What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher

Blurb:

An Instant New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller
A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2024
A Goodreads Best Horror Choice Award Nominee

Enter a cold, silent forest and find out what feasts at night in this new gothic tale from bestselling and award-winning author T. Kingfisher, set in the world of What Moves the Dead.

After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine, but instead, as a favor to Angus and Miss Potter, they find themself heading to their family hunting lodge, deep in the cold, damp forests of their home country, Gallacia.

In theory, one can find relaxation in even the coldest and dampest of Gallacian autumns, but when Easton arrives, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home. Easton knows better than to put too much stock in local superstitions, but they can tell that something is not quite right in their home. . . or in their dreams.

Review:

“There are so few things in the world that I can fix.”

-T. Kingfisher, What Feasts At Night

In What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher, the story of Alex, the Sworn Soldier, continues. Departing from Paris after the paranormal incidents that took the lives of her old noble friends in What Moves The Dead, Alex is determined to please her greatest ally and partner—Angus—who hopes to see an old hunting lodge Alex owns repaired and upkept before the lovely Miss Potter comes to visit and investigate local mushroom and fungi specimens. Put off after the usual housekeeper hasn’t responded to var letters, Alex soon discovers the housekeeper had died, and that his cause of death is uncertain. Determined to whip the lodge into shape before Miss Potter arrives and while she visits, Alex and Angus hire a new housekeeper—a crotchety old widow and her intelligent but slow son, who believe in both god and ghosts—and set about making repairs. But things weren’t as they were when Alex was last at the lodge, and something unnatural lurks about. Something that, if things go badly, might end with them all dead and devoured.

This is the third book I read by T. Kingfisher, and I swear, every novel or story I read of hers just keeps getting better as the publications go on. A talented and prolific horror and fantasy author, T. Kingfisher truly knows how to write a narrative that surprises, compels, and scares in equal measures. Reading her works is like returning to an old favorite author…which Kingfisher might just be becoming for me!

One of my favorite things about the Sworn Soldier series so far is that everything is so, so vivid. From the characters to the settings to the animals to the conflicts to everything else, Kingfisher writes a masterclass of visualization for readers in as few words as possible. 

I’ve chatted with my friends about her work, and we’ve all agreed it is some of the most clear, evocative prose we’ve ever read. It’s easy to dive into the story and imagine exactly what is taking place, where it’s taking place, how it’s taking place, and why it’s taking place. Though not overzealous with her wordplay, Kingfisher writes such vivid prose that it’s impossible not to understand what is going on throughout her books.

The sequel to What Moves The Dead was especially compelling on its own for the way the story could be read independently of the first, despite the characters being mostly the same and the conflicts they face being similar by way of eerie atmospheres and themes. 

This story could stand alone if need be, and its conflicts were wholly independent of the first book’s despite having similar vibes. I would not be surprised if a reader picked up What Feasts At Night and understood (and loved) the entire story. It’s simply so well-written, so isolated from the first novel, but at the same time so complimentary to the book that came before it.

I absolutely cannot wait to dive into future (and past) works written and created by Kingfisher. I know, without a doubt, that her novels will be well worth the read—not just What Moves The Dead and What Feasts At Night. Kingfisher’s stories and spooky tall tales are always a pleasure to read—as well as fright!–and this novella was no different. I foresee myself coming back to this author again and again as time goes on, and recommend her works to anyone who’s looking for rich, immersive storytelling in the fantasy or horror (or both) genres!