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A review by 7dream
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
My thoughts: This book was very fun. I love a badass lesbian. Gideon was honestly kinda hot most of the time. I loved how they would cuss at the most inappropriate of times, especially in really serious or tense scenes. It's different from novels that are take themselves seriously or are all really "prosey". The language is raunchy but it's realistic and entertaining. That is honestly the best description for Gideon as a character as well.
I liked the false pretenses every character put up as well. All the houses and their heirs were all playing a facade, not to appear weak in front of the other houses, but also they were desperate to receive power from the Emperor because of the decaying state, rank, power, and prestige from their own houses. The secrecy and desperation was all grimey and I loved it.
Harrow's backstory is really creepy and I kind of don't understand her all that much but she is so brilliant. Gideon was a lot more loyal and a better fighter than I ever thought she would be. Both capable of holding their own against the strongest and most cunning of houses. I understand it that both become really strong friends in the end since both have other romantic attachments yet I am not sure if their love for each other is strictly platonic.
My other favorite characters were the pair from Six, especially Palamedes, an incredible necromedical specialist, brilliant mind but also has such a commanding aura? I feared him for a bit halfway through the book.
Overall it is a true gothic horror novel, everyone's background is twisted and a little too involved with death, the dead, and the decaying. It will make you a bit uncomfortable in its debauchery but you can also somewhat revel in it? The author has a gift for world building and detail. I really liked the novel. You can end up asking a lot of questions due to some plot wholes in the story and world itself but I think that issue lies in the fact that this is a series and not a standalone novel. If you're into all this then 10/10 should read it.
I liked the false pretenses every character put up as well. All the houses and their heirs were all playing a facade, not to appear weak in front of the other houses, but also they were desperate to receive power from the Emperor because of the decaying state, rank, power, and prestige from their own houses. The secrecy and desperation was all grimey and I loved it.
Harrow's backstory is really creepy and I kind of don't understand her all that much but she is so brilliant. Gideon was a lot more loyal and a better fighter than I ever thought she would be. Both capable of holding their own against the strongest and most cunning of houses. I understand it that both become really strong friends in the end since both have other romantic attachments yet I am not sure if their love for each other is strictly platonic.
My other favorite characters were the pair from Six, especially Palamedes, an incredible necromedical specialist, brilliant mind but also has such a commanding aura? I feared him for a bit halfway through the book.
Overall it is a true gothic horror novel, everyone's background is twisted and a little too involved with death, the dead, and the decaying. It will make you a bit uncomfortable in its debauchery but you can also somewhat revel in it? The author has a gift for world building and detail. I really liked the novel. You can end up asking a lot of questions due to some plot wholes in the story and world itself but I think that issue lies in the fact that this is a series and not a standalone novel. If you're into all this then 10/10 should read it.