Reviews with content warning for Child death - Gideon the Ninth

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

527 reviews

bootrat's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

You have to go into this book knowing that a lot of it will not make sense to you until near the end of the book, and just enjoy the ride. Unlike a lot of fantasy or sci-fi books the world isn't explained to you early on, but it doesn't take away from how good this book is! You just accept that you don't know what necromancers really do (or how), or why they exist, or what a cavalier is, or what a lyctor is, and just go on a journey with the characters.

I absolutely adored Gideon, and just want to look after her forever, and the way her relationship with Harrow is developed and revealed is so good. You often forget that they are 18 and 17, because they largely don't act like teenagers, but you get glimpses of it here and there. All the supporting characters are great too, and the world and idea behind this book is just so good. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

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kerrythefire's review

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

This was a little slow to start, but once things got going it was really entertaining! This is prob more like a 4.15 ⭐️ rating or something but I'm rounding up because of the high of how it finished - the climax kept climaxing. This was a pretty character driven story and plot, so I think the end felt extra energized because it basically said "you know the characters now, now this is just going to be all action-packed plot for a few chapters". It maybe could have used a little more drawing out in the resolution to give it a more satisfying emotional punch, because it feel like it got wrapped up fairly quickly.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which can be made even harder when listening vs. reading, but I thought the narrator did a good job using different voices and Tamsyn Muir did enough to define each of their personalities and alignments that it made for a richer story. It was also fun seeing all the different kinds of necromancers, and I honestly could have gone even deeper there to satisfy the lore need in me.

From the beginning you could tell that there was a different connection between Gideon and Harrow other than just pure hate, and it was nice to see that relationship evolve while at the same time not have the book focus solely on that relationship. Their banter was always fun though. It was nice to see each of their relationships (mostly Gideon because this was her book) with other characters too.

I do feel like we still have some unanswered questions about Gideon's history and who she is, so hopefully more is revealed in the subsequent books. Will be interesting to see this next chapter of Harrow!

Also, the cover art is epic!

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krisalexcole'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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kendal_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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sara277's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

This book is completely different from anything I’ve ever read, and I loved it. It’s definitely a “trust the process” kind of read.

The action starts on page 1 and you’re thrown into a unique world with complex magic, a long history and political intrigues, and you barely learn anything about any of those points until well into the second half. For the first 300 pages you’ll wonder what is going on, thinking you missed some important background information along the way, but it will make you laugh and the intrigue and deaths will keep you going until you finally get a perfectly crafted picture.
That was my experience at least. The first half I was completely clueless about what was going on, but I was interested just enough to keep reading, and it was so rewarding by the end. I definitely didn’t even consider picking up the second book until the last 100 or so pages. Now I need more.

The story is so good, beautifully written, sometimes a bit too explicit and gory, but so well done.
The characters are great. Loved Gideon and Harrow, both on their own and together, their push and pull dynamic, their enemies to whatever journey, their humor!

Their ill-fated conclusion! Love love love dramatic, plot-pivotal, selfless acts of sacrifice. Though would have loved more Gideon in the following book…

Loved the characters from the other houses as well, specially Palamedes and his nerd face-offs with Harrow.

I feel like a need a second read to really appreciate the side characters and the dynamic between houses, but with just the first I loved it. Can’t wait to pick up Harrow the Ninth.

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cicuma's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Who knew necromancy could be so diverse! The pace is weird tho: although it is never boring as it is always happening something, you don't really get information about what is happening exacly and it sometimes feels like the story is not progressing. And than it starts progressing and the secrets don't stop being revealed. So in the end waiting is worth it and the story was fun for me to read.

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