Reviews with content warning for Murder - Gideon la Neuvième

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Gideon la Neuvième by Tamsyn Muir

595 reviews

drjoannehill's review against another edition

dark funny 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

5.0

Science fantasy horror all mixed together. Slow at first, I had an immense amount of questions but went along with it and most of them were answered by the end, although I am still not sure about a few things. There's a lot packed in here - closed room murder mystery, scholarly/sorcerous quest, development of friendships and betrayal ... All set among necromancers and their cavaliers (bodyguards) in a solar system empire that is 10,000 years old and quite rotten, with a competition to find the next generation of like super necromancers. There's a dry sense of humour and wit sprinkled throughout. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.

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innessfree's review against another edition

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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.

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queensplay's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

Synopsis of my review:

An amazing read. The beginning was hard to get into, but once you understood, you could easily read the book. The plot twists? Love. The mystery, kind of horror, elements where totally there.
Gideon is the best character, fight me. She's just so funny, and bright I love it.
Harrow and Gideons' nicknames for each other 😍
Loved it. Would recommend.

Full Review:

Oh damn. Oh damn. Oh damn (and that's three Oh damns).

First off - Amazing book. At times, it could be pretty slow, as it was more of a mystery, but it has enough action and medium paced scenes to make up for the slow parts. It was hard getting into, also, for me, and confusing (which is why it's a 4.5), but as I got through the book, it got a lot easier to understand and read.

Gideon is by far my most favourite character. She was so funny, and really brightened up every room she went into. Her humour was top-notch. Harrow should give her a big hug - her backstory and her self-worth needs it.

I love love love Gideon and Harrow as they go through the series. They've come so far from where they started 🥹

Harrow also needs a big hug (which she good, thank god). The way they raised her, why she was born, was horrible. She deserves so much more.

Am I the only one who though Colum deserved better? He deserves better then Silas. Honestly, Silas didn't even seem to acknowledge how Colum was feeling, he was so self-centered, with all his big talk about the greater good. Towards the end, I began to like Colum so much more - if someone would think about what their house represents, they would think of him. How he stood for what he believed in, and how he honoured his word.

The ending hurt.

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bhard07's review against another edition

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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

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cgraxe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? N/A

5.0

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d12inspiration's review against another edition

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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.

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