Reviews with content warning for Blood - Gideon la Nona

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Gideon la Nona by Tamsyn Muir

607 reviews

folkofthebook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

“I cannot conceive of a universe without you in it.”
“Yes you can, it's just less great and less hot,” said Gideon.

omgggg where do i even start??? i first tried to read this about 3 years ago when i first got back into reading and i just wasn't prepared for this level of high SFF worldbuilding, so i put it down.

i'm glad i did that bc i think all my reading since is what really prepared me to start this series.

“If you do not find yourself a galaxy, it is not so bad to find yourself a star.”

the magic system is both mystical and meticulous; this is, to me, a true example of the blending of sci-fi and fantasy. macabre, eerie, calculated, mysterious. the well-placed elements of horror only add to the atmosphere and keep the stakes raised. as a reader you're constantly reassessing what you think you know of the canaan house alongside gideon.

“Why was I born so attractive?”
“Because everyone would have throttled you within the first five minutes otherwise.”

gideon is honestly a hoot that i was not expecting. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WAS FUNNY. if you know me, you know there's nothing i appreciate more than a fantasy book that also makes you laugh. death, destruction, the world and universe at peril are all great dramatics... but if the author can give me a moment of respite from it all to laugh and momentarily forget my favorite characters are in dangerous, i will be beholden to them forever.

“Harrow,” said Gideon, “if my heart had a dick you would kick it.”

gideon's tumultuous and resentful (though i think that word might be a bit light for what it describes) relationship to harrowhark, the ninth house heir, is similar in vein to damen x laurent of captive prince (i'm biased being permanently in capri brainrot but i swear the dynamics are parallel). deeply reluctant allies who are quite ready to betray the other if they ever got the chance, the tension starts high as they head into the canaan house as necromancer and cavalier.

the mystery of canaan house itself and the then ensuing deaths of its attendents forces gideon and harrow to embark on the tightrope of a road to their friendship, to being a true cavalier and necromancer duo.

the ensemble of characters were intriguing and illustrious, and thank god for authors who write a dramatis personae at the start of their books esp w names like those bc i had to constantly refer back to it to keep track.

with its intriguing and driving plot, unique world, and admirable characters, gideon the ninth is a must-read for any seasoned SFF fan.

and with that ending, i'm definitely tuning into book 2.

one flesh, one end.

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melmo27's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

Unlike anything I've ever read before. I spent the entire story 100% confused, but also really enjoying the experience of such a new kind of story.

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snackattackisback69's review against another edition

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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

This book left me so emotionally devastated I felt physically ill. I loved every second of it. At times I geniunely had no idea what was going on and the first third of the book was a bit slow but in my opinion the rest of the novel definitely earned the 5 stars.

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lifeinsherds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

The ONLY reason this doesn't have a full 5 stars for me is because there are a LOT of characters in this book. But Muir has a list at the beginning which character belongs to which house. I absolutely sprinted through the last like 80 pages.

Tamsyn Muir has SUCH a strong voice as Gideon. She is loyal and flawed and weak and strong. UGH. this may be a book I wish I could read for the first time again.

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fairyollie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wish I liked this book more than I did. there is a lot I could say, both good and bad, but I'll try and keep it short and spoiler-free as possible. it was very ambitious, to say the least, as a gothic, sci-fi, fantastical, dystopian, magical, necromantic story.

Pacing: the pacing was weird and difficult. the plot does not start until about 45-50% through the story, and I found it very difficult to keep reading until then.
Humor: there were a LOT of references to memes and very-2016 humor. I was not a fan of this, because abrupt jokes, comments, and references to memes were so out of place for the setting. it also makes it difficult for a book to age well when using humor and jokes from a specific, short-lived time period.
Characters: I did not particularly care for or find myself rooting, relating to, and enjoying almost any of the characters! their motives, their rationale, their background, were lost or not fully fleshed-out, and certain choices seemed random. just didn't mesh for me.
Setting: as said above, the first half of the book was slow, and it was not used for world-building or introducing the characters or lore at all. I think more world-building, to better understand who everyone is, what's going on, purpose, lore, how the mecromatic magic system works, anything - just more of why/what/how, would have really elevated the book more.
also, this is entirely my bad, as it's literally a book about necromancers, but I don't handle gore very well lol. not a book flaw but a personal skill issue!

I wanted to like this book, and was planning to read this for a very long time, but it just fell short for me. I would recommend this to others, as I know there are many people who would (and do!) enjoy this, but for myself, it was just a difficult, bit juvenile, time. I am happy I finally had the chance to read it, and wish I had enjoyed it more!

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