Fiction: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead is an intriguing riff on Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
     The narrative is told from the perspective of Alex Easton.  Alex is a sworn soldier of the fictional land of Gallacia, where soldiers are a distinct gender (Alex would be considered female in most cultures).  Alex’s “military” gender is one of the many delightful twists the author delivers in this fun novella.
​     The first person Alex meets is Eugenia Potter, a mycologist painting the strange mushrooms infesting the haunted land.  Eugenia is an intriguing character: a proud British scientist fascinated by all things fungi. 

     Like Poe’s original tale, the Usher siblings are unwell.  The ailing brother Roderick served with Alex in the recent war, but has aged markedly.   Roderick's sister, Madeline, is a cyanotic invalid with a strange malady that makes her appear dead at times.  She also has an unnerving habit of sleepwalking at night. 

     Alex is determined to discover the cause of Madeline’s illness.  However, the more Alex investigates, the more disturbing things become.  The narrative parallels Poe’s short story, with Madeline being buried in the family tomb under suspicious circumstances. 
     Like “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the novella invokes fears of being buried alive; Kingfisher imbues her tale with additional depth and complexity.    The crumbling family mansion and the grim environs also serve as brooding characters, creating delicious tension and suspense. I rooted for Alex to escape.

     There are similarities (in terms of mycology) between What Moves the Dead and Mexican Gothic, but the fungus in What Moves the Dead is far more malevolent.  When Alex finally puts the mystery together, it creates a creepy yet seemingly inevitable ending.
     What Moves the Dead won the 2023 Locus Award for Best Horror Novel and was nominated for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

More from T. Kingfisher: Nettle & Bone

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