altruest's review against another edition
5.0
I hate hiding whole reviews but there's really no way to talk about this book without giving away some of the tricks that make it amazing. I'll try to keep it spoiler light and hide the major stuff.
Okay, so I read Gideon again, bought this book, read it once really fast, listened to a podcast about it, and then once much slower. These books really deserve to be read multiple times, and Muir really rewards those rereads, especially in this book. Gideon had a pretty straightforward writing style, but the structure and (light spoiler) in this book make it a little less of a page-turner. Regardless, this is one of the best books I've read this year and it's so satisfying when I finally understood what Muir was pulling off.
Gideon the Ninth was such a firebrand of a book, with a distinctive voice and story. I was really curious how Muir was going to switch perspectives to Harrow, and it turns out it was by immediately smashing Harrow's cool, calm, and collected façade from the first book and letting us watch her fight her way back up from almost nothing. Watching Harrow be so ruined by the events of the first book and rationalizing and healing(?) throughout the course of this one was so captivating, I really admire Muir's excellent sense of story and character. I couldn't have expected to love the concept of this book so much.
I don't want to spoil too much, but there are some really standout characters in this book. Ianthe goes from an interesting side character to a force to be reckoned with in this book, and her creepy/flirty/antihero personality gives me chills every time she shows up. The lyctors are all interesting, although I wish they felt... older? if that makes sense? 10000 years is a long time. God gives me exactly that feeling though, a guy who is masking his immense power and age under a "I'm just your dad!" mask. Love that guy. Also high on the list are Ortus, Abigail, and.
There is so much to talk about the plot that I'm not qualified to get into, all I can really say is that there's so much hidden in these books that come up when talking to someone else about the book, or listening to a discussion, or rereading. The world of the Locked Tomb trilogy is so huge and so little of it has been explored, I'm excited to see where it goes next.
5/5 stars, a favorite.
(This is not really a review, but honestly to get everything out of these books it feels like you should read gideon, gideon again, harrow, harrow again, then gideon. Can't wait until Alecto to come out so I have to read each book another 4 times lmao)
Okay, so I read Gideon again, bought this book, read it once really fast, listened to a podcast about it, and then once much slower. These books really deserve to be read multiple times, and Muir really rewards those rereads, especially in this book. Gideon had a pretty straightforward writing style, but the structure and (light spoiler)
Spoiler
second-person sectionsGideon the Ninth was such a firebrand of a book, with a distinctive voice and story. I was really curious how Muir was going to switch perspectives to Harrow, and it turns out it was by immediately smashing Harrow's cool, calm, and collected façade from the first book and letting us watch her fight her way back up from almost nothing. Watching Harrow be so ruined by the events of the first book and rationalizing and healing(?) throughout the course of this one was so captivating, I really admire Muir's excellent sense of story and character. I couldn't have expected to love the concept of this book so much.
I don't want to spoil too much, but there are some really standout characters in this book. Ianthe goes from an interesting side character to a force to be reckoned with in this book, and her creepy/flirty/antihero personality gives me chills every time she shows up. The lyctors are all interesting, although I wish they felt... older? if that makes sense? 10000 years is a long time. God gives me exactly that feeling though, a guy who is masking his immense power and age under a "I'm just your dad!" mask. Love that guy. Also high on the list are Ortus, Abigail, and
Spoiler
Matthias NoniusThere is so much to talk about the plot that I'm not qualified to get into, all I can really say is that there's so much hidden in these books that come up when talking to someone else about the book, or listening to a discussion, or rereading. The world of the Locked Tomb trilogy is so huge and so little of it has been explored, I'm excited to see where it goes next.
5/5 stars, a favorite.
(This is not really a review, but honestly to get everything out of these books it feels like you should read gideon, gideon again, harrow, harrow again, then gideon. Can't wait until Alecto to come out so I have to read each book another 4 times lmao)
gdikrum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
sistaharlem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
deadeye's review against another edition
i wanted to like it so bad. i made it through gideon basically bc of. well, gideon. but then which, i like harrow, but the jumping back and forth between second person and third person was really jarring and took me out of it. and then from the very beginning i did not understand a bit of the whole necromantic magic system. to be fair, that’s probably more of a me problem than a problem with the book. unfortunately it’s not a problem i’m able to overlook.
Spoiler
she dies and we have to follow harrow’s perspective.prikhire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
mytearsricoxet's review against another edition
5.0
so damn confusing but fun nonetheless.
edit 3/9/2022: i understand much more after my second readthrough lmao—still fun and confusing though!
edit 3/9/2022: i understand much more after my second readthrough lmao—still fun and confusing though!
creebiejeebies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
scholarhect's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly didn't know what to make of this for the first few chapters, but it is truly everything I have ever wanted in a book, and I wish I could rate it 6 stars.
axl98's review against another edition
5.0
WOW what a cool book! Muir did a fantastic job making writing of HtN distinct from GtN, and not just because it's written in SECOND PERSON POV (how often do you see that?). HtN has an overarching feeling of confusion, where as a reader I'm never really sure what is true about what I'm reading, or how the narrator is interpreting the events. Where I read the entirety of GtN in a week, HtN took closer to a month, and it's not because it was any less good. Trying to untangle the events took a lot of brain power, and it was GREAT. And when you get to the point in the book where everything clicks into place, I was back to not being able to put it down. I've never felt such adrenaline reading a book. I cannot WAIT until Alecto the Ninth.