Reviews

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

karackit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

Tell me why I had to find out there is both a glossary AND a pronunciation guide in the back of the book after I already finished it? 

I get why people say this book is confusing. The best way to read this book is to just read it. Don’t try and figure things out, just wait for it to make sense. 

But also screw this book for the way I was attached to characters. Beautiful. Wonderful. Just to have them ripped away? The first adult to ever treat Gideon with such kindness - killed. The young teenager who is obviously looking up to Gideon - killed. The slightly older boy who tells Gideon, for the first time in her life, that what happened when she was a kid wasn’t her fault - killed. Gideon herself, in the act of saving the girl she loves - killed. OUCH.

nyxcore's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

harrisoncrerar's review against another edition

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

4.75

brynnyv's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

3.75

I would give it a 4 but I want a better plot. I loved the dialogue, all of the characters and the world though. Ending hurts

baldwinme40's review against another edition

5.0

10/08/22 on a reread after Nona the Ninth is out, I enjoyed this even more the second time. It wasn't hard to follow at all and I was able to pick up on hints for future plot twists. This series is so much fun!

came for the hilarious writing and Gideon, actual shounen anime protagonist and galaxys best disaster lesbian, but this went dark and scary and gory real fast and I was unable to get off this spooky, emotional, wild ride. not my usual but... I don't think this peculiar combo of snark, necromancy, sci-fi, and murder mystery is anyone's normal. love it tho

morayills's review against another edition

5.0

Better than u remember it

alicebme's review against another edition

4.0

I gave this book 4 stars for the dialogue given to Gideon, the fire in her belly, and the potential of the next 2 books. We’ll see if Harrowhark can keep it interesting in the next book.

mantarays's review

adventurous dark mysterious

4.25

i think i need to read it a second time to fully commit to a rating but AAAAAAAAAAA (the audiobook is superb tho the narrator gets 5 stars from me)

gideon nav the character that you are!!!! i had so many laugh out loud moments she’s such a funny character in the middle of all the chaos. 

applejacks36's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

stjehanne's review against another edition

2.0

I just don't know how to feel about this book. As this is mainly marketed as a story for adults, I will judge it as such.

Honestly, the lack of worldbuilding was a huge issue for Gideon the Ninth : Sometimes, I even forgot this was supposed to be set in a sci-fi world since space was hardly ever relevant to the plot. The magic felt intangible and I still can't quite describe how it is supposed to work.

However, my biggest problem with the novel is the cast of characters it presents to the reader. If I'm being honest, a majority of the people we meet contributes next to nothing to the overall narrative. It is hard to get attached to any of them since they're all paper-thin, underdeveloped. Most of them can be boiled down to a single trope.

Gideon would be the perfect protagonist for a YA novel but fails to impress in the context of adult literature. I found her rather obnoxious due to her constant barrage of pop-culture references and juvenile jokes. Not that there is anything wrong with this - she is a teenager after all! But it's just really not my cup of tea.

Speaking of things that I wasn't really into. Spoilers.

Spoiler

Ianthe has some sort of Joker Arc at the end of the book and it is HILARIOUS. The drama. The edge. I couldn't take her seriously. This is not how to write a plot twist, obviously, but it was a nice comic relief.

Did I enjoy the book? Not really. All in all, this would have worked much better as purely YA story. As it is, it feels underdeveloped at best and tedious at worst.
Two stars because I really liked Camilla, actually.