Tag: fungal horror

By: T. Kingfisher

Finished 5/29/26

Thrilling, haunting, and genuinely unsettling. This one had me so hooked that I had to physically stop myself from peeking at the last line of each chapter. I just had to know what was going to happen next!

As a reimagining of one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe stories, The Fall of the House of Usher, Kingfisher takes the bones of the original and expands them in all the right ways. Poe’s story leaves a lot unsaid. This one fills in those gaps while keeping the same sense of dread and decay that made the original so memorable.

The story is told through the eyes of Alex Easton, a retired soldier with a wonderfully dry sense of humor that helps balance out the creeping horror. After receiving word that childhood friend Madeline Usher is gravely ill, Easton travels to the Usher estate and quickly realizes something is deeply wrong. The manor itself feels sick. The surrounding countryside feels sick. Even the lake seems wrong.

What really worked for me was the atmosphere. Kingfisher creates image after image that sticks with you long after you’ve put the book down. The fungal horror elements are especially effective, from the strange hares roaming the grounds to the grotesque discoveries made when one is dissected. Every new detail adds another layer of unease.

One of the most memorable scenes involves Easton spotting a pale figure moving through the house at night:

A white shape… ghost-pale in the dark… moving purposefully toward the stairwell.

The reveal that it’s Madeline is somehow even more disturbing. Her frail appearance and unnatural movements turn a simple walk down the stairs into one of the creepiest moments in the book.

Another scene that I loved involves the mysterious lake outside the manor. Easton steps onto a balcony and notices what appear to be stars reflected in the water.

I looked up… There were no stars.

It’s such a simple reveal, but it stopped me cold. The image of a lake glowing with hundreds of green lights beneath a cloud-covered sky perfectly captures the strange dreamlike horror that runs throughout the novel.

The book moves quickly, but never feels rushed. Every chapter pulled me forward, and the mystery unfolds at exactly the right pace. Add in Easton’s voice, the wonderfully creepy setting, and some genuinely unforgettable imagery, and this became one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve picked up in a long time (and officially breaking my streak of back-to-back-to-back Stephen King novels).

This was my first T. Kingfisher novel, but it definitely won’t be my last.

Rating: 10/10