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blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I feel like describing this book as "lesbian necromancers in space" is really underselling it. In a galaxy ruled by a God Emperor divided into nine houses of necromancers ruling nine planets, the number of necromancer-followers who ascended into immortality alongside the Emperor have dwindled over the last ten thousand years. The time has come to test the houses to see who can ascend next. Our protagonist Gideon does not give a damn. All she wants to do is escape the Ninth House forever, but Gideon's childhood nemesis and the current heir to the house, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, traps her into acting as her sword and bodyguard for the dangerous trials of the Emperor that are to come. With nine necromancers secluded from the rest of the galaxy in a crumbling ruin of an earlier era, what will they do to attain godhood? Also this is a queer-normative setting and the protagonist is a lesbian that blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
It's funny and irreverent most of the time, but Tamsyn Muir also knows how to raise the stakes and presented us with a twisty mystery that made me slap my forehead at the final reveal. Pay close attention to what doesn't add up, because in the end it will! (With just enough mysteries left over to make you want to keep reading the next book.)
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
lucky_19's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Excrement, and War
alphabet_soup's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Excrement, and Death of parent
mads_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Chronic illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
storykath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Gideon was a fantastic narrator, funny and flawed and truly unique. She's chaotic and hilarious!
This book took me a while to get through, and I think that's partly due to my brain being picky about reading, but also partly because of how gory and tense things got in the story. I couldn't always stomach it for multiple chapters at a time. Between the injuries and the sometimes-dense plot, this was a book I had to tackle in smallish chunks. That being said, I'm starting the sequel right away so I don't forget any important plot points.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Self harm, Terminal illness, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Excrement, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
annapox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Cannibalism
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Infertility, Slavery, Suicide, Excrement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War
realizedcreation's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail