A review by nav26
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gideon loves her swords, her dirty magazines, and....that's about it. She hates the ninth house, hates their dreary planet, their basically dead population, and everything else in her vicinity - especially Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Ninth House necromancer. In fact, Gideon is ready to run away - until the ninth house needs her, and won't let her go until she's fulfilled this ask for them. The Emperor has invited the heirs of each of the houses and their cavaliers to complete a series of trials, with the winner becoming an immortal, all-powerful Lyctor for the Emperor. 

What follows is dark, gruesome, scary, and yet Gideon's narration brings a levity and humor that is much needed. This book could have been super tense and terrifying if they went the thriller route, but instead you're laughing out loud in between gruesome scenes. This book was a wild ride from start to finish, and at no point did I know what was going to happen, which is pretty rare for me. It was recommended to me from multiple friends and I was NOT disappointed whatsoever. I was hooked on this, finding any opportunity to listen to the audiobook or turn on my Kobo for the ebook. The audiobook narrator, Moira Quirk, is absolute perfection, delivering each of the voices distinctly and making it easy to keep track of the large cast of characters. This book starts out a bit hunger games, has a dash of murder mystery, and a whole lot of necromancy. Taking a break to process before I read the sequel, but you better believe I've already bought it!
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