A review by smithel
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

5.0

I was not expecting to love this book. Based on the blurb, I thought it would be crass but amusing, and mainly read it because it was popping up a lot in my recommendations about the time the sequel was doing well in the Goodreads reader choice awards. I was not prepared for how absolutely and completely I was absorbed into the story. Gideon, the hero, is crass. But she and her necromancer, Harrow, are also complicated, fascinating characters. I’ve been describing this book as Gormenghast with spaceships and necromancers, but that really doesn’t give enough credit to Tamsyn Muir’s brutal, exquisite world building. The book is a ghastly, revolting, utterly compelling story and I can’t wait to read Harrow the Ninth.