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dragonslayerz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
great worldbuilding lost in underwhelming writing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: War and Injury/Injury detail
madi_oasis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A story that keeps its cards close to its chest, dealing out twists and turns in every hand.
The pool scenewhere Harrow and Gideon talk about the Ninth’s past and the secrets of the Tomb and Harrow’s parents’ deaths are revealed got me good, as well as the final chapter before the epilogue ” one flesh one end, sugarlips “ which I had to try so hard not to cry at as I was at work on my lunch break 😭
So many loveable characters, growth and change and the development of bonds are character themes, and the way in which the magic/necromancy system works is quite interesting.
I am very excited to read the next in the series! The Locked Tomb is going to be my next obsession, I can feel it in my… bones!
The pool scene
So many loveable characters, growth and change and the development of bonds are character themes, and the way in which the magic/necromancy system works is quite interesting.
I am very excited to read the next in the series! The Locked Tomb is going to be my next obsession, I can feel it in my… bones!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, and Gore
Minor: Cancer, Genocide, and War
gallifreya's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The tagline "Lesbian Necromancers in Space" is accurate, enticing (for me), and also reductive.
You're thrown in to a universe through the mind of Gideon Nav, a mind that doesn't totally comprehend or know either her own past, the state of the empire she plays a part in, or the necromantic powers that hold it all together. It's not so much unreliable narrator, as it is an uninformed narrator. But this doesn't prevent her perspective on the world around her being just enough to draw you in to a wholly new environment, the kind that makes new sci-fantasy so delicious.
The prose is beautiful and at times lyrical and creative, showing off Muir's command of the English language (that really shines in her names). This is juxtaposed expertly with the reality of how Gideon and the child-rulers around her actually speak and think. You're not getting treacly, archaic dialogue of kings and sages non-stop, and it adds a fun and refreshing tone to the book totally appropriate to the character of Gideon.
The characters are complex and reacting to a system you can't quite see - perhaps the only time the book faltered for me was when I briefly could not comprehend why anyone was acting the way they were acting. But ultimately, they're disgustingly bizarre and lovable (if this is your kind of book, they will be your kind of people, at least). As a researcher who will square tf up at a moment notice, I had a particular soft spot for Palamedes and Camilla. But even the ones you hate, you love to hate them, because Gideon loves to hate them.
The plot rarely languishes, and if it does, it's on purpose (Gideon's early entrapment in the Ninth House, for example). And it revels in the idea that life - and people - don't make narrative sense; the brief if frantic sprint for one, two, [...], nine punches nearly made my head spin, but ultimately made me desperate for more. It's a mystery, but not really one you can hope to solve through the eyes of Gideon. This is part of what makes her such an enjoyable narrator, and makes me so grateful Muir opted for this perspective over Harrow's. And it all ends in a crescendo of threats and last-last-final-v4-ditch efforts characteristic of the best of 80s and 90s sci-fi. (If you're ridiculous about the only two women characters on a spaceship who speak maybe three times across an entire series/movie, this one's for you.)
My one issue was that I was left wondering why. Yes, it's a commentary on the bizarre the things our religion, society, cultures, and family ask of us when we can see them from the outside - the nature of duty. Yes, it's a commentary on fate and choice. But to what end? Maybe I just haven't read the rest of the trilogy; maybe the lack of the point is the point itself. Or maybe I'm just used to being punched on the nose with subtext from too much Star Trek. But this is the only thing that knocks off the .25 for me. It's not stopping me from IMMEDIATELY buying the next instalment. You should read this book.
You're thrown in to a universe through the mind of Gideon Nav, a mind that doesn't totally comprehend or know either her own past, the state of the empire she plays a part in, or the necromantic powers that hold it all together. It's not so much unreliable narrator, as it is an uninformed narrator. But this doesn't prevent her perspective on the world around her being just enough to draw you in to a wholly new environment, the kind that makes new sci-fantasy so delicious.
The prose is beautiful and at times lyrical and creative, showing off Muir's command of the English language (that really shines in her names). This is juxtaposed expertly with the reality of how Gideon and the child-rulers around her actually speak and think. You're not getting treacly, archaic dialogue of kings and sages non-stop, and it adds a fun and refreshing tone to the book totally appropriate to the character of Gideon.
The characters are complex and reacting to a system you can't quite see - perhaps the only time the book faltered for me was when I briefly could not comprehend why anyone was acting the way they were acting. But ultimately, they're disgustingly bizarre and lovable (if this is your kind of book, they will be your kind of people, at least). As a researcher who will square tf up at a moment notice, I had a particular soft spot for Palamedes and Camilla. But even the ones you hate, you love to hate them, because Gideon loves to hate them.
The plot rarely languishes, and if it does, it's on purpose (Gideon's early entrapment in the Ninth House, for example). And it revels in the idea that life - and people - don't make narrative sense; the brief if frantic sprint for one, two, [...], nine punches nearly made my head spin, but ultimately made me desperate for more. It's a mystery, but not really one you can hope to solve through the eyes of Gideon. This is part of what makes her such an enjoyable narrator, and makes me so grateful Muir opted for this perspective over Harrow's. And it all ends in a crescendo of threats and last-last-final-v4-ditch efforts characteristic of the best of 80s and 90s sci-fi. (If you're ridiculous about the only two women characters on a spaceship who speak maybe three times across an entire series/movie, this one's for you.)
My one issue was that I was left wondering why. Yes, it's a commentary on the bizarre the things our religion, society, cultures, and family ask of us when we can see them from the outside - the nature of duty. Yes, it's a commentary on fate and choice. But to what end? Maybe I just haven't read the rest of the trilogy; maybe the lack of the point is the point itself. Or maybe I'm just used to being punched on the nose with subtext from too much Star Trek. But this is the only thing that knocks off the .25 for me. It's not stopping me from IMMEDIATELY buying the next instalment. You should read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Terminal illness, and Blood
Minor: Cursing and War
unbansheed's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I had such a great time reading this book. The start was a little rough, but once I got into the rhythm everything fell into place nicely. The pacing was great, I loved the mysterious aura of Canaan house and most of all I loved the voice of our POV character. Gideon is such a unique main character, it was so refreshing to read something so different. I also really liked all the secondary characters; the awful teens were a highlight for me.
Also have to talk about Ianthe, cause she was such a show stealer. Her big reveal scene was incredible, I adore this cannibalistic girl. She's so deranged I need to study her under a microscope.
The ending felt earned and really satisfying to meit was heartbreaking, but in a good way. From the start we get this tragic hero aura from Gideon and her entanglement with Harrow was amazing to witness, it's obvious she'e going to sacrifice herself for harrow, but it still hurt to watch. I loved it. I can't wait to read more from this series.
The ending felt earned and really satisfying to me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Torture
Minor: Cancer, Stalking, Death of parent, and War
alsira98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Terminal illness and War
alaskachan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Cannibalism and War
bhard07's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and War
jelliclejules's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cannibalism
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
welcome gideon the ninth, you are now one of my elite employees (/ref).
i am broken. i am shattered. i am changed.
i am but a simple lesbian.
i’ve been sitting here for an hour contemplating how to rate this. on one hand, the concepts were so frustrating to comprehend, and it was to the point where after every chapter i was consulting a guide because i wasn’t sure i was actually grasping what was going on, which made all 479 pages incredibly frustrating. on the other hand, this book is all i could think about. usually to fall asleep i employ a video essay of something that’s my special interest — recently only until dawn has been scratching that itch. but my body was craving a gideon the ninth video essay. all i could think about was this book.
needless to say, i can overlook how annoying this book was to read at times simply for the grip it had on me.
i love griddle. what an insane fuckjng nickname. i adore her, her inner monologue, her relationships, her reactions, her one liners, everything.
i would die for the sixth, and harrowhark baby im coming for you in the next series hold on for me.
the plot was fucking insane. who decides “yeah the book i’m writing is about sapphics in space who are necromancers and also there’s a lowkey murder mystery plot with some romantic undertones and high fantasy oh and yeah did you forget we’re in space. and necromancers.” like ?????? i want what muir was having when conjuring up the idea of the locked tomb. absolutely batshit insane. and i wouldn’t have it any other way.
i don’t really know what i was expecting from the plot but im very pleasantly surprised by what it ended up being! even more surprised as i got a semi-big spoiler and yet it really didn’t spoil shit for me! like the spoiler did hold a lot of weight in the plot but because so much happens in this story it was so easy to focus on the other reveals happening simultaneously.
the fight scenes were a bit hard to follow especially when the necros are involved, and the trials were so fucking confusing to my mind. but honestly i was so invested in the characters, mainly the ninth & the sixth, that i can’t put this book any lower than 5-stars.
i’m gonna go stare at griddlehark fan art for the next 3 hours sobbing. also this book gave me such a big fucking headache oh my god reading my neuroscience textbooks is easier.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and War
corsetedfeminist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Look, I don’t cry often.
I don’t remember the last time I cried over a book.
I sobbed during the entire last battle and the Epilogue, and then I spent probably 20 minutes just staring at the ceiling.
This book is now firmly one of my favorite books ever, and it deserves 1,000 stars.
Gideon, my dear, sweet himbo. She has exactly three brains cells, and they are: Horny™️, Sword™️, and Harrow™️. The interaction between those brain cells throughout the book is perfect. Creating a crass, sarcastic character and then giving her a vow of silence for half the book so everyone assumes she’s so mysterious and internally she’s just grumbling at Harrow the entire time was perfect. Everyone’s disappointment when she did speak was perfect. Her protective fire- towards Harrow, towards the Fourth house, towards Dulcinea- was perfect in combination with her constant attempt to convince herself that she hates Harrow.
Harrowhark, my fierce, traumatized baby. I love a deeply morally grey character, but Harrow…. Her commitment to The Ninth House (and her personal aesthetic and mystery) and the weight of literally centuries of expectations is perfectly balanced with her slowly giving in to being vulnerable and soft with Gideon.
Their relationship gave me life, and then it just destroyed me. The theatrical hatred on both sides, and the barbed comments back and forth (Gideon’s nicknames. How am I to be normal!?!?) are firmly the best part of the first 2/3 of the book, and the heartbreaking loyalty and sacrifice of the last chapters are what made me cry over this book. It has so many little comments back and forth that just tore me to bits. (I cannot be normal about Gideon quoting the section from the book of Ruth that is commonly used in wedding vows. I just can’t.)
The rest of the plot, beyond these two, is extremely well done- I kept getting absolutely floored by plot twists, and then not having time to recover before something else happened. By the end I genuinely had no idea what was happening anymore except that I would die and/or kill for Gideon and Harrow.
It is quite literally perfect, and I’m starting Harrow the Ninth today so I can cry over space lesbians once again.
I don’t remember the last time I cried over a book.
I sobbed during the entire last battle and the Epilogue, and then I spent probably 20 minutes just staring at the ceiling.
This book is now firmly one of my favorite books ever, and it deserves 1,000 stars.
Gideon, my dear, sweet himbo. She has exactly three brains cells, and they are: Horny™️, Sword™️, and Harrow™️. The interaction between those brain cells throughout the book is perfect. Creating a crass, sarcastic character and then giving her a vow of silence for half the book so everyone assumes she’s so mysterious and internally she’s just grumbling at Harrow the entire time was perfect. Everyone’s disappointment when she did speak was perfect. Her protective fire- towards Harrow, towards the Fourth house, towards Dulcinea- was perfect in combination with her constant attempt to convince herself that she hates Harrow.
Harrowhark, my fierce, traumatized baby. I love a deeply morally grey character, but Harrow…. Her commitment to The Ninth House (and her personal aesthetic and mystery) and the weight of literally centuries of expectations is perfectly balanced with her slowly giving in to being vulnerable and soft with Gideon.
Their relationship gave me life, and then it just destroyed me. The theatrical hatred on both sides, and the barbed comments back and forth (Gideon’s nicknames. How am I to be normal!?!?) are firmly the best part of the first 2/3 of the book, and the heartbreaking loyalty and sacrifice of the last chapters are what made me cry over this book. It has so many little comments back and forth that just tore me to bits. (I cannot be normal about Gideon quoting the section from the book of Ruth that is commonly used in wedding vows. I just can’t.)
The rest of the plot, beyond these two, is extremely well done- I kept getting absolutely floored by plot twists, and then not having time to recover before something else happened. By the end I genuinely had no idea what was happening anymore except that I would die and/or kill for Gideon and Harrow.
It is quite literally perfect, and I’m starting Harrow the Ninth today so I can cry over space lesbians once again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infertility, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail