Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Gideon the Ninth

This was just okay, but it just mainly fell flat for me. Everything that I liked about it just didn’t go far enough for me to really sink my teeth into.

I liked Tamsyn Muir’s writing style for the most part; she is skilled at writing complex passages and her use of language and literary devices are top notch. I also felt it was a weakness for her; sometimes it felt like she got too swept up in beautifying the descriptions of everything, to the point that some passages ran on for far too long and completely upended the immersion in the story. Because of her tendency to describe everything to the fullest detail, she has a bad habit of “telling” rather than “showing”, and it became a crutch for her more than it boosted the overall narrative.

The pacing was super off. The first half of the book is genuinely a slog to get through, and the reveals of the second half were not enough to make it pay off. There were just no stakes. Even after the mystery element of the book picks up, it doesn’t hit like it should. There isn’t a feeling of tension and anxiety; a story like this with a locked setting and unraveling mystery should feel almost claustrophobic. Instead, because we’re in Gideon’s head, it’s just like, “so what?”. Gideon genuinely has no clue what’s going on. This is a really cool idea, to make Gideon something of an unreliable narrator who solves the mystery alongside the reader. It didn’t pay off for me though. Once the plot gets going, it’s entertaining enough to keep you engaged, but man it’s a lot of work to get there.

The world-building was just okay, with a really cool magic system. The introduction into the Ninth House was so mysterious and interesting, and I was really disappointed that we immediately left and the majority of the story took place on what is essentially Earth. There wasn’t anything special about the world of the First House and the setting was completely locked to what seemed to be a sprawling mansion in the middle of nowhere. The setting is nebulously “in space”, but it doesn’t have any impact at all, except for vague references to “The Empire” and “The Emperor”. The magic system of necromancy also works super well in the gothic, haunted mansion setting. But, I don’t agree that the world-building is confusing. The world itself is easy to understand, and the magic system is straightforward. It’s just that the choices that Tamsyn Muir makes tend to be unnecessarily convoluted.

The characters were just blank to me. I could not care less about any of them. We spend the entire first half of the book getting to know them, and I still left feeling like I didn’t know anything about them. It’s a shame because I think Tamsyn Muir does show some moments of great characterization, but most of the time she relied too much on her descriptive prose rather than creating fully fleshed-out characters. My inability to connect with the characters pretty much ruined the whole book, because the reveals at the end were entirely hinged on the hope that you would connect with the characters and be completely shocked; instead I was still trying to figure out who was who, because they spend the majority of the book going by numbers rather than names. I even kept notes on the characters as I read and it still took me a minute to realize the difference between the two “P” guys.

And Gideon herself… I have a love-hate relationship with her as a character. In some ways, she’s so cool and has potential to be interesting and engaging. In other ways, she gets completely drowned out by her sardonic narration and quippy one-liners. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total anti-fun scrooge, and I definitely laughed here and there at her wry comments, but there were times that went over the line for me. At times it broke the immersion as she pulled out a pop-culture reference or a middle-school insult. I like that she’s goofy and doesn’t take herself seriously, and I understand it’s a coping mechanism for her to be super edgy and invulnerable, but it really took me out of the story and ruined the final story beats for me. If sarcastic banter is something you really like, it will definitely work for you. It’s well done, and woven into the story well, just didn’t work for me. I will say Harrow’s story is incredibly interesting and I have hope for a story that focuses on her instead of Gideon.

Interestingly enough I found the horror elements to be the best part of this. Tamsyn Muir’s descriptive writing can really shine as she describes the horrific creatures our cast encounters. Where she fails at inserting tension in the calmer parts of the book, she is able to inject darkness and heart-pounding anxiety in the more intense scenes. She can choreograph scenes really well and is able to describe complex magic, without holding the reader’s hand, but also without making it completely overwhelmingly confusing either. The big fight scene at the end was really well done, and I appreciated that it pulled from previous scenes to really drive home that the characters had learned from their experiences and grew in power naturally.

The themes are done really well too, especially around life and death, friendship and what it means to love and be loved.

The one thing that really saves this for me is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s got some great moments of horror, some thrills and chills, but it never tries to position itself as a life-changing experience unmatched by no other. It sort of tongue-in-cheek recognizes its ridiculousness, and that makes it fun. It also keeps me from being more harsh in tearing it apart, as I’ve read much worse novels by much worse writers who take themselves way more seriously than Tamsyn Muir. I’m disappointed that the heavier-hitting scenes didn’t really hit for me, especially the ending. It’s like, I get it, and I understand why this worked so well for others, but it didn’t for me. And that sucks because I really wanted to love these characters as much as everyone else, and weep at the ending too, but instead I just feel meh. But that’s okay.

I still have hope for Tamsyn Muir as a writer, especially since this is her debut novel. I think she is a gifted writer, and she has some really smart ideas. I’m not put off from continuing this series (especially because I still find Harrow immensely interesting), but I think I’ve had my fill of sarcastic dick jokes at the minute.

I think this book should be pitched as a mystery with sci-fi elements, not the other way around. It’s definitely a gothic horror vibe. It’s a fun mix of genres but it definitely leans heavily on the whodunnit aspect, which is fine, but not what I expected. It feels a lot like Clue. Again, fun, but not really what I wanted. I still think this is worth a shot if you are new to sci-fi and want to ease in a bit to larger sci-fi concepts.

Content Warnings

gallifreya's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

unbansheed's review against another edition

Go to review page

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 me

it 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.

Content Warnings

alsira98's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.75

Content Warnings

innessfree's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This is the best book I've read in ages. It was funny, a little scary, emotional, intriguing, exciting... such a fun read in October. I whipped through it and felt very bittersweet when it ended. I want more! And I also want to go lift some weights.

I really liked the mix of high and irreverent writing - each character is so distinct and the writing tone is really refreshing. (Reminded me a lot of Firefly/Serenity in that way, but better because the author isn't Joss Whedon.) Sometimes fantasy and sci-fi books get on my nerves because they use the same phrases a lot, or sound very divorced from how real people speak and think, and this book never irritated me in that way.

I laughed out loud multiple times when Gideon spoke or we heard her thoughts. Listening to the audio version is even better as the narrator is among the best I've heard.

I also really liked being plunked down in medias res at the beginning. I had to have some patience and curiosity to get into Muir's world, and it was rewarded. The author never fell into the trap of over-explaining. Everything felt really organic. At times I got a little lost, but Gideon was there alongside me, equally confused, and that grounded me and made it feel intentional.

I am left with some serious pining that I suspect only fanfic can ease.

Content Warnings

werewolfrizz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

bhard07's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

d12inspiration's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was fantastic. I'm fresh off finishing the book so it's hard to articulate the ways that I loved it, but know that the love is there.

Time for spoilers!:

God, I REALLY hope that the people who went missing at the end of this book make a mean comeback in HTN. I love Camilla SO much, and I'm very curious to see a post-Canaan Coronabeth now that Ianthe has ascended to Lyctorhood.

Regarding the marketing of this book:

I think it the way this book is often pitched might lean a little too much into the "lesbian enemies to lovers" thing. And I get it, it's an easy way to communicate a major development in your story. But just so readers know, this burn is SLOW. Like, it takes almost the entire book slow. And I love that! But in the age of BookTok and its frank obsession with "spiciness" and slapping generalized labels on anything published, just know that this love is not the speed at which a BookTok recommendation may go, nor will it go as far. They don't even kiss. But it's deliberate, it's complicated, and it's REAL. These lesbians hate each other for extremely sound reasons, and the means by which they overcome that hatred is well-paced and SLOW. Just so excited lesbians like myself know exactly how the roadmap is looking.

Content Warnings

More...