Reviews

Gideon z Dziewiątego by Tamsyn Muir

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

xtayuya's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

Such an easy, fun, read. Even the characters I disliked I loved and even the characters that seemed like background characters I ended up caring about. 

Tamsyn’s prose is elegant, visceral and yet hilarious and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

swaye's review against another edition

4.0

I don't think I've ever been so torn on whether a book is deserving of 4 or 5 stars. I think this might be the only time I thought that those half-stars would be a good idea.

This book is brilliant in so many ways. Tamsyn Muir can write! Holy shit. Every character was so well-fleshed out. On the downside, it took me ages to keep them all straight because there are a lot of them. Maybe too many, honestly. I had to use the infographic of the characters so many times to be like, "Ohhh, that character!" before I could move on.

This book genuinely surprised me. I know it has so many rave reviews, but I was wary because of the horror element. I'm happy to say, for all my fellow scaredy-cats, I personally didn't find this scary. Granted, some parts were shocking and even gory at times, but not scary.

What I loved most about Gideon the Ninth and what kept inching it closer to that perfect 5 stars for me was how it all came together at the end. The themes of love and sacrifice, amidst a world engulfed in utter turmoil and chaos, struck a profound chord with me, especially during this particular time in my life. This year has been brutal, and just as I reached the end of the book, life dealt me another heavy blow, but Gideon's courage and her love for Harrow showed me a lot about who I am, and what makes life worth living. When you love someone, your heart stays intact despite all the pain because of them.

In the words of John Wayne, “Life is getting up one more time than you've been knocked down.” And Maya Angelou's wisdom echoes through the pages of Gideon the Ninth: "Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."

Gideon the Ninth reminded me that even in the darkest of times, love makes it all worth it. I may not have given it a perfect 5 stars, but it has certainly left an indelible mark on my heart.

annasneezy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

chilisbees's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

augoost's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-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

4.5

Feels like someone's really, really good fanfic that blends hunger games, muder mysteries, and who knows what else into a weird, whacky, and violent story that frequently made me laugh and more frequently left me saying "Huh?". The writing can be confusing at times, but it definitely functions as a way for the author to bury the lead and show that Gideon is one of the least observant narrators ever.

cylas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Cannot get enough of the way that Tamsyn Muir writes 

holsta's review against another edition

2.0

the writing lost me a lot of the time, I think too much was happening and wasn’t being explained clear enough :/ (not in a “oh the main character is supposed to be confused” way but more of literally sentence structures and words)

But very interesting concept!

(If I’d known there was a glossary at the back I might’ve liked it more as well)

palindromers's review against another edition

Not for me. 

rainbeauregard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence