What Moves the Dead

· Sworn Soldier Book 1 · Sold by Tor Nightfire
61 reviews
Ebook
160
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalist
A Goodreads Best Horror Choice Award Nominee

A gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” from Hugo, Locus, & Nebula award-winning author T. Kingfisher

*A very special hardcover edition, featuring foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*

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.

Also by T. Kingfisher
What Feasts at Night
A House with Good Bones
Nettle & Bone
Thornhedge
A Sorceress Comes to Call

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller A Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalist A Goodreads Best Horror Choice Award Nominee A gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” from Hugo, Locus, & Nebula award-winning author T. Kingfisher *A very spec...

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Ratings and reviews

61 reviews
Lorena Dinger
July 12, 2022
This was just as funny and quirky as I hoped, and more disturbing than I could have imagined. I’m fairly certain Poe’s characters didn’t have half the relatable charm and good humor of T. Kingfisher’s. The story grabbed my attention and would not let go, and I suspect I will be thinking about it for a long time to come. Highly recommended for fans of gothic horror.
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Sarah Lemler
September 2, 2025
T. Kingfisher's retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher was wonderfully dark and whimsical. I appreciate that the author took on a tone and prose similar to Poe's while also expanding on the story and making it their own. Not only is this a great retelling of Poe's classic tale, but the author also weaves in elements of Victorian/Edwardian adventure stories with the creation of Alex Easton and kan homeland Gallacia.
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Felix Black
January 13, 2025
A short, interesting book with some absolutely nightmare inducing ideas regarding one of the most overlooked taxons in biology. For a nerd and horror fan like myself, it's great.
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About the author

T. KINGFISHER writes fantasy, horror, and occasional oddities, including Nettle & Bone and A House with Good Bones. Under a pen name, she also writes bestselling children's books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, cats, and a large garden full of suspicious mushrooms.
T. KINGFISHER writes fantasy, horror, and occasional oddities, including Nettle & Bone and A House with Good Bones. Under a pen name, she also writes bestselling children's books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, cats, and a large garden full of suspicious mushrooms.

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