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A review by featheredturtle
The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex by Tamsyn Muir
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Boy, you sure get some weird looks when you say The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex is your latest read.
Doctor Sex is a novelette in Muir's The Locked Tomb universe; you can safely read it after you've read Gideon without threatening your experience with Harrow. Although Muir's comedic and mystery writing here stands on its own, you really do need to read Gideon to have the faintest clue of the somewhat-bonkers Locked Tomb world or otherwise be very, very chill with a bunch of shit you don't know as the backdrop.
Set seven years prior to the start of Gideon the Ninth, The Mysterious Doctor Sex narrows in on the Sixth House when Camilla and Palamedes are thirteen-years-old and the study of dead-for-four-hundred-years-and-change Donald Sex (in its relation to the number six, as in the Sixth House) finally opens. To the bafflement of all, despite its shuttering for the past four hundred-odd years, a pair of hands—dead, skeleton hands—rests on his desk, bizarrely dyed orange and dated only two hundred years in age.
Doctor Sex was an enjoyable read, both on its own and as a part of The Locked Tomb universe. There's a tidy and smart nugget of a mystery, some patented Muir humour, and a little more love for Camilla, Palamedes, and by extension, the Lyctors, and even Dulcinea. It's exactly what it's supposed to be and near-perfectly presented, with Muir sneaking a little surprise in, even at the very end.
Muir writes Doctor Sex from Camilla's point of view, in first person, past tense. I have mixed feelings on the Muir's writing in Doctor Sex. She's a superb storyteller and a master of words, conveying Doctor Sex with both clarity and humour, and represents Camilla perfectly with a sober and straightforward voice. But without the "flair" of Gideon's voice, the faults in the building blocks of her prose are prominent. The overuse of makes, hads/had beens and to bes stand out, ugly and awkward—although the slips into second person here are easier to digest from the first person perspective.
Overall, Doctor Sex is great if you want more Sixth House or Camilla/Palamedes background or if you, like me, will happily chow down on any scrap more of The Locked Tomb you can get your sad, grabby hands on.
Doctor Sex is a novelette in Muir's The Locked Tomb universe; you can safely read it after you've read Gideon without threatening your experience with Harrow. Although Muir's comedic and mystery writing here stands on its own, you really do need to read Gideon to have the faintest clue of the somewhat-bonkers Locked Tomb world or otherwise be very, very chill with a bunch of shit you don't know as the backdrop.
Set seven years prior to the start of Gideon the Ninth, The Mysterious Doctor Sex narrows in on the Sixth House when Camilla and Palamedes are thirteen-years-old and the study of dead-for-four-hundred-years-and-change Donald Sex (in its relation to the number six, as in the Sixth House) finally opens. To the bafflement of all, despite its shuttering for the past four hundred-odd years, a pair of hands—dead, skeleton hands—rests on his desk, bizarrely dyed orange and dated only two hundred years in age.
Doctor Sex was an enjoyable read, both on its own and as a part of The Locked Tomb universe. There's a tidy and smart nugget of a mystery, some patented Muir humour, and a little more love for Camilla, Palamedes, and by extension, the Lyctors, and even Dulcinea. It's exactly what it's supposed to be and near-perfectly presented, with Muir sneaking a little surprise in, even at the very end.
Muir writes Doctor Sex from Camilla's point of view, in first person, past tense. I have mixed feelings on the Muir's writing in Doctor Sex. She's a superb storyteller and a master of words, conveying Doctor Sex with both clarity and humour, and represents Camilla perfectly with a sober and straightforward voice. But without the "flair" of Gideon's voice, the faults in the building blocks of her prose are prominent. The overuse of makes, hads/had beens and to bes stand out, ugly and awkward—although the slips into second person here are easier to digest from the first person perspective.
Overall, Doctor Sex is great if you want more Sixth House or Camilla/Palamedes background or if you, like me, will happily chow down on any scrap more of The Locked Tomb you can get your sad, grabby hands on.
Content Warnings
Minor warning for claustrophobia/tight spaces.