Scan barcode
cratertots's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
zainaalkanan's review
3.0
I really really wanted to love this book, but... I finished it of course but it didn't leave me feeling much because I was confused the whole time. I mean holy shit the worldbuilding was bad, so bad it's funny. I didn't realize we were meant to be left in the dark like that for suspense and spent most of the book just going with whatever was happening willy nilly.
Gideon is like a muggle that accidentally fell into this weird ass world she keeps asking the WRONG questions so we never really find out much about her past, her parents, her abilities(?), and so on. Her dialogue and vibe is different than the rest of them, she's like an American tourist. I don't know but I still liked her a lot and cared about her journey.
The things I didn't like again the whole not knowing what was going on but also the nonexistent plot. I loved the middle part of the book where the plot was just- watch the characters try to survive but the beginning and ending did not leave a lasting imprint on me. And the more gore and bloodshed we saw the more desentisized I was to it all and found myself not really caring.
I'm interested by the world though and I liked Harrow so I'll come back around for the second book later, this one felt like a really complex idea that was just a tad too complex? Like it has a space element but why? It's not like that was explored enough. It tried to be too many things at once and disappointed some people, hopefully the next is more fleshed out.
Gideon is like a muggle that accidentally fell into this weird ass world she keeps asking the WRONG questions so we never really find out much about her past, her parents, her abilities(?), and so on. Her dialogue and vibe is different than the rest of them, she's like an American tourist. I don't know but I still liked her a lot and cared about her journey.
The things I didn't like again the whole not knowing what was going on but also the nonexistent plot. I loved the middle part of the book where the plot was just- watch the characters try to survive but the beginning and ending did not leave a lasting imprint on me. And the more gore and bloodshed we saw the more desentisized I was to it all and found myself not really caring.
I'm interested by the world though and I liked Harrow so I'll come back around for the second book later, this one felt like a really complex idea that was just a tad too complex? Like it has a space element but why? It's not like that was explored enough. It tried to be too many things at once and disappointed some people, hopefully the next is more fleshed out.
pbandini's review
4.0
I struggled understanding this book for quite a while. It is not for a reader that is new to fantasy...that is for sure. But it is a book of strong women, redemption, and character arcs. I'd give it a 4.5
ellyghost's review
5.0
this book left me an emotional mess ..i will not elaborate but gOD HOLY FUCKIFHDNDHSHFHDH
i’ll go cry for the next three days and then start the next emotional rollercoaster of this trilogy agdjfgshj
i’ll go cry for the next three days and then start the next emotional rollercoaster of this trilogy agdjfgshj
xlcior'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
4.5
kaelyna19's review
3.0
i’m having complicated feelings on this book. it was a definite “hard to put down” type of read and yet I felt like I was constantly expecting more from it
seanquistador's review
4.0
This one took a bit of adjustment, but once I got there the story was enjoyable. Muir has a fantastic voice that alternates between brilliantly crafted descriptions dancing on the edge of purple prose and precise characters to oddly contemporary smack talk, and it was the latter that took the longest to acclimate to. When I read a story so clearly set apart from our current setting (i.e., space-faring magicians), it's jarring to read dialogue, external and internal, that makes the main character seem out of place amongst the other, far more clinical characters. The main character, Gideon, has the mouth and mind of a grumpy, contemporary teenager. I don't believe I finally began to tolerate it, or perhaps accepted it wasn't going to go away, until it made me laugh aloud.
This is but one of the many, many, many unsubtle confrontations between the two primary characters, Gideon and Harrow, both of whom regularly demonstrate an unfettered mutual hatred, even as they come to rely upon one another. Not the best example of what I would consider anachronistic content, but it is the piece that will stick in my head forever, broke the first chains of doubt, and made me believe this book would be all right in the end and its sheer uniqueness of setting (for me) allowed me to overlook some of its flaws.
Muir's core author voice, free of the quirks of having Gideon as narrator, is strong and engaging. I haven't read any of her published short fiction, but she has the voice of a gifted writer rather than someone who had a good idea shaped into a story by an editor. Muir shifts to and fro between genuinely delicious tactile descriptions of the world to more jarring in-brain responses/observations by Gideon that contrast sharply with the more conventional narrative, giving the reader the sense the story is being relayed to them by a schizophrenic late teen who veers from literate and detached observer to intellectually lazy grump who relays information about her nemesis in the following manner:
This type of hyperbole careening from sharp dismissals to blunt and shallow commentary you might expect from a snarky valley girl is normal, but usually tolerable, internal-Gideon-dialogue, and if you can get past that, the only obstacle remaining is the initially nebulous goal of the plot.
Harrowhard "Harrow" Nonagesimus, leader of the destitute 9th House, has decided she wants to be a Lyctor for the "dead emperor" (i.e., immortal, maybe?), which seems important and difficult and rare, and has certain specific requirements the 9th House cannot quite meet (Harrow must have a "cavalier" who protects her with a sword, but unfortunately a sword different from the one Gideon uses, alas, requiring rushed and incomplete retraining--a situation Harrow encouraged, one eventually realizes, because the person who was supposed to be her cavalier was not remotely fit for the job).
According to the book summary, this is in response to a request from the emperor, though I don't recall reading it in the text--admittedly, I wasn't as engaged at the outset as I would become. Becoming a Lyctor is apparently a significant, dangerous, and uncommon aspiration, yet grants considerable power to the successful applicant. When Harrow and Gideon arrive for whatever testing awaits, every other house has sent representatives as well, and one gets the impression there are only a few openings available as the houses are not necessarily friendly and do not share information about the test(s), the nature of which are secret, even though you would think the emperor could use as many as he could get.
Despite these confusing stakes, the story moves along briskly and gradually opens up. It has its odd hiccups in terms of the plot and the narrative voice, notably the anachronisms of trash-talk dialect, and the occasional difficulty of dealing with a large cast of characters who have names, alternate names, and also numerical names, but once you get going it is a fun tale to read, propelled by the hope that all of these mysteries will resolve into something satisfying.
And it does. The upward slope of the book finally levels out and all the energy we built up in laboriously scaling that hill is released over the final 2-300 pages, and terminates in a satisfying dust up and resolution you may see coming, given the events that precede it. I had a powerful desire to learn more about many of the characters, such as the enigmatic Teacher, whose nature and origin were mysterious, and the state of the Universe in general that necessitated this adventure, but the pace of the story and the limitations of the main characters' perspective would not allow it.
A few questions are raised one hopes are resolved in the sequel, and I may read Harrow the Ninth just to find the answers.
"Nonagesimus," she said slowly, "the only job I'd do for you would be to hold the sword as you fell on it. The only job I'd do for you would be if you wanted your ass kicked so hard, the Locked Tomb opened and a parade came out to sing, 'Lo! A destructed ass.'..."
This is but one of the many, many, many unsubtle confrontations between the two primary characters, Gideon and Harrow, both of whom regularly demonstrate an unfettered mutual hatred, even as they come to rely upon one another. Not the best example of what I would consider anachronistic content, but it is the piece that will stick in my head forever, broke the first chains of doubt, and made me believe this book would be all right in the end and its sheer uniqueness of setting (for me) allowed me to overlook some of its flaws.
Muir's core author voice, free of the quirks of having Gideon as narrator, is strong and engaging. I haven't read any of her published short fiction, but she has the voice of a gifted writer rather than someone who had a good idea shaped into a story by an editor. Muir shifts to and fro between genuinely delicious tactile descriptions of the world to more jarring in-brain responses/observations by Gideon that contrast sharply with the more conventional narrative, giving the reader the sense the story is being relayed to them by a schizophrenic late teen who veers from literate and detached observer to intellectually lazy grump who relays information about her nemesis in the following manner:
She reached down and hauled up one of the discarded blades. It was at least mildly hilarious to see Harrow have to heave with all the might of her, like, three muscles.
This type of hyperbole careening from sharp dismissals to blunt and shallow commentary you might expect from a snarky valley girl is normal, but usually tolerable, internal-Gideon-dialogue, and if you can get past that, the only obstacle remaining is the initially nebulous goal of the plot.
Harrowhard "Harrow" Nonagesimus, leader of the destitute 9th House, has decided she wants to be a Lyctor for the "dead emperor" (i.e., immortal, maybe?), which seems important and difficult and rare, and has certain specific requirements the 9th House cannot quite meet (Harrow must have a "cavalier" who protects her with a sword, but unfortunately a sword different from the one Gideon uses, alas, requiring rushed and incomplete retraining--a situation Harrow encouraged, one eventually realizes, because the person who was supposed to be her cavalier was not remotely fit for the job).
According to the book summary, this is in response to a request from the emperor, though I don't recall reading it in the text--admittedly, I wasn't as engaged at the outset as I would become. Becoming a Lyctor is apparently a significant, dangerous, and uncommon aspiration, yet grants considerable power to the successful applicant. When Harrow and Gideon arrive for whatever testing awaits, every other house has sent representatives as well, and one gets the impression there are only a few openings available as the houses are not necessarily friendly and do not share information about the test(s), the nature of which are secret, even though you would think the emperor could use as many as he could get.
Despite these confusing stakes, the story moves along briskly and gradually opens up. It has its odd hiccups in terms of the plot and the narrative voice, notably the anachronisms of trash-talk dialect, and the occasional difficulty of dealing with a large cast of characters who have names, alternate names, and also numerical names, but once you get going it is a fun tale to read, propelled by the hope that all of these mysteries will resolve into something satisfying.
And it does. The upward slope of the book finally levels out and all the energy we built up in laboriously scaling that hill is released over the final 2-300 pages, and terminates in a satisfying dust up and resolution you may see coming, given the events that precede it. I had a powerful desire to learn more about many of the characters, such as the enigmatic Teacher, whose nature and origin were mysterious, and the state of the Universe in general that necessitated this adventure, but the pace of the story and the limitations of the main characters' perspective would not allow it.
A few questions are raised one hopes are resolved in the sequel
Spoiler
(Why is Gideon seemingly someone who existed a long time ago, based on the letter fragment she found and the fact that the 10,000-year-old Lyctor, Cytheria, seems to know a prior version of her; Harrow has entered (and by implication opened) the forbidden-to-open Locked Tomb, the tomb that supposedly contains someone who will destroy the Dead Emperor, but no one seems terribly concerned about this; what exactly has prompted the need for Lyctors besides an unexplained space war; etc.)mnoyes's review
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
lupinusrivularis's review
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? Yes
tartie's review against another edition
4.0
Tengo tantísimos pensamientos sobre Gideon. De momento, pre reseña en gorgonas.com, os diré que casi punto por punto es como la intrahistoria de la novela propia en la que más tiempo he trabajado. Novela que abandoné porque dije "las cosas pasan demasiado porque sí, porque son chulas, solo me va a gustar a mí, el final es imposible de escribir".
Así que claro, os podéis imaginar lo flipada que estoy.
Así que claro, os podéis imaginar lo flipada que estoy.