A review by caughtbetweenpages
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

Rereading so I can finally get to Nona and my god, this book loses absolutely nothing on reread. I adore Gideon, un-perceptive himbo that she is, and the development of her relationship with Harrow is simply everything to me. Enemies to reluctant allies to tentative friends back to mistrust to "i will not have your soul parted from mine" is simply a dynamic that never misses. ESPECIALLY against the backdrop of an ancient and at least slightly sacrosanct necromancer school/lab/tomb-in-space, where necromancy adepts and their sworn knights are slowly being picked off by Something Mysterious as they compete in truly one of the most compelling displays of academic dick-measuring I've ever witnessed (and I've both worked at and done a Masters at an Ivy League, so trust me when I say I know masturbatory academia when I see it). All of the relationships are emotionally fraught without feeling melodramatic. It's sapphic as hell. The magic is equal parts horrific and fascinating depending on the wielder. The deaths (and the dead) will make you weep. And Tamsyn Muir's writing style is just un-put-down-able; the narrative voice is so funny and unique and sounds so profoundly Gideon. And that ending! My god, read this series if you haven't yet (check the TWs first though.).
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