{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: Sworn Soldier Series by T. Kingfisher by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: Sworn Soldier Series by T. Kingfisher

by Karen S. Wiesner 

This post contains my 200th

Alien Romances Blog book review!

 

Beware spoilers! 

Sometimes a reader experiences serendipity when she finds an unexpected treasure in an author who fills a hither-to-unknown empty space inside her. T. Kingfisher (the author's grownup--as opposed to "not written specifically for children"--pen name) is the pseudonym of Ursula Vernon, a versatile writer, illustrator, and artist. She came to my attention when I bought an immaculate (used) hardcover book by her called "What Feasts at Night"--without realizing it was the second in a series. The fact that it's a follow-up to an earlier novella was told within a short sentence on the back cover that read "set in the world of "What Moves the Dead". Elsewhere (aka, not on or in the book anywhere), it was described as a sequel to the aforementioned "Dead" book. Sigh! Would it kill publishers to make these things a little more obvious for struggling readers? Honestly, I sometimes think publishers don't really want to sell books. Apparently, it's not widely known that a book that's part of a series is a selling point! Mind you, the fact that this series is actually called "Sworn Soldier" was another thing I only found out on the author's website. This isn't indicated anywhere else useful. Note: When the third book in the series was released, there was finally a reference to it being part of a series on the back cover. 

In any case, I started reading "What Feasts at Night" only to realize a few chapters in--when the protagonist kept referring to an earlier incident the same characters had endured recently--that this must be part of something larger. Although I wasn't very far along, I decided to look up the author on my Libby library app and see what else Kingfisher had to offer. It was then I found out the truth about "What Feasts at Night" (and my faux pas in yet again! reading the second in a series before the first). At this point, I was introduced to an entire world of eclectic stories from this multi-award winning author that I, somehow, had never even heard of before.

Of particular note is that the main character in this series, Alex Easton, hails from a fictional country called Gallacia, where there are several sets of personal pronouns. In addition to the usual, there's a set specifically for religious affiliations (va/var) and another for soldiers (ka/kan), regardless of their sex at birth, among others. As this series is written in the first person from Alex's point of view, I read Book 2 without knowing whether the protagonist was male or female. Book 1 held the explanation that Alex is biologically female but doesn't identify as such (being a soldier, Alex prefers ka and kan). To make it easier in this review, as it was sometimes very difficult to understand exactly what was meant by certain made-up pronouns in the story, I'll always use the name "Alex" in reference to the main character. 

Since I read Book 2 first, I started to review the two books currently available (as of July 2025) in this series in reverse order. Alas, that didn't work well at all. I owned a physical copy of Book 2, but I couldn't find Book 1 anywhere via my library sources. Because I couldn't wait for it to become available at my very, very small brick and mortar library (I might be old and gray by that time), nor as an audiobook or an ebook via my Libby app, I broke down and purchased a brand-new paperback of "What Moves the Dead". Let's face it: I'd probably want to own a copy anyway. (Let's not talk about the fact that I purchased three of the author's other standalone novels at the same time as this one and will review them on this blog soon, nor the fact that I pre-ordered Book 3 of the Sworn Soldier series there and then.) 

"What Moves the Dead" was published July 2022. As an infectious "new spin on classic Gothic horror" (Booklist)--in this case Poe's wonderful "The Fall of the House of Usher"--I could hardly wait to read this one. I love the original and combining the elements of a very specific cause of Madeline's death in this new story in a familiar setting with suspicious fungi sounded brilliant to me. The first story took place around 1890. 

Side note: It's said that Poe's inspiration for "The Fall of the House of Usher" could have been inspired by two probable events: One took place at the Hezekiah Usher House, an actual place constructed in 1684 in downtown modern Boston, Massachusetts. A sailor and the young wife of the older owner were caught in a tryst by her husband and entombed on the very spot. Revenge served cold--and cruel, indeed! Two embracing skeletons were found in the cellar after it was torn down in 1830. Another inspiration could have been from Poe's mother Eliza's friends' Mr. and Mrs. Luke Usher, who took care of Edgar and her other two children while she was sick and eventually died. 

In "What Moves the Dead", retired soldier Alex gets a message from childhood friend Madeline Usher that she's dying. Upon arriving, Alex sees that the Ushers' crumbling ancestral home is surrounded by not only a dark, disturbing tarn (which is a small, steep-banked mountain lake or pool--I guess I never stopped to wonder what a tarn is myself, so, in case you didn't either, there you go) but strange breeds…fungus? Eww. Madeline's twin brother Roderick was once part of Alex's army company but has become nervous and frail in these years while caring for his sibling. Madeline is indeed sick and weird hair is growing on her arms. Other characters include an expert on mycelium, Eugenia Potter, along with a doctor from America, and Alex's army servant (and kind of a protective father figure) Angus. 

I loved everything about this tight (mild) horror, from the atmospheric setting to the witty, compelling characters to unique plot twists in a beloved tale. However (and this may be a spoiler so skip the rest of this paragraph if that bothers you), the author drastically changed Roderick's character in the end of this story. Instead of being a creepy and possibly incestuous madman, he becomes a selfless hero. Wow, I didn't see that coming!  

"What Feasts as Night", published February 2024, has Alex returning home to Gallacia--presumably just after the events of Book 1--accompanied by Angus and Eugenia. Alex and Angus discover that the caretaker of the Alex's family hunting lodge has died. While the daughter points vehemently to a lung inflammation as the cause of death, villagers are convinced it was the work of a moroi, a creature that can take the form of a moth or a woman and steals its victims' breath by sitting on their chests. Like the first, this story was disquieting but not actually scary despite being touted as horror. That said, it was both cunning and clever with a main character that amused and thoroughly delighted me with unique observations and hilarious side comments. 

With 176 pages, the first in this series was a fairly long novella. The second came in at only 160, but both books had exactly what was needed, no more, no less. I've seldom read an author who doesn't waste the reader's time by making you care what's on a beloved character's grocery list or what they're eating for dinner. In literature, I don't want to be hit over the head with a lot of things I really don't need and perhaps don't even want to know about. Even a character I'm rooting for and therefore I'm invested in isn't someone I care to leave the parameters of legitimate plot development for. Is it fleshing out or really just unnecessary padding? Sometimes it's hard to know and, inevitably, I can't escape the sense that the author is feeling lethargic or particularly enamored with a character, so much so that fawning over his or her every word and deed becomes essential. "Oh, look at Brandon, eating that cheese. Isn't he wonderful?" I'm not the only one who commented on T. Kingfisher's finesse in bringing only what's needed to the table with this series. One reviewer described her writing this way: "every word…feels carefully chosen and deliberately arranged for maximum emotional impact." I also found that to be the case with the previous book I've reviewed of Kingfisher's, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, though (or maybe I should say despite) that one was considerably longer at 320 pages.  

Book 3 in this series, "What Stalks the Deep", came out in hardcover on September 30, 2025. I started reading it immediately when it came. In this 172-page story that takes place two years after "What Moves the Dead", the doctor (Denton) from that  book  contacts Alex asking for help, which means visiting America--West Virginia specifically. Denton's cousin disappeared in an abandoned coal mine there, and the doctor is worried. Along with Angus, Alex gets over an aversion to America and weirdness because, once again, a sworn soldier has to do what a sworn soldier has to do. 

As with previous installments, this book was touted as horror when it was only mildly so. Instead, it was set within the environment of something creepy (a deep, dark, labyrinthine "cave") and one that I have a particular enchantment with, so I was immediately drawn into the story. But tension dissolved into more of stunned intrigue, as twist after twist kept me on edge and on a razor precipice of uncertainty. Not once did anything happen in a way that I could have expected. As usual, Kingfisher's trademark humor and suspense kept the pages turning rapidly. I really enjoyed learning more about the various deadly gases that can inhabit mine shafts. In the acknowledgements at the back of the book, the author said the idea for the story came from the works of Lovecraft. Rather than including a potential spoiler, I'll allow readers to figure out what she meant by that on their own. 

By the way, visit the author's website and really check out the covers of the books in this series. They're amazing! In the "What Feasts at Night" acknowledgements, the author says she's convinced the covers that "grace these books…made them as successful as they have been". Oh, it might be a bit more than that, but the designs certainly helped. I freely admit I purchased "What Feasts at Night" on the basis of its extraordinarily intriguing cover. Additionally, the author herself did the gorgeous endpaper art. Kingfisher as an author is the whole package. Trust me, you don't want to miss her work, this amazing series in particular. I hope more treasures set in this fascinating world are in the offing for the future.

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/