99 – T. Kingfisher and the Fungus-Punk Epidemic

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. So, let’s have a laugh: Poe-style!

Our guest is T. Kingfisher. She’s an expert in taking dry, dark horror classics and investing them with newfound life. In What Moves the Dead she manages to find the gruesome joy in even the most dolorous of text. 

What Moves the Dead reconfigures and reapproaches Poe’s classic, “The Fall of the House of Usher.” It updates the year, introduces some gender fluidity, and even adds Beatrix Potter’s aunt. Yes, this is not your usual rewrite.

It also involves mushrooms. Lots and lots of mushrooms.

Consequently, we talk a lot about mycology – but we also get plenty of other fun stuff. Like whether we enjoy explanations in horror, how Albanian inheritance laws inspired her novella’s gender dynamics, and how her grandmother would have excelled at polygamy had it been invented.

This episode is a sprinkle of zest into the rancid stew of life. 

Enjoy!

What Moves the Dead is published on July 12th by Tor Nightfire

Other books discussed in this episode include: 

• The Twisted Ones (2019), by T. Kingfisher
• The Hollow Places (2020), by T. Kingfisher
• Perdido Street Station (2000), by China Mievelle
• Mexican Gothic (2020), by Silvia Moreno Garcia

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