Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

47 reviews

bellebeaumont95's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Chronic illness, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Terminal illness, and Violence

tbd24's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.75

fantastic read. the only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars is that it’s a bit confusing in the beginning, trying to figure out who everyone is and how they relate to each other. I wish the author gave us just a cursory background in the beginning. But once I hit the middle of the book it was like a switch flipped and I felt like I understood everything and also I loved it. The cavalier/necromancer relationship is MY SHIT.  Fuck enemies to lovers, how about enemies but they’re duty bound beyond every fiber of their beings to back each other up and they eventually learn that they’re secretly best friends AAAAAH i’m incoherent. Jovial prose, tidy plot writing, characters you can love and hate and relate to and judge,  the perfect amount of sexiness in the face of danger, seriously this book had it all for me. Can’t wait to read the next one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cancer, Cursing, Murder, Self harm, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

Minor: War, Slavery, Confinement, Torture, and Religious bigotry

_forestofpages's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Cursing

Moderate: Violence, Genocide, and Slavery

Minor: Suicide

o_preston_o's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Infertility, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Blood, War, Torture, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Body horror, and Classism

kattyenn's review

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Gore, Murder, and Slavery

rbuhrke's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The book is about necromancy in a space empire center on LGBT+ characters but it’s focus is not on romance despite the advertising done by TikTok. However there are romantic elements within the story

Spoiler

one does not bind their soul to another without some kind of love for the other unless you are Ianthe

. It is an intellectual read that covers up the horror story unfolding underneath the language. It was easier to read via audiobook than by book alone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Child death, Blood, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Slavery, Medical content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Incest, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Infertility

If the ending of the book was spoiled for you don’t panic. The series is worth it to keep going.

Spoiler

Gideon does kill herself at end of the book for Harrow but that is not the end of Gideon Nav’s story. She will come back in the other books. Death isn’t simple when necromancy is involved.

crufts's review

adventurous funny mysterious slow-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

2.75

In an objective sense I recognize that Gideon the Ninth has a lot of good points, but it's not for me.

Young Gideon was raised as an indentured servant of the Ninth House, a planet ruled by a despotic, necromantic regime under a distant Emperor. Although she constantly tries to escape, her attempts are foiled by her teachers and by the heir to the House, Harrow.
But everything changes when the Emperor summons representatives of each house to his own planet, demanding they undergo a trial to become "lyctors". Dragged along to the planet by Harrow, Gideon finds herself facing dangers she never imagined...

On the positive side, Gideon is very likeable and sassy as a protagonist. Regarding worldbuilding, it was intriguingly different to the average fantasy novel - it's a kind of scifi/fantasy mixture with the combination of necromancy and space tech. I also enjoyed the variety in the characters' physical appearances. The lesbian representation is a nice bonus, especially as it's the protagonist, although I would warn any hopefuls that

Spoiler

Gideon does not get into any romantic relationships

.

However, the plot felt a little aimless because the protagonist's goals are not kept at the forefront. Gideon begins the book with a desire to escape and join the Imperial Army, but this is rapidly forgotten as she gets kicked around by fate for the first third of the book.
Also, I didn't find this goal terribly compelling in the first place. The entire Empire was depicted as rotten to the core with few redeeming features, so what good would it do to move around to some other place in it? It seemed like the only worthwhile goal Gideon could have would be to destroy the whole system, or else to leave it.
The pacing is also very slow; even by the 40% mark, the mysteries of the lyctor challenge are still largely untouched. I also found the large number of named characters difficult to absorb. Similarly, the necromantic magic system is complicated and largely left unexplained. This made it seem like any kind of magic could theoretically be performed, if it was convenient for the plot.

I also found it hard to reconcile the fact that early in the book,

Spoiler

Harrow acts in a truly unforgivable way towards Gideon, but Gideon later acts very loyally towards her

. In general, I found it hard to accept Harrow as the deuteragonist. It might be because I found the overall atmosphere of doom and gloom to be discouraging.
I think I would have liked there to be more in the story's world that Gideon felt was worth fighting for - more people she wanted to be there to protect, or happy experiences she hoped to have, that kind of thing.

I'm unsure whether to recommend this book. I guess I'll say that if you think it's not for you, it's probably not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Confinement and Slavery

Body horror, violence, death: It is a book about necromancers, after all. An example of the "body horror" involved is

Spoiler

a necromancer stabs her cheek with a fountain pen in order to use the blood as ink

.

Suicide: The backstory of some minor characters.

Slavery, confinement: Gideon's "indentured servitude" is close to slavery. After a failed escape attempt, she is confined to a few rooms.

kalmia31's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical trauma, Vomit, and Body horror

Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child death, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cannibalism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Self harm, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

hzamrzla's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Amazing transcendent perfect beyond reproach. It cured my acne watered my crops patched my roof and did my homework. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cancer, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Gore

Minor: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

vintovka's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First impression, just finished it the night before.

GtN has a very strong beginning. I love the tactic of giving zero exposition. It makes you instantly intrigued in trying to figure out what is even going on with all these people, and also makes you focus on the characters and their dynamics more, since it's the only thing you somewhat understand. These are very strong and eye-catching from the very beginning. GtN has about fifteen characters who are all in some way relevant to the plot, and they're all delightfully distinguishable and colourful. 

Gideon is pretty standard as far as heroes of the story go, but she's very likeable. Empathetic, rebellious, moves before she thinks, has mysterious origins; I've seen it all before, but Gideon manages to sold me on these concepts once again through sheer force of her personality.  She works best with Harrow, Gideon's relationship with her is the backbone of the whole book.

I love unreliable narrators as much as the next guy, but this particular rendition of it left me a little unsatisfied. For like, half a book Gideon has no idea what is going on and just stumbles around, getting into situations, while you see glimpses of something you don't grasp happening in the distance. The final twist left me absolutely dissapointed, and the book was saved only by the last thirty pages. GtN reads very much like a book that's supposed to bloom only during rereading, which I don't particularly appreciate.

In general, GtN is a good fundament for a series, in the sense that I will be buying the next book. The only thing is I'm not sure I will like it that much.

((also lol russian translation sucks ass, why are the originals so expensive man))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Gore, Child death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Slavery, Stalking, and War