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blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I feel like describing this book as "lesbian necromancers in space" is really underselling it. In a galaxy ruled by a God Emperor divided into nine houses of necromancers ruling nine planets, the number of necromancer-followers who ascended into immortality alongside the Emperor have dwindled over the last ten thousand years. The time has come to test the houses to see who can ascend next. Our protagonist Gideon does not give a damn. All she wants to do is escape the Ninth House forever, but Gideon's childhood nemesis and the current heir to the house, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, traps her into acting as her sword and bodyguard for the dangerous trials of the Emperor that are to come. With nine necromancers secluded from the rest of the galaxy in a crumbling ruin of an earlier era, what will they do to attain godhood? Also this is a queer-normative setting and the protagonist is a lesbian that blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
It's funny and irreverent most of the time, but Tamsyn Muir also knows how to raise the stakes and presented us with a twisty mystery that made me slap my forehead at the final reveal. Pay close attention to what doesn't add up, because in the end it will! (With just enough mysteries left over to make you want to keep reading the next book.)
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Blood, Gore, Death, Murder, Chronic illness, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Toxic friendship, Excrement, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, War, Infertility, Alcohol, and Colonisation
lucky_19's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Violence, Death, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: War, Suicide, and Excrement
alphabet_soup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Excrement, Gore, Blood, Death, and Death of parent
mads_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Ableism, Confinement, Death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Genocide, Gore, Cancer, Child abuse, Body horror, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Medical content, Excrement, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Suicide
storykath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Gideon was a fantastic narrator, funny and flawed and truly unique. She's chaotic and hilarious!
This book took me a while to get through, and I think that's partly due to my brain being picky about reading, but also partly because of how gory and tense things got in the story. I couldn't always stomach it for multiple chapters at a time. Between the injuries and the sometimes-dense plot, this was a book I had to tackle in smallish chunks. That being said, I'm starting the sequel right away so I don't forget any important plot points.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Genocide, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
annapox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Torture, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Cursing
Moderate: Cannibalism, Blood, Grief, and Self harm
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, War, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Slavery
realizedcreation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Excrement, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Medical trauma, Murder, and Toxic friendship