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A review by izzywayout
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
5.0
i'm not going to add this to my best of 2020 shelf because it's a reread and it already featured in the 2019 version. but jesus - look out, one of the best books of 2020 is coming thruuu!!!
i think the reason people seem to either love this or hate it is because, despite being announced as tor's next big title last year, it's actually a story meant for a very small niche of readers. you need to enjoy a particular kind of science fiction, and within that, you must have a particular sense of humor as well. [b: Gideon the Ninth|42036538|Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546870952l/42036538._SY75_.jpg|60943229] is not a book that takes you by the hand and introduces you to its surroundings; it's a book that's running five miles ahead of you and will laugh in your face and tell you bitch, hurry the fuck up if you yell from far behind. it makes you work for answers, it makes you pay attention to detail and read compulsively because you don't want to suffer at the chance of perhaps forgetting that one crucial thing for the entire story - with the occasional detour to make you stop and laugh at something incredibly crude and absurd and hilarious that was offhandedly mentioned.
and i loved it.
this time around, i recognize issues my heart-eyes and my emotions prevented me from seeing before. there's a grave problem with the pacing here, and as two separate entities, i love them both - the slow moving, characterization set up of the first 60%, and the neck-breaking speed of the final 40%. i think each of these installments in perfect in their own right. pair them together, however, and it's glaringly obvious that maaaaybe tamsyn muir should've cut a little of the chitchat and moved things along at a better speed.
i say maybe because, as aforementioned, i love this. i'm afraid that changing anything would make it less than perfect.
of course, by now it's possible to realize none of that really mattered to me. as i said, this is a masterpiece of its niche, and it's absolutely perfect for me. i adored the lore; even though you only get glimpses of it, it's clear the author has the whole thing not only figured out but probably documented in encyclopedia form and i can't wait for when she shares more. i adored the characters, the slowburn, the writing, the dialogues, the puns, the overall sheer awesomeness and cleverness of the story.
i have a feeling this will be one i reread often, just because i see myself getting so much more from it each time.
i think the reason people seem to either love this or hate it is because, despite being announced as tor's next big title last year, it's actually a story meant for a very small niche of readers. you need to enjoy a particular kind of science fiction, and within that, you must have a particular sense of humor as well. [b: Gideon the Ninth|42036538|Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)|Tamsyn Muir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546870952l/42036538._SY75_.jpg|60943229] is not a book that takes you by the hand and introduces you to its surroundings; it's a book that's running five miles ahead of you and will laugh in your face and tell you bitch, hurry the fuck up if you yell from far behind. it makes you work for answers, it makes you pay attention to detail and read compulsively because you don't want to suffer at the chance of perhaps forgetting that one crucial thing for the entire story - with the occasional detour to make you stop and laugh at something incredibly crude and absurd and hilarious that was offhandedly mentioned.
and i loved it.
this time around, i recognize issues my heart-eyes and my emotions prevented me from seeing before. there's a grave problem with the pacing here, and as two separate entities, i love them both - the slow moving, characterization set up of the first 60%, and the neck-breaking speed of the final 40%. i think each of these installments in perfect in their own right. pair them together, however, and it's glaringly obvious that maaaaybe tamsyn muir should've cut a little of the chitchat and moved things along at a better speed.
i say maybe because, as aforementioned, i love this. i'm afraid that changing anything would make it less than perfect.
of course, by now it's possible to realize none of that really mattered to me. as i said, this is a masterpiece of its niche, and it's absolutely perfect for me. i adored the lore; even though you only get glimpses of it, it's clear the author has the whole thing not only figured out but probably documented in encyclopedia form and i can't wait for when she shares more. i adored the characters, the slowburn, the writing, the dialogues, the puns, the overall sheer awesomeness and cleverness of the story.
i have a feeling this will be one i reread often, just because i see myself getting so much more from it each time.