What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher. A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2022

When Alex Easton, former soldier, arrives at her dear friends the Ushers’ home, she is rather surprised by what she finds. The mansion is pretty much in ruins, the lake right out front is dank and full of… something… , there are some really weird hares in the brush, and it seems deserted. Worse is the appearance of his friends: Roderick is pale and gaunt, while Madeline looks at death’s door. A doctor friend is staying with them, and he is baffled as to the cause.

Based on Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the story has a lot more life to it than the original. The story is very dark- there is body horror that really got to me- but there is a lot of wit in this version. Easton’s horse, Hob, is more articulate than many people I know. The dialog is well done. I love the characters.

It’s been a long time since I read Poe’s original (I first read it when I was in elementary school), but I really don’t remember it giving me the all-out creeps. This story did. It’s based on a concept I haven’t seen used before (but I’m far from an expert in horror). The story, like it’s inspiration, is pretty short – I read it in one night- but a lot happens in it. The atmosphere is close and creepy. Everything is dark, dreary, and nothing is nice about it. Another win for the author!  

 

 

Leech, by Hiron Ennes. Tom Doherty Associates, 2022

I am almost at a lost to review this book. There is a lot going on, a lot to unpack. Talking about a lot of it would put too many spoilers out there. Basically, it’s a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, steampunk, horror story There is a lot of different kinds of horror. Most of it is body horror. There are multiple kinds of body horror-sentient parasites, sexual violence, slavery, edible rocks, mind control, creepy twins with odd powers.

The first three quarters or so is really absorbing. We’re thrown into a strange world, where the narrator turns out to be not just one person in the body. The world is far in our future, a future where there was nuclear holocaust, asteroids falling from the sky, and mutations. The world is in autumn, verging on winter, which means the ancient chateau where the narrator will live is isolated for months, without the trains running to bring supplies or to allow people to leave. Nearly everyone in the chateau is pretty bad- the Baron is pure evil, his son and heir seems to try and be noble but is really a complete bastard, the daughter-in-law exists to pump out mutated and still born babies. And something has come out of the mines, and is making its way to the chateau… and may even be there already.

Sadly, the book kind of falls apart near the end. Then there is the problem I had with the by the book having only one person who is really likable- and it isn’t our narrator. Of course, she’s a victim of her own upbringing and the abuse she suffered- as are they all (and us, really). The one likable person is presented as a sort of noble savage- non-verbal and preferring the company of dogs to humans.

 Even though it’s a very grim world, I loved the world building. There are so many different forces at play. And the prose is lovely- it  put me in mind of older horror, like Frankenstein or Fall of the House of Usher. Four stars.