Reviews

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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readcharlotte's review against another edition

5.0

Just as great the second time. I listened to the audiobook this round, and found the writing style less heavy. Still so fantastic. A++

paintonmycat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Amazing book, didn't get the full five stars though due the obtuse first two acts. The modern language quips of the main protagonist peppered throughout the start were somewhat of a turnoff for me especially when put in contrast with the unfamiliar setting. This was alleviated later on when more characters came into play and I became more immersed in the setting, those lines then proved to be a welcome relief to the, at times high stakes, atmosphere and tense situations throughout the book.
After a third of the way through (with some consideration of dropping the book), the book turned into an exhilarating page turner, with some of the most well written and refreshing characters I've had the privilege of experiencing. The plot picks up pace quickly and consistently left me in varying embarrasing emotional states of being. I'll have a bone to pick with anyone who drops this read due to the slow start.
Let's go lesbians!!

mariannecarrier's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

marjoleinvanderspoel's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Took me a while to get into, but once I was invested, I was deeply invested. This book was confusing and intricate but most importantly filled with badass characters and cool death magic. It was fun, and it felt neat and smart, although I would have liked a few more of the key challenges. It left me with some question marks that I'm honestly unsure if the sequels will address, but still a worthwhile read!

rjhodnette's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.0

I tried and failed to read this book twice. I liked Gideon, but I found the world and set up to be a bit dense. However, I tried the audiobook and it really clicked. The narrator is phenomenal and captured Gideon’s personality so well.

tashpena's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 out of 5 stars

larkspire's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm glad I took a chance on this despite the marketing - and I understand all the complaints from people who wanted the book described in the cover praise and the marketing material. Starting with a premise that could have been a late-to-the-game "in a world where everyone is sorted according to personality types " YA action, Tamsyn Muir builds a terrific science fantasy. Actually the "science" part is pretty inconsequential here, but it looks like it will be important for the rest of the series (we'll see, I guess).

I'm generally not keen on "voicey" books, so given what others have said about Muir's prose and dialogue I expected not to like the way this was written, but I actually liked this. It's fitting that most of the cast sound like edgy teenagers when most of the cast is edgy teenagers, and Muir manages to do it in a way that doesn't make me want to sandpaper my own skin off (unlike Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, for example). I could have done without the references to memes and Mean Girls - I understand that there are retroactive Lore Reasons for this, but they were three years off when this was first released - and I wish that particularly climactic combat scenes didn't hinge on video-game-style "hit the glowing weak points!", but those are my only complaints.

And the ending! I did wonder where this was going and how the relationships would resolve, at times, and maybe I'm just dense but even towards the end I couldn't have predicted the climax. It's bittersweet but perfect.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I'm looking forward to the next books in the series - even if, as I've been warned, Muir somehow manages to incorporate insulting my hometown into this series about space necromancers set tens of thousands of years in the future.