I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Series: The Ninth House #1
Published by Tor.com on September 10 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Weird, shocking, bloody and did I mention weird? Reading Gideon the Ninth was an experience.
Gideon the Ninth was weird. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like Tamsyn Muir’s debut, so if you’re looking for that elusive, completely original story, then Gideon might just be the book for you. And for comparison sake, I was reminded of Catherynne M. Valente’s Radiance and Space Opera, if that gives you an idea of what to expect. I was asked to join a buddy read for this book, something I’ve never done before, and that in itself was an eye-opening experience and may have colored my overall impressions of the book. Our small group got off to a rocky start when one of us immediately declared Gideon a DNF, and a second wanted to do the same but decided to shoulder on. It was with some trepidation that I dove in, knowing up front that there was already dissent in the ranks, but I was determined to give it a chance nonetheless. And in the end, I’m glad I did. Gideon the Ninth isn’t the five star book I was hoping it would be, but I absolutely loved some parts of it, and I find myself eager to read the next installment.
Gideon Nav is little more than a slave in the House of the Ninth, the cold and decrepit planet she’s lived on her entire life. After years of servitude and living in a locked cell, she’s finally devised a plan to leave the planet for good. But that plan is foiled when she’s caught during her escape attempt. Her nemesis and tormentor, the Lady of the Ninth House, the Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus (I know, it’s a mouthful!), strikes a deal with her—if Gideon agrees to accompany Harrow to the House of the First and act as her cavalier in a competition for the immortal title of Lyctor, Harrow will release Gideon and give her the freedom to go wherever she wants.
But when they arrive on the planet and assemble in Canaan House with the cavaliers and necromancers from the other Houses, it becomes clear that Teacher, the priest of the First who is in charge of the competition, is hiding some nasty surprises. And the “competition” itself, which was meant to be a series of sword fights between cavaliers, turns into a hunt for hidden keys which will open secret doors throughout the House. But something sinister is hiding in the bowels of the House, and it’s killing off the competitors one by one. Gideon and Harrow realize they must join forces with their enemies if they want to make it off the planet alive.
Most reviewers seem to either love or hate Gideon’s voice and Muir’s writing style, and I myself had mixed feelings about both. On the one hand, I love how unique the prose is, how Muir’s evocative language sets the tone for her strange story. But I’ll admit there were sentences that confused the hell out of me and pulled me out of the action. As for Gideon, I loved her snarky, no holds barred attitude toward life. I mean, she’s certainly suffered a lot and she’s earned every snarky, angry sentence she utters. But Muir gives her an oddly contemporary vibe that just didn’t fit with the rest of the story. The first time I ran across one of Gideon’s many slang expressions, I shrugged it off as a fluke. But then those expressions—”hot damn!,” “resting bitch face,” “let’s bounce”— kept coming and coming and, you get the idea.
This isn’t one of those books where I fell hard for the characters. I can’t actually say that I loved any of them, but what I did appreciate was the subtlety of the relationships. Gideon is queer, in fact you may have heard this book described as “Lesbian necromancers in space,” which while a great description, doesn’t feel quite right to me. Nothing about these relationships is overt, and Muir does a fantastic job of creating a relationship between Gideon and Harrow without going overboard. In fact, Gideon and Harrow hate each other for most of the story, and I liked that when their relationship changed, it felt honest.
There’s a lot to learn about this world, which is one reason Muir probably spends so much time in the beginning laying the groundwork. Gideon the Ninth suffers from a slow, jerky beginning and doesn’t really smooth out and take off until the second half. First, there are a multitude of characters that the reader must keep straight. There are nine Houses with at least two characters from each House involved in the story. I honestly had trouble keeping everyone straight, and it wasn’t until Muir weeds out some of her large cast by killing them off that I started to find myself invested in some of the side characters. I also found that each character has more than one name. Harrow has many titles, and she’s referred to all of them at various times in the story. Gideon also is called both “Gideon the Ninth” and “Gideon Nav,” as well as Harrow’s nickname for her, Griddle. And then we have the physical locations: the nine planets for each House with castles and tombs and other structures, one presumes. It was all a little overwhelming. In this first book, the reader only gets to see two of the Houses, and the trip from one to another was done by shuttle craft, an odd and almost out of place sci-fi element in a dark, fantasy-laden story.
But there are a lot of cool elements in the book. I loved the way Harrow uses bones to magically raise animated skeletons to do her bidding. And because of Harrow’s abilities, you just know that in this world, dying isn’t necessarily the end. Harrow has reanimated the corpses of her dead parents, for example, and when you learn more about their deaths at the end of the story, that idea becomes even creepier. There’s also a big secret about where Gideon came from—she came to the Ninth as a baby and is an orphan—and Muir reveals some shocking facts about her right at the end of the book. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the sword fighting yet!! In the midst of all the craziness, the cavaliers are ruled by strict traditions and fight with rapiers and swords, which, despite the futuristic, planet-hopping story line, gives this book a weird historical feel. If only these all these elements had been more seamlessly woven together, I think the book would have been much more successful, at least for me.
But oh my lord, the last thirty percent or so was simply amazing, hence my final rating of four stars. Muir seems to finally settle into her story, and it didn’t hurt that she has more of a tight focus heading toward the end line. The story veers firmly into mystery territory as the cavaliers and their necromancers make their way through the twisty corridors, musty tunnels and hidden passageways of Canaan House, searching for keys and hidden doors and ultimately, trying to stay alive. The story at this point reminded me of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, as character after character gets knocked off in increasingly bizarre and mysterious ways. Muir ends on a strong note as well, leading us directly into the sequel, which I thought was a smart thing to do.
Whether they love it or hate it, people are going to be talking about this book, which is the goal of publishing, after all. I wasn’t sure when I started reading, but now I’m excited to see where Muir takes her story next. After that WTF ending, there is no way I’m going to miss book two, Harrow the Ninth.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Fantastic review!
I’ve seen a lot of love and dislike for this novel, so I’m staying cautiously optimistic.
Yeah, everyone seems pretty divided on it. I love reading everyone’s reactions, though:-)
Awesome in-depth review Tammy! I admit based on what you’ve said, I’m a little torn about whether I want to actually read this now. The language it sounds like the characters use like “let’s bounce”… it sounds like an adult who was a teen in early 2000s trying to write a book that appeals to teens today but without knowing anything about teens today… (sorry if that sounds harsh!).
On the other hand, it sounds like a queer version of Red Rising with some magic thrown in and I love that…
I hadn’t thought about comparing it with Red Rising, but you’re right, now I can see similarities:-) If it hadn’t been for Gideon’s weird language I would have liked her more, I think.
Well- I guess at least to me it sounded Red Rising ish – with the competition and the enemies… lol. It might not be anything like that. But yeah the language is weird.
I broke down and preordered this and while I worried about your initial comment to me about it, I’m glad it worked out. It really sounds just odd enough for me. I do admit that all the characters and their various names are something I will need to pay close attention to. I still think the cover is gorgeous and man, that does sound like a rocky buddy read book.
Did you order the Kindle copy or the hardcover? If you ordered the hardcover, it’s totally worth it because it’s such a gorgeous book, whether you like it or not:-)
I broke down and ordered a physical copy – I couldn’t help it and really it was only a few dollars more than the Kindle version.
It’s worth just owning the physical copy. Hopefully you’ll get the black sprayed pages!
I’ve seen this cover everywhere, but this is the first actual review I’ve read. Great info! I’m not sure I’d want to read it, at least not at the moment when I’m already so overloaded with books to read. I think the slang and writing would irritate me.
If you’re bothered by slang, then this might put you off. Not that’s it on every page or anything, but Gideon’s character definitely has a weird teenage vibe.
This sounds so good!!! Great review, Tammy!
Thanks Paul!
Torn about whether I’m continuing with the series, though it did end strong! There are definitely a couple threads I’m hoping will get explained in the next book, which may convince me to read. Great review!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Review: TO BE TAUGHT, IF FORTUNATE by Becky Chambers
I’m definitely going to try the next book, especially if it focuses on Harrow.
Intriguing – and somewhat worrisome at the same time… This book seems to require a steep learning curve, especially with what seems like a huge cast, and something tells me it would be the kind of book best read in physical form, because of the need to often refer to the character list… Still, I might give it a try. Thank you so much for sharing this! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE WIDOW’S HOUSE (The Dagger and the Coin #4), by Daniel Abraham
I think it requires some work, at least in the beginning, trying to work out what’s going on and who everyone is. I’m hoping the next book focuses more on plot and character development, since she worked out some of the details in this book.
This sounds fascinating and your review was SO HELPFUL. I couldn’t get a read on what type of book this is but now I feel like I have a better idea. I still want to read it, because I do love a weird reading experience. But I also am nervous a little about the contemporary dialogue because dialogue tends to be make or break for me in books…
I hope you get the chance to read it! It really was quite an experience, and if you can hang for the first half, the second half is pretty amazing.
Great review. This is a book that I really liked the look of and I don’t think the slow start of strangeness would put me off. Definitely one to keep in mind.
Lynn
I hope you get to try it, Lynn. I’d love to hear your thoughts:-)
You did a great job detailing all the little important bits. I was also thrown off by how often each character was referred to be a multitude of names, which may have been part of why I lost track of which character was which at times. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Liz! Yeah, the name thing was hard to wrap my head around!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one, Tammy. I can’t decide if it’s a book I want to pick up or not, but it does sound unique and very interesting.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Review: AKIN by Emma Donoghue
It probably won’t be for everyone:-)
I’ve been curious about this book. I thought it sounded interesting (and I love the cover), but I wasn’t entirely sure if it was something I’d enjoy. After the review I’m still not sure, but I’m leaning more towards giving it a try. Either way, though, great review, Tammy.
It’s definitely unique, and I know readers are divided:-)
I love books that really shock me, and this sounds like it definitely would! A promising start to a new series and a lovely review!
There are definitely shocking moments:-) Thank you Jennifer!
I went back and forth on my rating, because I had so many mixed feelings like you did! I’m also glad you mentioned the out of place sci-fi elements, because I didn’t talk about it in my review but it bothered me too that there were these random elements shoved in willy-nilly into the story, just because. The shuttle is a good example. I feel like she could have done away with all references to science fiction and it wouldn’t have mattered at all. Anyway, great review! I had a lot of fun with this readalong 🙂
Yeah, the whole thing about them being in space was so random and undeveloped, it just felt odd to me.
I’m glad you enjoyed this book! I absolutely loved it. I was really a fan of Gideon’s voice, and the somewhat more modern phrases didn’t bother me so much because her character was so in juxtaposition to the really old-fashioned, traditional vibe of the Ninth that it worked for me. The beginning definitely felt slow to me, and I was afraid it would be a DNF at first, too, but it really got moving after a while. I had a hard time keeping track of everyone, though, but I always struggle with big casts. Love your review! You definitely captured a lot of what’s to love and the potential sticking points of the book. 🙂
Thanks Sammie, I’m really looking forward to the next book, and being Muir’s second book, I’ll bet some of the issues I had will be ironed out.
I’m glad you enjoyed this book! I’ve seen so many mixed reviews I wasn’t sure anymore. I’ll definitively try it now! Great review!
Daniela Ark recently posted…National Hispanic Heritage Month, Creeptober, Page to Screen… September 2019 TBR!
Yes, lots of mixed reviews. I think it’s a matter of personal taste, but totally worth trying!
Great review. I’m really intrigued by this one. I’ll have to try it. I just realized that the character on the cover is wearing sunglasses. Totally never realized that before now!
Ha ha, yes she is wearing sunglasses! And it makes sense when you read the book.
I just got my copy in the mail, super excited to dive in once I make time. 🙂 This sounds like it has some pretty interesting and detailed world-building. Glad the end was so exciting! Looks like a great read, really can’t wait. 🙂
I hope you enjoy it! I’m always curious to see how people react to it, it’s very divisive!
I’m so glad I get to read all your guys’ reviews before starting the book because that first half sounds kind of rough and it could have ended up as a DNF for me! I’ll grit through the first bit, and eagerly await the last 30%–it sounds REALLY good. 😀
Well, it certainly sounds intriguing! 😀 I’ve been super curious about this one, and you’ve not put me off, so I shall look forward to getting round to it. 🙂 Great review BTW!!
I’ve just started this and am blasting through it (60 pages before bed may be a new record for me). I have NO IDEA what the hell is going on, but I’m enjoying the journey so far! I figured things would get a little clearer as we pushed on, I’m so glad that’s the case! A great review 🙂
I;ve seen such mixed reviews for this one that I’ve been hesitant to pick up my arc and read it, but I am glad that you enjoyed it! I like weird. It sounds like I’ll know pretty early on if the book will be for me or not with the writing and voice, so that’s a little less stressful!
Kal @ Reader Voracious recently posted…Book Event for There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
I was worried in the beginning, but the story really comes together in the second half.
Great review! I’ve seen a lot of mixed things about this book so far, but it’s definitely one I’m interested in checking out. I love me some SFF with queer women. It’s good to hear the novel finally hits its stride in the latter half of the book – it sounds like Muir has a lot of world-building and character backstory to set up, so I can understand how it might take a while to really get into the swing of the novel. You’ve made me even more excited to give this one a try!
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Wyrd & Wonder #SpooktasticReads 2019 | TBR
I really loved it but totally agree with the comment about the slow start and the narration. I think it can definitely hinder the flow sometimes
Weird sounds good, bloody not so much. It sounds like sort of an austere read character-wise!
It sounds like it’s worth sticking with this one. All the houses sound like Game of Thrones. Except in space.