Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Gideon la Neuvième

of that ending so this isn't going to be my best work.

Muir's world-building is very interesting in that she has clearly worked hard to create a detailed world with internal consistency ...but she doesn't see fit to share that with us. I spent a good three quarters of the book very confused and honestly struggled to continue in parts (confusing, very descriptive heavy, one character disappears for days leaving the other wandering around confused herself). Then the ending hit me like a punch to the face.

If you can get through about 350 pages, all the action and exposition happens in the last 80 pages or so.

Super dark, very graphic gory.
Some pretty incredible fight scenes and one liners.

5/10 would recommend

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onyxkat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The writing had a Douglas Adams-like way of describing fantastical events through the mundane. I also appreciated the regular use of modern day slang like "salty" and "that's what she said," especially in the context of a story a million years in the future.

Gideon herself is a really fun main character. I enjoyed learning about the world through her eyes; it was certainly a case where the novel had an unreliable narrator, but it was also a really fun unreliability.

Considering the grimness of a world full of necromancy, I thought the overall vibe of the book was very fun. Gideon's penchant for humor balanced out the horror nicely.

I also thought the execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope was done EXCELLENTLY. I was completely convinced that Gideon and Harrow we obsessed with hating each other so much that it wrapped back around.

Overall- I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would and immediately wanted to pick up the next one.

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cryptofauna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

im honestly unclear on how i feel about this one?? its like a 3.75-4 but im not sure which one. it was def not what i was expecting but generally i had a good time? WAYY more dense than i was expecting for what i had heard about this book, and i had a really hard time keeping all the characters straight, especially because they would alternate between last names and first names when referring to them and would also switch out the order of if their last name comes first or whatever.
super interesting plot and story and it was certainly really innovative but it almost had too much happening. if i read this in print i could have been referring to the glossary and the overview at the beginning but on kindle its kind of difficult and takes up way more time so i was in the dark for like. most of it
i didn't love the ending but i see how it was being set up throughout for the most part (mystery and baddie reveal wise), but generally i am annoyed that

she died??? it kind of ruins the whole enemies to lovers thing i really thought they were teasing (THERES NO LOVERS), and them just not being able to find her body afterwards is so stupid to me.

they're literally all necromancers but in order for ur big dramatic moment to work you just have to conveniently make her disappear?? frustrating
the characters were interesting when i could actually tell who was who, it has a cool magic system and is written in a way that can be a little work to get through but it was also funny and having it from gideon's perspective adds some much needed levity to a lot of these scenarios. i was invested in them as characters and as a couple and i felt like the relationship between harrow and gideon was pretty well set up. i don't love enemies to lovers because it doesn't always make sense to me ("u hated each other why r u doing this") but their interactions felt pretty realistic and not like things were just happening to happen.
it wasn't what i was hoping for or expecting but it was good i think

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essiie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I'm not ok

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charlieeew's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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ceruleanshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

“I cannot conceive of a universe without you in it.”
“Yes you can, it's just less great and less hot,” said Gideon.

omgggg where do i even start??? i first tried to read this about 3 years ago when i first got back into reading and i just wasn't prepared for this level of high SFF worldbuilding, so i put it down.

i'm glad i did that bc i think all my reading since is what really prepared me to start this series.

“If you do not find yourself a galaxy, it is not so bad to find yourself a star.”

the magic system is both mystical and meticulous; this is, to me, a true example of the blending of sci-fi and fantasy. macabre, eerie, calculated, mysterious. the well-placed elements of horror only add to the atmosphere and keep the stakes raised. as a reader you're constantly reassessing what you think you know of the canaan house alongside gideon.

“Why was I born so attractive?”
“Because everyone would have throttled you within the first five minutes otherwise.”

gideon is honestly a hoot that i was not expecting. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WAS FUNNY. if you know me, you know there's nothing i appreciate more than a fantasy book that also makes you laugh. death, destruction, the world and universe at peril are all great dramatics... but if the author can give me a moment of respite from it all to laugh and momentarily forget my favorite characters are in dangerous, i will be beholden to them forever.

“Harrow,” said Gideon, “if my heart had a dick you would kick it.”

gideon's tumultuous and resentful (though i think that word might be a bit light for what it describes) relationship to harrowhark, the ninth house heir, is similar in vein to damen x laurent of captive prince (i'm biased being permanently in capri brainrot but i swear the dynamics are parallel). deeply reluctant allies who are quite ready to betray the other if they ever got the chance, the tension starts high as they head into the canaan house as necromancer and cavalier.

the mystery of canaan house itself and the then ensuing deaths of its attendents forces gideon and harrow to embark on the tightrope of a road to their friendship, to being a true cavalier and necromancer duo.

the ensemble of characters were intriguing and illustrious, and thank god for authors who write a dramatis personae at the start of their books esp w names like those bc i had to constantly refer back to it to keep track.

with its intriguing and driving plot, unique world, and admirable characters, gideon the ninth is a must-read for any seasoned SFF fan.

and with that ending, i'm definitely tuning into book 2.

one flesh, one end.

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kat_smith24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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lifeinsherds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

The ONLY reason this doesn't have a full 5 stars for me is because there are a LOT of characters in this book. But Muir has a list at the beginning which character belongs to which house. I absolutely sprinted through the last like 80 pages.

Tamsyn Muir has SUCH a strong voice as Gideon. She is loyal and flawed and weak and strong. UGH. this may be a book I wish I could read for the first time again.

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