A review by vhispas
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

Let me preface this by saying I want to throw up (in the best way). 

At the start I was really drawn in by the style, the wittiness and I was laughing. And then as the story progresses and the tone changes and suddenly I had my heart in throat and I wanted to throw up. 

There were many things I loved in this book but I think its best attribute is the world and ambience it creates through character and scenery. I loved how the relationships were developed and how the story unravels towards the end of the book. I will say that with so many characters and elements it sometimes gets confusing. 

The necromancy system, of which we get enough to be curious about but not overwhelmed, was amazing! It has been a while since I enjoyed a magic system this much. The book is fairly gory and there are plentiful descriptions of a lot of bone and viscera. It also handles very heavy topics surrounding death that may not be for everyone. 

I do really like this book, even if I’m currently at the edge of sobbing with a knot on my stomach. I also learned a lot of vocabulary! So that’s nice. 
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