Title: What Feasts at Night
Series: Sworn Soldier
Author: T. Kingfisher
Genres: Horror, Gothic, Historical
Publishing Date: 6 June 2023
CW: Body horror, Gore, War, Animal death, Death, Alcohol
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Read if you’re looking for:
- A gothic horror novella with a gender non-binary main character
- A story based on the mythology of the night mare or mara (the original sleep paralysis demon)
- An exploration of PTSD
- Very creepy descriptions of disintegration & terrifying dreams
- The second book in the Sworn Soldier series
This is another creepy, gothic story from the Sworn Soldier series by T. Kingfisher, the first one being What Moves the Dead. We’re following our main character, Alex Easton, who is a gender non-binary soldier with PTSD from their time on the battlefield. They return back to their family’s old hunting lodge, and find that strange deaths are occurring at night, while people are dreaming. It goes on to be a retelling of the legend of the “night mare.”
I enjoyed this novella. As always, T. Kingfisher is wonderful at creepy and unsettling imagery. And I appreciated the representation for PTSD. It was atmospheric and eerie, and a good read, especially if you enjoyed What Moves the Dead. However, while I still recommend this book, I didn’t enjoy it as much as T. Kingfisher’s other horror, as I was missing their wry sense of humor and weird, quirky writing that is employed in their other books. Overall, it’s a good gothic novella that will chill you.
