Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

103 reviews

vickybuka's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Gore, Medical content, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, War, and Death

Minor: Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is definitely more on the horror-end of Kingfisher's work (which it doesn't pretend not to be!) and I just found some of the body horror a bit much for me. Not an issue with the book itself, just not for me. Still had the balance of darkness and humour that I've enjoyed in her other works.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Death

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

hobbit_at_heart's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Animal death

Moderate: Medical content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, War, Murder, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Medical trauma

systemofanoun's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

I wasn’t sure about this one at first, it was described to me as a suspenseful thriller. 

It turned out to be a charming and captivating gothic novel. 

Whether or not you’ve read The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe you’ll love how unnerving What Moves the Dead is. From beginning to end you’re immersed in the eerie gothic setting with some themes that lean more towards science fiction. 

Easton made for a very enjoyable, comedic, and fairly level headed protagonist. 

A few criticisms I have is that there were times the transitions between scenes felt clunky. The last 20% of the book is fast-paced but rather than intense or high stakes it just feels very rushed, almost as if the writer didn’t enjoy or put as much care into it in comparison. Oh well.

Anyway, if you want a fun quick read, I’d recommend this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Death and Terminal illness

Minor: Misogyny and War

lct's review against another edition

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Terminal illness

Moderate: Medical content and War

Minor: Suicide and Transphobia

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark funny informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, and War

qteabeans's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Clear concise story telling. Exactly the right length. Beautifully creepy without being too much to read after dark. I want to give this to friends and to make partners read it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death

sydneyjn's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I read this book very quickly - it was well written and engaging.  The low rating is because it didn't seem to bring anything really new, outside of one gender swapped character.  Nothing surprised me.  But - this is a straight retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, so I shouldn't be surprised, right?  It was fine.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Terminal illness

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I am developing a soft-spot for this author. I am tickled in both my sciencey and my witchy wants and that's all good by me. This is a book that I was recommended though book club, and I was glad to find a copy to listen to.

30 minutes into the audio (12%) I realised that I had assumed the gender of the protagonist because of what the Audiobook narrator sounded like. This story has an interesting take on gender and I like the diversity of it. I do wish that the narrator of the book could manage to use unfamiliar pronouns as though they were.. pronouns? rather than emphasising them due to lack of familiarity and treating them like they are nouns. It got annoying that the flow was interrupted in a way that it wouldn't have been if I was just reading it myself.

I have not read the original Poe, Rise and Fall of the House of Usher, but it is source material for this re-imagining. The author's note on the end of the book gives a little more insight and it's really cool. I vibe deeply with the author's love of passionate people with fringe interests, and this same tendency is  mirrored in the protagonist of the story.

There is a satisfying cast of supporting characters in this story. Each has their own flavour and inner motivations. There is an English mycologist who is confounded by her peers' reluctance to acknowledge her work (due to her lack of a Y chromosome). Although she is fictitious, the character is portrayed as Beatrix Potter's aunt, which ties really nicely in with the narrative device of strangely behaving animals.

Dunno if I am the target audience, or just too overly interested in natural science, because the plot was fairly transparent, to me. I don't know how easy it would be for non-nerdy people to understand and predict like I did. I like that the story is relatively short because it didn't have a lot to it more than vibe (which is apparently the case with the original). Short stories are nice when they don't overstay their welcome.

A little creepy, a lot interesting, and with some cute ideas developed. I will read more books by this author.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Alcohol, War, and Fire/Fire injury

kathburke's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Grief and Murder

Minor: Suicide, Misogyny, Transphobia, Gun violence, and War