A review by askjeaves
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wanted to love this book. But the writing was so dense, and many of the characters were hard to relate to--either terrible people, or good people who were doing terrible things, or just kind of irritating. My favorite characters were relegated to the sidelines and didn't get much time to develop. The romantic relationship that I think I as a queer reader was supposed to be invested in was fraught with manipulation and was ultimately very unhealthy. 

The premise was ultimately very cool, even if some of the book's cooler worldbuilding and lore were obscured by purple prose and needlessly clinical vocabulary. Knowing that the second book is told from the perspective of Harrow (who is particularly pretentious and manipulative) and is supposedly even more confusing at times means I probably won't continue the series.

Also, holy body horror batman! A lot of the visual descriptions reminded me of Annihilation. You've been warned. 
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