Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

138 reviews

iane_reads's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Dementia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and War

twistykris's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

A re-read to remind myself of the plot before reading Harrow the Ninth; still just as enjoyable, if not more since I felt I could understand what was going on a little better. This Google Doc was an immensely helpful guide (but only for use of a re-read as it does contain spoilers):
https://shorturl.at/ptz28

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, and Cancer

Minor: War and Vomit

celestriakle's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Man, not gonna lie, I had a complicated experience with this book. It had been hyped to death for me: I went in expecting the highest quality writing, a deep and subtle complex plot, really fascinating complex characters and relationships, and I got... not that.

The whole book could have used another round of editing. Stylistically, it comes off as rough and amateur. There are moments where the motions are awkward and confusing, and I cannot tell you how many times I saw the word "smilingly". The dialogue is at times stilted and awkward, with inconsistent character voice for Gideon in particular.

A consistent issue is the way the narration and dialogue are in conflict with each other. I understand that Gideon's supposed to be a somewhat unreliable narrator, but that's not really the conflict I'm talking about. Particularly in the beginning of the book, Harrow and Gideon supposedly hate each other passionately, but I never believed that for a moment. They kept saying the words, but it never matched what was on the page, even when they were in direct conflict and supposedly feeling all this hate. It felt awkward and out of sync. There were also a lot of moments when characters or the narration would call Gideon incredibly stupid when she's constantly offering intelligent, insightful ideas or observations. It'd be one thing if someone acknowledged Gideon's intelligence, among this very large cast, but that never happens.

I also can't write this without mentioning the INCREDIBLE levels of fatphobia in this book. In this book of nearly 20 characters, there's only one minor character who's fat, and he's one of the worst, most offensive fat caricatures I've seen in a long time. If he played any larger of a role, I would have had to quit the book. Muir can't go two seconds without mentioning his "softness" or fatness and directly connecting it to his cowardice, laziness, and hatred of hard work. At one point, he's directly compared to a donut.

ALL THAT SAID.

I did enjoy the book overall. Taken as more of a YA style adventure narrative, it's a lot of fun! It's a murder mystery. The magic's neat; the characters aren't that deep but they are distinctive and memorable and fun; the mystery is fun and intriguing with multiple angles and questions to sink your teeth into. It's an easy read. Once I readjusted my expectations, it was a lot of fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Child abuse

Minor: Child death

wayfaring_witch's review

dark funny mysterious slow-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

3.0

The inner dialogue of Gideon is witty and sarcastic, and I can see why a lot of readers are attracted to the style of book.  Past this, not much pulled me into the characters, world, or plot.  Gideon's sense of humor seemed to be a shield from developing her, as well as her relationships with other characters.  As a result, I didn't have much interest in the vast cast of other characters.  I started looking at reviews to see what I was missing and noticed a common trend "it will pay off in the end!"  I did enjoy the last part of the book, and I think the book would have benefitted from starting this path earlier.  Throughout the book I was sure I wouldn't continue the series, but the change of perspective into Harrow might convince me to give the series another try.

Content Warning for all topics death related.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Murder, Death, Suicide, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Grief and Cancer

mngwa's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

This book took me a while to get into. I knew the writing was good but it didn't click. I got myself to a place where I just sat down and finished it and I'm really happy I did. The ending was so lovely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Dysphoria, Bullying, Death of parent, Suicide, Confinement, Child death, Grief, Murder, and Body horror

sharron_joy_reads's review

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

Gideon is ready to escape but her lifelong enemy, Harrowhark, the Reverend Daughter and Necromancer of the Ninth House requires one final service, she needs a swordswoman. The Emperor orders the heirs of the eight houses and their cavaliers to travel to the First House and undertake a trial of skill and power. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an all powerful immortal but she cannot succeed without Gideon. The trials begin and the first house becomes a death trap. 

This is a techno gothic sci-fi murder mystery horror story and it is incredible. It is fantasy but the world building is shared as the story is told, it leaves the intricacies of this world to the reader to decipher, this is quite common in sci-fi , not so much in fantasy. I loved this as it enabled me to construct the world bit by bit in my head like a puzzle and I love puzzles! There are a lot of characters but they are all listed at the front if you get lost and after a while they are easy to remember. 

The magic systems in this are gloriously gothic, living skeletons from fragments of dust, constructs of bone, flesh and sinew, it is so visceral! The solar system they are in is fuelled by the power of death and the energy of life. 

Gideon is a hell of a woman, acerbic and irreverent, her contemptuous relationship with Harrow, who has tormented her since they were children, is vicious from both sides but with a rich vein of dark humour.  I loved them both! 

It is a murder mystery in a crumbling gothic mansion. It is Medieval knights on a quest, loyalty and fealty to one’s House, duty and honour. It is powerful sorcery using blood, bones and magic. It is trials to the death and solving the clues to find the key. It is a remarkable read and I cannot wait for the next book in the series! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

jillian8's review

adventurous emotional funny 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

Love love love. Gets even better after you read the second one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Gore, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Child death, and Suicide

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

Minor: Genocide, Cannibalism, and Child abuse

lmaloney's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Torture, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment, War, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Child death

erinoco's review

dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide, Medical content, and Medical trauma

amsswim's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.25

This is the first fantasy I have read in a decent amount of time, and I think it was a good step back in. Reminded me of all the reasons I used to love fantasy; magic, ancient worlds, sword fighting, etc. I thought the story in this was very interesting and kept me interested the whole time, but I find myself unsure if I want to continue the series. 

I have a weird relationship with multi-book series, regarding if the story of a book is self contained with individual books in the series. I tend to like every book to a have a fully contained plot which, without spoilers, this book does very well. Maybe I'll try #2, unsure as of now. 

My main complaints would be around dialog, which felt silly sometimes, and side character development, which was really good some spots but lacking in other areas. Generally though it was a good read and has motivated me to actually read all the Brandon Sanderson books my partner has!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Violence, Death, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Torture and Medical content