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A review by starrysteph
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
June 2024 - reread with my book club was even better!!! Not sure I have more to add other than AGGHGHGHGHGHHGHGHG. :)
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"Gideon was experiencing one powerful emotion: being sick of everyone’s shit.”
Gideon the Ninth was a brilliantly imaginative & delightfully witty piece of fantasy. It's weird and it's wonderful. It delivers on its pitch: lesbian space necromancers + creepy haunted science mansion + whodunnit mystery + memes? + a whole lotta snark.
We follow Gideon, a sarcastic young fighter finding her place in a world revolving around necromancy. She's desperate to leave her planet (Ninth House), but each of her escape attempts have been easily managed by Harrow, the current heir and Gideon's biggest nemesis.
Though the two hate each other, they begrudgingly decide to partner up when the Emperor calls to all planets, offering Harrow and fellow leaders the chance to compete for an immortal place at the Emperor's side and unimaginable power. Harrow needs a cavalier (a great swordsperson) - and only Gideon is up to the task.
I was wildly confused for the first chunk of the book; I'm sure I'm not alone here. There's a lot of terminology and a lot of characters and not a whole lot of action. But the delightful weirdness of the world and the snark & heart of Gideon kept me engaged.
The second half of the book becomes more of a mystery, and that coupled with imaginative battle scenes and twist after twist had me frantically turning the pages.
Gideon is SUCH a fun narrator. She's snide and immature and will make you roll your eyes in a playful way. Once you begin to process the sheer amount of other characters, there are some side players who really shine as well.
The "drop you in the deep end of the pool" start was the weakest end of the experience for me; I imagine if I reread it I would have quite a different experience now that I ~get it~.
If you like dark humor and tongue-in-cheek storytelling and lots of different ways to describe skeletons, you'll have a good time with this one. And a bit of heartbreak (sorry).
CW: death, gore, violence, murder, suicide, child death, cancer, terminal illness, body horror, injury, grief, medical content, abuse, servitude/slavery, confinement, religious bigotry
---
"Gideon was experiencing one powerful emotion: being sick of everyone’s shit.”
Gideon the Ninth was a brilliantly imaginative & delightfully witty piece of fantasy. It's weird and it's wonderful. It delivers on its pitch: lesbian space necromancers + creepy haunted science mansion + whodunnit mystery + memes? + a whole lotta snark.
We follow Gideon, a sarcastic young fighter finding her place in a world revolving around necromancy. She's desperate to leave her planet (Ninth House), but each of her escape attempts have been easily managed by Harrow, the current heir and Gideon's biggest nemesis.
Though the two hate each other, they begrudgingly decide to partner up when the Emperor calls to all planets, offering Harrow and fellow leaders the chance to compete for an immortal place at the Emperor's side and unimaginable power. Harrow needs a cavalier (a great swordsperson) - and only Gideon is up to the task.
I was wildly confused for the first chunk of the book; I'm sure I'm not alone here. There's a lot of terminology and a lot of characters and not a whole lot of action. But the delightful weirdness of the world and the snark & heart of Gideon kept me engaged.
The second half of the book becomes more of a mystery, and that coupled with imaginative battle scenes and twist after twist had me frantically turning the pages.
Gideon is SUCH a fun narrator. She's snide and immature and will make you roll your eyes in a playful way. Once you begin to process the sheer amount of other characters, there are some side players who really shine as well.
The "drop you in the deep end of the pool" start was the weakest end of the experience for me; I imagine if I reread it I would have quite a different experience now that I ~get it~.
If you like dark humor and tongue-in-cheek storytelling and lots of different ways to describe skeletons, you'll have a good time with this one. And a bit of heartbreak (sorry).
CW: death, gore, violence, murder, suicide, child death, cancer, terminal illness, body horror, injury, grief, medical content, abuse, servitude/slavery, confinement, religious bigotry