Widow Botezatu who is eternally grumpy, very superstitious and loyal to her beloved grandson Bors. Who doesn’t love someone putting sharp knives to ward off evil where you least expect them?
The other key approach is this story is a mystery. What is going on is it natural or supernatural? We get mysterious troubling dreams, folk tales, strange diseases and the views of doctors, priests and locals. Easton has to try and navigate this in particular the legend of the Moroi a spirit who saps strength in dreams and crushes victims to death. Kingfisher makes these encounters both vividly terrifying and slightly ambiguous to help confuse us as to what is going on. I’m not going to tell you fear not…but there is some excellent gruesome body horror to enjoy here in the final sections of the book.
What Feasts In The Night is an excellent horror story that takes the classic feel of a haunted building and gives it a fine revamp with humour, warmth and a central trio to unpick things you really love - but this is very much Easton’s story to navigate. I think it opens up the world of the Sworn Soldier a lot and allows many different types of stories to be told. Strongly recommended!
