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haloform's review against another edition
i love to read terrible books for fun but this one was so genuinely awful i couldnt do it. firstly, its apparently a master/slave romance. i hope i dont have to say anything else about that. secondly, its painfully obvious that it was written by an author who got her start in fanfiction: the writing is incredibly poorly done and awkward with seemingly random adjectives thrown in haphazardly to sentences where they make no sense. theres no grasp of tone and the worldbuilding was evidently done by someone whos used to the way you get to lean on the source media's worldbuilding when writing fanfiction. the overuse of sexual innuendo and snappy dialogue, including things shoehorned in to moments that should be serious, mark muir as a homstuck fanfic author specifically.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
jade_newcastle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, War, and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse
peach_pie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
This book had the most creative insults and one-liners. Also I had to look up so many of these big fancy words! It’s a real rollercoaster
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War
toobendy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Slavery, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child death, and Ableism
rowanbg's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Reading this book with the knowledge that friends of my friends personally clashed with Tamsyn Muir when she was in the Homestuck fandom is very weird. Also, you can tell she was a homestuck because there are times when it reads like she ate a thesaurus, and I found myself frequently flipping back to the cast of characters to keep everyone straight
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Slavery
sirannen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Slavery and Emotional abuse
kaylamoran's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was an extremely slow start, I considered DNFing it. But once I got into it it was so worth it!
I love Gideon's sense of humor, I wish more book characters had a sarcastic wit like her.
I love Gideon's sense of humor, I wish more book characters had a sarcastic wit like her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Vomit, Violence, and Terminal illness
Minor: Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
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
3.5
I’ve heard so many good things about Gideon the Ninth around the internet and was excited to finally see what the hype was all about.
Right away, I was drawn in by the unique world-building and protagonist herself. Gideon is snarky and hilarious, truly a well-developed, stand-out character. As the story progressed, Harrow grew on me as well. I loved the dynamic between the two girls—from enemies to reluctant allies to unexpected friends. The banter? Pure. Gold.
I was a bit disappointed that no romance blossomed between the two, as I thought that was going to happen. I’d seen people call the story enemies to lovers, but lovers, they were not. Ultimately this didn’t make or break the book for me, but if you’re also expecting a sapphic love story, you might want to adjust those expectations a bit.
I was also disappointed by the lack of deeper world-building. The concept of necromancers in space is unique and quite intriguing, but Muir doesn’t build much upon that. I know the story is set in a solar system of nine Houses on nine planets, ruled by some sort of immortal emperor, with each House specializing in a different type of necromancy. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you anything, really. Gideon and Harrow come from the Ninth House—though Gideon was only raised there, whereas Harrow is the born heir—and the story takes place in the First House.
Additionally, I had many questions while I read, unrelated to the plot itself, that weren’t answered. How did Gideon, at eighteen, not know what a shower was? Sure, the scene where she discovered it by getting blasted with water was comical, but it doesn’t make sense. Do people in the Ninth House not shower? How do they get clean? It’s a small detail, yes, but it caught my attention and I can’t help but focus on what it might mean.
Many of my questions were related to the side characters, the members of the other Houses, Second through Eighth. I couldn’t tell you what kind of necromancy each specialized in; the only one I know is that the Ninth’s specialty was bones. It took half the book for me to figure out who was who and be able to recall them all in a timely manner. Hardly any of them had distinguishable traits, and most only appeared to either aid or oppose the protagonists.
Moving past that, the story is divided into five acts. I was intrigued from the start, but not truly invested until things started going wrong around the start of act three. I believe the middle chunk of the book is the best because of the character and relationship development, as well as the constant suspense. Once I got past the second half of act four, though, things seemed to drag on unnecessarily. There was more and more fighting, and I became less and less interested. The last hundred pages probably could’ve been shortened by about thirty.
And can I just say, I’m really, really not happy with the ending? ‘Cause I’m not. I don’t know why Muir made the decisions they did. Even with the slower pacing, I’d decided on a four star rating, but act five, short though it was, was enough to make me lower my rating by another half star. It also significantly lessened my interest in the sequel.
I know I’ve been quite critical throughout this review, but I did enjoy some aspects of Gideon the Ninth. Both protagonists were complex and entertaining, and Gideon was especially entertaining. Her narration truly made the book more memorable. I just seriously wish that Muir had spent more time developing the rest of the characters and world they created. If the ending was changed, I’d be okay with that too. I’m still planning to read the sequel, but my expectations are much, much lower than they were for this book.
Representation:
Right away, I was drawn in by the unique world-building and protagonist herself. Gideon is snarky and hilarious, truly a well-developed, stand-out character. As the story progressed, Harrow grew on me as well. I loved the dynamic between the two girls—from enemies to reluctant allies to unexpected friends. The banter? Pure. Gold.
I was a bit disappointed that no romance blossomed between the two, as I thought that was going to happen. I’d seen people call the story enemies to lovers, but lovers, they were not. Ultimately this didn’t make or break the book for me, but if you’re also expecting a sapphic love story, you might want to adjust those expectations a bit.
I was also disappointed by the lack of deeper world-building. The concept of necromancers in space is unique and quite intriguing, but Muir doesn’t build much upon that. I know the story is set in a solar system of nine Houses on nine planets, ruled by some sort of immortal emperor, with each House specializing in a different type of necromancy. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you anything, really. Gideon and Harrow come from the Ninth House—though Gideon was only raised there, whereas Harrow is the born heir—and the story takes place in the First House.
Additionally, I had many questions while I read, unrelated to the plot itself, that weren’t answered. How did Gideon, at eighteen, not know what a shower was? Sure, the scene where she discovered it by getting blasted with water was comical, but it doesn’t make sense. Do people in the Ninth House not shower? How do they get clean? It’s a small detail, yes, but it caught my attention and I can’t help but focus on what it might mean.
Many of my questions were related to the side characters, the members of the other Houses, Second through Eighth. I couldn’t tell you what kind of necromancy each specialized in; the only one I know is that the Ninth’s specialty was bones. It took half the book for me to figure out who was who and be able to recall them all in a timely manner. Hardly any of them had distinguishable traits, and most only appeared to either aid or oppose the protagonists.
Moving past that, the story is divided into five acts. I was intrigued from the start, but not truly invested until things started going wrong around the start of act three. I believe the middle chunk of the book is the best because of the character and relationship development, as well as the constant suspense. Once I got past the second half of act four, though, things seemed to drag on unnecessarily. There was more and more fighting, and I became less and less interested. The last hundred pages probably could’ve been shortened by about thirty.
And can I just say, I’m really, really not happy with the ending? ‘Cause I’m not. I don’t know why Muir made the decisions they did. Even with the slower pacing, I’d decided on a four star rating, but act five, short though it was, was enough to make me lower my rating by another half star. It also significantly lessened my interest in the sequel.
I know I’ve been quite critical throughout this review, but I did enjoy some aspects of Gideon the Ninth. Both protagonists were complex and entertaining, and Gideon was especially entertaining. Her narration truly made the book more memorable. I just seriously wish that Muir had spent more time developing the rest of the characters and world they created. If the ending was changed, I’d be okay with that too. I’m still planning to read the sequel, but my expectations are much, much lower than they were for this book.
Representation:
- two lesbian protagonists
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Self harm, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying, Cannibalism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
katieo156's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Not exactly the "lesbian necromancers in space" that it was billed and so slow to start that it was very nearly a DNF for me- it was only the hype around it that kept me reading past the first half of the book. The end picks up the pace and I enjoyed the last 150 pages or so much more than the rest. I'm all for slang and pop culture references but they didn't quite work for this book. in part because by the time of my reading in 2021 a lot of the phrases felt a bit dated already. I thought that there were a few side characters that were particularly well fleshed out and they honestly kept me going more than the protagonists did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Gore, Death, Cursing, and Confinement
Moderate: Slavery
aplatt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
On the cover is a quote describing the story and it just says “Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space.” This is absolutely correct, but it left out that they have swords.
The author shows an incredible and unique use of showing a story through a flawed characters perspective. For the majority of the book you have no clue what is happening or what anyone is doing because Gideon Nav is doesn’t really care to observe it.
The author shows an incredible and unique use of showing a story through a flawed characters perspective. For the majority of the book you have no clue what is happening or what anyone is doing because Gideon Nav is doesn’t really care to observe it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Violence, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Death