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A review by bookishchef
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
Okay, so.
The worldbuilding isn't great. I'm sorry, but it's true. New questions kept popping into my mind while reading this book, and almost none of them got a complete answer.
Who is the Empire fighting a war against?
No idea.
Why is the Empire at war?
No idea.
How did the Empire come into existence?
No idea.
What are the main differences between each planet/each house?
No idea (except their powers seem to differ a bit and the Ninth has a different religion).
Why do the characters know so little about the other houses?
No idea.
How will the Houses function when the heir apparent dies or when a House bloodline comes to an end?
No idea.
How is this Empire so adept at space travel when they do not have internet, satellites, or even engineers (not in the Ninth anyway)?
No idea.
And so on.
All of this did bother me throughout the story and I had to consciously decide to ignore it.
Luckily, the characters kind of make up for it. All the characters, even the side characters, have their own distinct personalities. This story has over 16 characters to keep track of and they all feel different and unique.
I'd argue that the Second House gets the least developed personalities, but I still know exactly what they're about.
This book is also very funny. Gideon is hilarious and her repertoire with Harrowhark is very entertaining. For me, it never got old.
There's some very entertaining plottwists too. I saw some of them coming, but not all of them and that kept me reading on. I was genuinely invested in the mysteries. Shame we don't get an answer to some of them.
So yeah, I liked it, but I don't really get the enormous hype surrounding it. The book definitely has flaws even if it can be very entertaining.
I hated the ending. It didn't feel earned to me.
Also not sure if the space setting added anything. This could have been a normal Empire consisting of several countries or continents and I don't think it would have changed the story at all. If anything, it would have answered some of my worldbuilding questions.
The worldbuilding isn't great. I'm sorry, but it's true. New questions kept popping into my mind while reading this book, and almost none of them got a complete answer.
Who is the Empire fighting a war against?
No idea.
Why is the Empire at war?
No idea.
How did the Empire come into existence?
No idea.
What are the main differences between each planet/each house?
No idea (except their powers seem to differ a bit and the Ninth has a different religion).
Why do the characters know so little about the other houses?
No idea.
How will the Houses function when the heir apparent dies or when a House bloodline comes to an end?
No idea.
How is this Empire so adept at space travel when they do not have internet, satellites, or even engineers (not in the Ninth anyway)?
No idea.
And so on.
All of this did bother me throughout the story and I had to consciously decide to ignore it.
Luckily, the characters kind of make up for it. All the characters, even the side characters, have their own distinct personalities. This story has over 16 characters to keep track of and they all feel different and unique.
I'd argue that the Second House gets the least developed personalities, but I still know exactly what they're about.
This book is also very funny. Gideon is hilarious and her repertoire with Harrowhark is very entertaining. For me, it never got old.
There's some very entertaining plottwists too. I saw some of them coming, but not all of them and that kept me reading on. I was genuinely invested in the mysteries. Shame we don't get an answer to some of them.
So yeah, I liked it, but I don't really get the enormous hype surrounding it. The book definitely has flaws even if it can be very entertaining.
I hated the ending. It didn't feel earned to me.
Also not sure if the space setting added anything. This could have been a normal Empire consisting of several countries or continents and I don't think it would have changed the story at all. If anything, it would have answered some of my worldbuilding questions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Gore
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and War