What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier, 2)

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.

*A very special hardcover edition, featuring a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*

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.

Also by T. Kingfisher
A House with Good Bones
Nettle & Bone
Thornhedge
A Sorceress Comes to Call

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Published Feb 13, 2024

160 pages

Average rating: 7.39

46 RATINGS

Community Reviews

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ediehas

Feb 28, 2025

8/10 stars

love kingfisher's cast of haunted characters. spooky and funny.

not_another_ana

Dec 29, 2024

8/10 stars

3.5/5

Had I imagined it? Would it be better or worse if I had?

Everyone's favorite Gallacian sworn soldier is back! And this time in their own country. Alex and Angus head down to Easton's old hunting lodge, as a favor to Miss Potter who is keen to study the local mushroom population. But the lodge is in a state of disarray and there's rumours in town of a deadly figure from local mythology haunting the area and robbing people of their breath. Rumours that might have a grain of truth to them.

This was fun, charming, fast paced, however I will say that the first book was better. While [b:What Moves the Dead|58724626|What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)|T. Kingfisher|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632936332l/58724626._SY75_.jpg|91735925] had a developing mystery that ends up in a big confrontation this one is more of a slow burn with less high stakes and a more introspective vibe. Read this if you enjoyed the narration of the first one and grew attached to Alex Easton and their peculiarities. It was still quite enjoyable and I ate it up, it just could have delivered a bit more. Loved learning more about Gallacia and its customs, same as hearing about Easton's past in the military. I could easily read another in this series, it's like eating a big bucket of popcorn.

Anonymous

Dec 12, 2024

6/10 stars

THIS was the inexplicable, supernatural cause I had been expecting from the first one (but I wasn't expecting it this time, because last time it was scientific)

I wish there had been more jumps and red herrings like in the first, and I would have loved the pace of the nightmare sequence to have extended further throughout the book, but I enjoyed it! It was nice to return to the characters and hopefully I'll be able to reread the original and the other books that led me to it soon.

blewballoon

Nov 21, 2024

10/10 stars

I am so fond of T Kingfisher's writing that you should probably take my bias into consideration. Kingfisher could present me with a word salad and I'm sure I'd eat it up. I loved this, of course. I found the climax to be quite spooky in its imagery. I loved the characters. I loved the old quiet lodge near a tiny rural town setting. For such a short book, the start does feel a little slow before the supporting cast shows up.

Content Warnings:
Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, and Gore
Minor: War and Death

Anonymous

Jun 18, 2024

4/10 stars

I was so excited to read this after the first, What Moves the Dead, which had really impressed me. WMtD is unique, eerie, with an intensity that burns slowly and leaves you feeling creeped out. This book...did not do any of that. It was boring, slow, and a bore to slog through. Easton didn't seem the same. This book is basically the main characters from book one hanging out for 2/3 of the book with new characters with nothing happening 90% of the time. There is WAY too much telling vs showing, and pointless flashbacks to more telling. Seems the author rushed this one, in my opinion, or wanted to write a sequel to a book that didn't need one and didn't have better ideas that lived up to the first. The last 20 pages are pretty good but otherwise, skip it.