A review by fairyollie
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wish I liked this book more than I did. there is a lot I could say, both good and bad, but I'll try and keep it short and spoiler-free as possible. it was very ambitious, to say the least, as a gothic, sci-fi, fantastical, dystopian, magical, necromantic story.
  • Pacing: the pacing was weird and difficult. the plot does not start until about 45-50% through the story, and I found it very difficult to keep reading until then. 
  • Humor: there were a LOT of references to memes and very-2016 humor. I was not a fan of this, because abrupt jokes, comments, and references to memes were so out of place for the setting. it also makes it difficult for a book to age well when using humor and jokes from a specific, short-lived time period.
  • Characters: I did not particularly care for or find myself rooting, relating to, and enjoying almost any of the characters! their motives, their rationale, their background, were lost or not fully fleshed-out, and certain choices seemed random. just didn't mesh for me.
  • Setting: as said above, the first half of the book was slow, and it was not used for world-building or introducing the characters or lore at all. I think more world-building, to better understand who everyone is, what's going on, purpose, lore, how the mecromatic magic system works, anything  - just more of why/what/how, would have really elevated the book more.
  • also, this is entirely my bad, as it's literally a book about necromancers, but I don't handle gore very well lol. not a book flaw but a personal skill issue!

I wanted to like this book, and was planning to read this for a very long time, but it just fell short for me. I would recommend this to others, as I know there are many people who would (and do!) enjoy this, but for myself, it was just a difficult, bit juvenile, time. I am happy I finally had the chance to read it, and wish I had enjoyed it more!
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