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sunshinemoth'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
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.
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
bohboh's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Gore, Grief, Child death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, and Vomit
Minor: War
wogslandwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Bullying, Chronic illness, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Self harm, Cancer, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Sexual content
iane_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Dementia, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and War
atomicrobin'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Child death, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abandonment
tbd24's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cancer, Cursing, Murder, Self harm, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
Minor: War, Slavery, Confinement, Torture, and Religious bigotry
harrimyers's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Colonisation, Child death, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Terminal illness, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, and Death of parent
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
tiana_king's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Cannibalism, and Murder
Minor: Religious bigotry and Suicide
smbd_the_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Can you sue the person who introduced you to this for emotional damages?
This sure was about lesbian necromancers in space.
This actually pulled off a situation where the main character is not the only important person/the only person doing things and driving forward the plot fairly well without resorting to giving most important people a POV*?
Definitely played a lot with what's expected in terms of what the main characters actually have to know (and convey to the reader) to make for an effective story, I think some found that frustrating, but in my opinion you generally get enough hints to figure out what you need to know.
Also has a lot of touches of what I almost want to say is classic (Greek?) tragedy where the characters traits cause their downfall, but I'm not sure if I got my knowledge of tragedies correct. Definitely delicious in a "I appreciate this technique, but stop stabbing me in the heart" way.
If you're using a e-reader and are bad at names I recommend getting yourself quick access to the character list at the front of the book in one way or another because while the author does a great job of fleshing out a ton of characters and juggling them, there's still a lot of characters and some of them occasionally go by titles so a reference is helpful.
Something, something, I'm getting the impression that my reviews continuously lose legibility.
*I have nothing against multiple POVs, but this was definitely a breath of fresh air.
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gore, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail