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sunshinemoth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- 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
God. Why did I wait. Why did I wait an entire year after buying it to read this book.
I am very easy to please when it comes to fiction; give me loveable characters and an easy to follow narrative and I'll be perfectly content. However with sci-fi and fantasy it's not so for me. I get bored easily, or the sheer amount of worldbuilding confuses and baffles me to the point I spend half of my time reading flipping back through the pages to remind myself of who a character is or what the hell is going on. I am, admittedly, not very smart when it comes to these things.
This is not the case with Gideon The Ninth. I followed everything that was going on for the most part, was able to keep track of characters easily (their numbered names did help), and was given just enough information as the story went along to understand twists and connections in the story without feeling like I was being handheld by the author. Just mysterious enough to have me excitedly developing theories, but not so vague that dramatic twists in the story were lost on me because all I could think was "hah?"
And though the plot was as compelling, action-filled, and suspenseful as I was hoping—as I said I almost always go in for the characters, and Muir delivered. Gideon Nav is as tragic as she is hilarious. The lush, atmospheric narration interspersed with her blunt colloquial way of speaking was incredibly refreshing and amusing for a novel of this genre, but was also careful to never overstep into Joss Wheadon territory where I ever felt like it was ruining the tone of the story. Gideon is as charming and gutsy and sarcastic as she is caring and genuinely decent in a way that isn't so much shiningly heroic as it is warmly down-to-earth. Another refreshing aspect of this story: a character that felt real but still undeniably fit into their world.
Harrowhark is a perfect, perfect secondary character. You understand from the start why Gideon hates her so much, but when her character begins to unfurl like the most jagged and severe rose bud you've ever seen you are just as intrigued by and softened to her as Gideon becomes over the course of the story. Also, I love women who are macabre little freaks with immense issues, so she's easily a new all-time favourite character for me.
I won't go into my feelings on each and every one of the side characters we get to see over this story, specifically each necromancer/cavalier pair we meet, because this review would go on for pages. But rest assured I smiled and cheered and sobbed disgustingly over some of them just as much as I did for Gideon and Harrow. Each were distinct and memorable in their own right, which is difficult with fifteen unique characters, but it was executed quite well for the most part. I could nitpick if I wanted to (like the Second House feeling a little bit hollow compared to the rest), but this review is long enough.
All-in-all, Gideon The Ninth was a complete ride in the best way possible, and I CONSUMED all near-500 pages of it in just under five days. Up until the end I was gasping and urgently flipping each page, eager to find out what would happen next. Again, a massive feat for me, as with books of this length and density I tend to lose steam easily. I also spent the last 150 pages pausing frequently to put my hands over my face and scream bloody murder. I cannot wait to start Harrow the Ninth.
I am very easy to please when it comes to fiction; give me loveable characters and an easy to follow narrative and I'll be perfectly content. However with sci-fi and fantasy it's not so for me. I get bored easily, or the sheer amount of worldbuilding confuses and baffles me to the point I spend half of my time reading flipping back through the pages to remind myself of who a character is or what the hell is going on. I am, admittedly, not very smart when it comes to these things.
This is not the case with Gideon The Ninth. I followed everything that was going on for the most part, was able to keep track of characters easily (their numbered names did help), and was given just enough information as the story went along to understand twists and connections in the story without feeling like I was being handheld by the author. Just mysterious enough to have me excitedly developing theories, but not so vague that dramatic twists in the story were lost on me because all I could think was "hah?"
And though the plot was as compelling, action-filled, and suspenseful as I was hoping—as I said I almost always go in for the characters, and Muir delivered. Gideon Nav is as tragic as she is hilarious. The lush, atmospheric narration interspersed with her blunt colloquial way of speaking was incredibly refreshing and amusing for a novel of this genre, but was also careful to never overstep into Joss Wheadon territory where I ever felt like it was ruining the tone of the story. Gideon is as charming and gutsy and sarcastic as she is caring and genuinely decent in a way that isn't so much shiningly heroic as it is warmly down-to-earth. Another refreshing aspect of this story: a character that felt real but still undeniably fit into their world.
Harrowhark is a perfect, perfect secondary character. You understand from the start why Gideon hates her so much, but when her character begins to unfurl like the most jagged and severe rose bud you've ever seen you are just as intrigued by and softened to her as Gideon becomes over the course of the story. Also, I love women who are macabre little freaks with immense issues, so she's easily a new all-time favourite character for me.
I won't go into my feelings on each and every one of the side characters we get to see over this story, specifically each necromancer/cavalier pair we meet, because this review would go on for pages. But rest assured I smiled and cheered and sobbed disgustingly over some of them just as much as I did for Gideon and Harrow. Each were distinct and memorable in their own right, which is difficult with fifteen unique characters, but it was executed quite well for the most part. I could nitpick if I wanted to (like the Second House feeling a little bit hollow compared to the rest), but this review is long enough.
All-in-all, Gideon The Ninth was a complete ride in the best way possible, and I CONSUMED all near-500 pages of it in just under five days. Up until the end I was gasping and urgently flipping each page, eager to find out what would happen next. Again, a massive feat for me, as with books of this length and density I tend to lose steam easily. I also spent the last 150 pages pausing frequently to put my hands over my face and scream bloody murder. I cannot wait to start Harrow the Ninth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Violence, Body horror, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cancer
Minor: Cannibalism, War, Infertility, and Religious bigotry
olma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Loved this book. Great pacing for the most part and a truly unique concept. Looking forward to reading the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Body horror
mirandalikesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
Already looking forward to reading the others after i get over the devastation .
The world and magic system built here is really clever and extremely vivid. I'm not sure if I've ever read a book that described fighting and body horror in so much detail. It was a fun change of pace!
The "whodunit" portion of the plot kept me guessing too! I love a book that can do that.
And who can't love Gideon as a character??? She was easy to root for. Her jokes, especially in comparison to the sometimes dense text, really moved the story in an enjoyable way.
Misses four stars for me because I couldn't get hooked at first. I wasn't able to really sink my teeth in until around the 4th try picking it up. Once I was hooked though, it had me! (Also side picky note - the naming schema for the adepts mirroring their house number was a bit on the nose for me.)
The world and magic system built here is really clever and extremely vivid. I'm not sure if I've ever read a book that described fighting and body horror in so much detail. It was a fun change of pace!
The "whodunit" portion of the plot kept me guessing too! I love a book that can do that.
And who can't love Gideon as a character??? She was easy to root for. Her jokes, especially in comparison to the sometimes dense text, really moved the story in an enjoyable way.
Misses four stars for me because I couldn't get hooked at first. I wasn't able to really sink my teeth in until around the 4th try picking it up. Once I was hooked though, it had me! (Also side picky note - the naming schema for the adepts mirroring their house number was a bit on the nose for me.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Classism, Chronic illness, Bullying, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Grief
I didn't think cannibalism was explicit enough in this to add that as a trigger warning. But if that is a big no for you, I maybe wouldn't go for this.sdskuld's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
I can understand the tumblr love.
The climax felt like an MCU film
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Medical content, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child death
lady_ofthe_lake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I hate everyone of my friends who told me to read this. 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence, Gore, Child death, and Body horror
sigrids's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
This book really had me happy for killing lesbians, bc I couldn't stand what I assume was to be the main couple. Also from the start it took very long for me to actually enjoy this one. But by the end I was hooked and now I have to start the second part.
Also I love how useless the main character is in face of any women she sees. Very relatable.
Also I love how useless the main character is in face of any women she sees. Very relatable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Genocide, Infertility, and Emotional abuse
theochick's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Holy shit dude
I need. To lie down
Picks up pretty dramatically about a quarter of the way in and then act 4 is just Pure escalation
I need. To lie down
Picks up pretty dramatically about a quarter of the way in and then act 4 is just Pure escalation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cannibalism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
As well-written and funny as I found this book, I also can’t deny that it disappointed me.
I personally found the writing style very unique and enjoyed it a lot. I thought the narration was funny and it really suited the main character’s personality. It felt modern, but not in a way that was poorly executed. I’ve read books set in the modern day that didn’t even come close to using modern slang/terms as well as this did. The use of language was also expertly used to convey descriptions of spaces and people.
I also really liked all the characters, they all felt very distinct from each other and well rounded. When allowed to be in smaller groups with Gideon it was so clear who was who and why they might act the way they do. However when in groups it felt more like they blended together and I quickly lost track of who was who. The narrator did help some with this, but I did still occasionally still mix them up. With the distinctness of the characters it also lends well to interesting and complex group dynamics and conflicts.
I also really enjoyed early in the book when Gideon wasn’t speaking. It’s not a slight against the character, I just found the way she navigated interacting with others (and how they interacted with her in return) extremely interesting.
The narrator was also excellent. I felt like she really captured the main character and her voice acting ability really shone through with the large cast of characters.
However despite all I liked about the book it had its pitfalls.
I personally found what world building we got was really interesting, but it was giving so sparingly and in such little doses I found myself confused and lost on the regular. Some bits of information were mentioned like they were common knowledge and I had a hard time keeping track of if and when the information had been mentioned.
The confusion continued into plot beats and elements. Especially near the end of the book. Information was presented and treated as if it had been hinted at the entire book when it felt very sudden and out of nowhere.
My final issue was Gideon and Harrow’s relationship. They grew closer over the book, but considering where their relationship started (and that Harrow OWNED Gideon) it didn’t feel warned or well developed. Especially as it seemed to be building towards romance. It felt so gross considering Harrow’s ownership of Gideon and the awful terms they started the book on. Overall it was the most disappointing part of the book to me.
In the end I think the book had a lot of positive qualities and the author is clearly skilled, but in the end just fell short and was lacking in plot and relationship development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Self harm, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Cancer, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
zophronia's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Child abuse, Self harm, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, Suicide, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Genocide
species10026's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Suicide