Reviews

Magnificent world building. Character development is spot on. Not afraid to kill people. Violence without being over done. Twists and turns. It is perfect.

april_reads's review against another edition

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My library loan on this book is nearly up, and while that would typically be all the incentive I need to fly through a book (that I'm even half-way enjoying), I am struggling with this one. I like Gideon. A lot. And while I really want her to be okay and get what she wants (and maybe a hug... and some therapy, or at least someone in her life that doesn't want to kill her), I still don't have a pressing desire to pick this book up.

I tried to analyze why that is, and I think it comes down to a combination of world building and pacing. With regards to the world, I have so many questions that are buzzing around my brain like gnats - irritating me, preventing me from focusing on the book, which doesn't seem to be offering any answers. In fact, it kind of feels like since this is all (presumably) common knowledge for the characters, we should just know as well. I'm sorry, is there a history/geography book I should have read prior? Because the cast list at the beginning didn't really cut it.

For example, the houses: Are they all on separate planets? It kind of seems like they are, but it's either never confirmed, or I missed it. What do the houses do or represent? The first is the emperor... and his servants/advisors? The second is soldiers, right? (Who are they fighting???) The third is... I don't actually know, something to do with jewels? The seventh has something to do with beauty and/or roses and dying young? And the rest are a wash - one presumably writes (per the scroll in the mouth of the skull); does that mean that the houses are ordered by professions? How free are the common people to move around and/or go to the different houses? (Because Gideon wasn't allowed to leave the Ninth.) Does this stuff only pertain to the royals? Are commoners irrelevant? Who grows the food??? How much free will do these people have???

And we only find out about the other houses when Gideon and Harrow arrive at the First (House? World?) and start getting introduced to all these characters who get lumped together and never fully explained (At least not 130 pages in). They're just mostly identified by which house (world?) they come from, like this is supposed to indicate their personality. And since we know next to nothing about the houses/worlds, this isn't really telling. Also, the universe seems almost completely unpopulated, though there are plenty of skeletons, which begs the question, did something happen? Again, what about the commoners?! Are the other houses/worlds thriving and it just seems empty because Gideon comes from a place of death and knows next to nothing about the culture of the other houses? Speaking of the Ninth - is the entire world unpopulated aside from the castle? compound? massive in-ground catacomb? thing that Gideon, the handful of living people, and army of skeletons live in? Is the rest of the world inhospitable? Is the air breathable? Is that why all of Gideon's previous escape attempts failed? (More on this later.) And the more I think about it, the more questions I have (which aren't being answered), and the more aggravated I get by how empty and unfleshed out everything feels.

Secondly, the pacing. Or lack thereof. The first twenty-odd pages are spent in Gideon's escape attempt from the Ninth (not her first), which essentially consisted of her waiting for a shuttle and expecting to be allowed to leave, even though that had never worked before (or is the shuttle the new part of her plan? If she just left and kept walking what would have happened?) So, when people, who have apparently abused her for her entire life, come and try to get her to change her mind, she's like "Nah" and expects that to be it. Like, that's your grand plan, Babe? Why haven't you already left yet? What happened with the other escape attempts? And why, for the love of whatever deity exists in this world/universe, is nothing happening???

And then, after they get to the First house? world? whatever, again nothing happens: Gideon is left to wander through decrepit room after dilapidated hallway and she isn't allowed to talk to anyone because Harrow said so. Why does this woman have no agency?! Also, speaking of which - how old is Gideon? Is she "seventeen" like in Six of Crows? Is she in her twenties? We don't know. And that also bugs me because I don't know how to read her. Because when it comes down to it, over a hundred pages in, all I know about her, the main character, is that she likes women, is skilled with a sword, has red hair, and has a really, really shitty life.

And the more that I think about this book, the more frustrated I get because this could have been so good. Lesbian necromancers in space? Consider me intrigued. But the execution? Mind you, I only got a fourth of the way through, but it felt like the author was so afraid of info-dumping that all the world building got left in the drafts.

Anyway, bravo if you made it this far. And all that being said, I am (temporarily??) calling it quits with this book. I might try again later, and I wish Gideon all the best, but it's time to move on.