"Gideon The Ninth" book review

Hello there!

Recently our book club read "Gideon The Ninth" by Tamsyn Muir. We'd like to share our thoughts with you guys. If any of you have read the book, please share your thoughts in the comments.

[Non-spoiler section]

Gideon The Ninth is a space-opera fantasy with lesbians and necromancers. It follows Gideon, a slave of the ninth house, who takes up the mantle of cavalier - guard - of the ninth's saint and necromancer Harrowhark. She goes with Harrow off-world to aid her quest of becoming a Lyctor - a god-tier necromancer basically - and serving directly under their necromantic emperor "The King Undying".

Kiddo gave it three stars while I gave it five. Both of us have admittedly been suffering through a reading slump, which hampered our enjoyment a little, but we still appreciated this book. This is the kind of story we eat up.

Kiddo's thoughts:

She kind of struggled to get through this book but it's honestly not the book's fault. Any other time, when she's not in such a bad reading slump, she would've torn through this story (said so herself). It has some of her favorite elements - science fiction and necromancy - and it was well-written, if not a bit too intricately. She liked it but may or may not continue the series.

Chica's thoughts:

The first half had me going through the paces, I'm not gonna lie. But halfway through the story really picked up for me. I'm a lover of all things fantasy and this story was such a breath of fresh air. It really surprised me, earning five stars. It boasts unique, intricate world building, funny, morally grey characters, and a crazy mystery with wild twists and turns and deaths galore. Definitely reread worthy.

[SPOILER SECTION]

So I think Kiddo's biggest issue with the book - that makes her not sure if she wants to read the next one - was the ending. Honestly, it bothered me too. It was simultaneously the best and worst part of the book for me, and certainly the most surprising. I never thought about what being a Lyctor would actually mean or that Gideon would die to turn Harrow into one. That all happened so fast.

I think Kiddo and I are most concerned with how different the next book will feel without Gideon. Or, maybe even worse, how it'd feel through Harrow's point of view while she's haunted by Gideon. Does Harrow absorbing Gideon's soul mean that she'll still be there but inside Harrow's mind? It seemed that way with Naberius and Ianthe.

Tell us below - what's your favorite part or scene of the book? My favorite scene might've been when Gideon and Harrow finally fought together against the enemy: "We do bones...".

The writing style throughout the book was enjoyable but not my favorite. It had great, natural feeling dialogue with amazingly interwoven twists. Muir managed to make each character, no matter how small, have a distinct personality with a way of speaking and moving across the pages that was each their own.

Favorite character would have to be Palamedes Sextus - I loved and hated his death scene. It hurt to lose him but he went out like a boss. Harrow grew on me and I loved her in the end. I am interested in seeing where her story goes from here, now that she's a Lyctor in the King Undying's service and has lost Gideon.

Most villains are hateable, the best are lovable, but this one just sucked. Don't get me wrong, she was scary, well-hidden, and capable, but I hated her so much. Granted not as much as the dragoon captain in The Patriot (curse you Jason Issacs for playing villains so well!), but I really hated her for killing all these innocent people just to get close to the stupid king. Might be an unpopular opinion but I hated seeing Isaac & Jeannemary die - thus, big bad can go boil in oil for all I care.

Finally, my favorite quote from this book has got to be Gideon's "One flesh, one end, bitch".

[Conclusion]

All in all, Gideon The Ninth was a great read and I can't wait to read the next one. Please let us know your thoughts on the book down below. What's your favorite and least favorite characters, scenes, and quotes? Do you know of other books that are similar to Gideon The Ninth? From what we've read, we suggest "The Bone Witch" by Rin Chupeco; not a Sci-Fi but a brilliant necromantic fantasy about a young witch cast out of her hometown for bringing her big brother back to life.

We highly recommend you check it out, and stay tuned for the next post!

- Chica