Gideon the Ninth

I can't tell you how many times I've picked this book up, read the first few pages and tossed it aside.

Something about those first few pages is difficult to overcome and I know I'm not the only one. Maybe it's folks around my age (pushing 40) who all seem to uniformly find the same annoyance in a snarky, smart-mouthed protagonist that feels very contemporary (if not dated) for a fantastical setting that kills our interest. Or, for me, the sorta grimdark setting of the Tomb of the Ninth.

In a way, it felt like a Nick Lutsko Spirit Halloween video with no tongues in cheeks.

If I'm honest, I can't tell you why I picked it up again. It's been recommended to me dozens of times now, and I've unknowingly bought it twice in different formats. All of my desired library holds were a few weeks out, so I sorta just said, “fine, I'll try this again until one of the holds comes through.”

Sure enough, there was that beginning again where we meet the titular Gideon and it's the same cringe epic bacon guy sort of humor that made me hate ‘The Martian' in all of its glory. Along with a comically dark setting of some sort of tomb planet with shambling skeletons and dark dungeons. Sigh.

But, I kept going. This book gets hyped a lot for queer representation, and any cynicism about this sort of melts away because Gideon is absolutely queer, but done in a way where it's very matter-of-fact. Gideon is just Gideon, being queer is just a part of the character.

See, the thing is, Gideon is also really annoying. One of the drawbacks of having an obnoxious lead is you're gonna turn some people away. That's what happened to me. Then you start to see more of Gideon, and that everyone is annoyed by Gideon and a lot of the goofy, aloof behavior is a defense mechanism from a lifetime of trauma.

You really, really need to push past those initial annoyances, though, because once you do, everything opens up.

The story winds itself around in all sorts of interesting ways, the characters are all mashed together, pit against each other and forced to cope with their own shortcomings in unique ways and while there's a relatively massive bodycount for named characters here, never did I find myself wanting to put this book aside after the story got going.

In places, the diction can feel clunky in trying to illustrate this realm as a science fantasy one, especially considering Gideon is our anchor to things and Gideon's link to everything is comic books and skin mags. Still, the occasional five-dollar word is easy enough to gloss over considering how well everything else flows.

This is a special book and if you're like me and struggled with the beginning, it's worth pushing further into before writing it off.

Where do I even fucking start? Gideon the Ninth is a barn burner, and what I mean by that it will burn up your mind like a house made of straw and gasoline.I'm not really sure how to summarize the basic premise of this book without going exorbitantly in depth - depth which this novel, mind you, doesn't really bother with most of the time. But here goes - Gideon Nav is an indentured servant, a foundling raised since she was a day old, to the House of the Ninth, Keepers of the Locked Tomb, creepy fucking nuns in death's head face paint who can raise skeleton servants from bits of bone. This is a world of necromancers - and space travel. And swords. Don't think about it too much, just go with it. Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Gideon's nemesis since childhood, is called by the Emperor, Necrolord Prime, along with the heirs of each of the other seven houses, with their cavaliers, to stand the trials to become Lyctors, achieving the pinnacle of necromantic ability and serving the Emperor directly. Nonagesimus' assigned cavalier is a wimp, so she wants Gideon, who just so happens to very good with a sword, just not a rapier. Once they arrive at the First House, the “trial” they realize is a riddle wrapped in a experiment spiced with a whole lot of what the fuck.The reason why I hesitated so long on reading this book, despite the glowing reviews, is basically because of all of waves hands that. Adult hard science fiction and high fantasy, aside from often being very obtuse and big on new vocabulary, also frequently has an...ickiness about it. It often detaches itself from the body and the head's of its characters in lieu of creating vivid and complex settings, so much that the characters feel kind of like meat puppets that terrible things keep happening to. But Gideon the Ninth is wholly committed to its characters, in a way that most authors would not even attempt. It is so grounded it is subterranean. Gideon, reluctant cavalier, lover of comic books, dirty magazines and her longsword, is deliciously irreverent. This is like if someone took, I don't know, Game of Thrones or The Witcher, whatever courtly and swordly story suits your fancy, and mixed it up with Army of Darkness. Both in content and tone. There isn't actually a character with a chainsaw for a hand, but if there was it would not be out of place at all.Tamsyn Muir is doing her thing here. I was not at all surprised when I read the acknowledgements and saw that one of her Clarion instructors and mentors was [a:Jeff VanderMeer 33919 Jeff VanderMeer https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1522640540p2/33919.jpg], because what I kept thinking as I reached the third act of this book is that I so wanted to read the next book in the Southern Reach Trilogy. The reason being is because Muir writes on an edge between body horror and cosmic horror, that also overlaps with VanderMeer's New Weird. It's just absolute flesh chaos, at points. It's not just gore, its magicians using their own bodies - flesh, bone and spirit - to become terrifying weapons. It's unsettling in a way I did not realize I could be unsettled.Muir is also breaking a lot of story telling conventions, not really bothering to tell you the whole plot or the whole setting or how anything works. There are whole chunks of narrative that are just not there because Gideon wasn't there, or just wasn't terribly interested, and you just gotta roll with it. Muir puts a lot on her plate - nearly sixteen primary characters, a complex magic system, an interplanetary conflict, not to mention individual cultures, prejudices and fields of study for each of the Houses. There are a couple moments where the story buckles under the pressure (that poor continuity editor), but most of the time I didn't even notice what I didn't know, because I was having so much fun.Because this book is so much fun. Like I said, it's rooted in its characters and great character moments. The fact that Muir created such a unique an interesting cast is incredible. The fact that she so completely unafraid to make them irreverent, hilarious and utterly vicious has my head spinning. Gideon and Harrowhark are a fractious, charming and heart-breaking pair. You know as soon as you see how many different ways they say they hate each other that they mean more to each other than either of them will say. And on top of it all, you have some bad ass duels, epic monster fights, and a bunch of necromancers being unapologetically nerdy about raising the dead.Gideon the Ninth is a hell of an accomplishment. You can still tell its a debut novel though, as you can feel Muir testing things and experimenting as she goes, so technically I'm giving this 4.5 stars, but for Goodreads that's a 5, so who cares. This book is snarky, brutal and bat shit crazy.

(Very much spoilers cause all I talk about is the ending)

Really good book but 4 stars because the author didn't stick the landing at the end. And because this book is prudish about sex despite being proffered as an example of an LGBTQ+ book by my local bookstore.

Muir's command of writing is good but less so of scene and especially worldbuilding. It's like she thought we'd be impatient with anything extended, or she hadn't come up with it yet. Or maybe none of it will matter since the characters will all have Lycter-level godpowers going forward and much of what's said here will be irrelevant.

The ending felt fresh and unexpected despite my reservations. I have a feeling a lot of that will be undone at some point, but, still, a GOOD undying necromancer Emperor? Okay, let's see how this one goes

The more I think about it, the more holes I poke. It was fine! The pace was great! The ending was rather good and rather bad at the same time! I'll give the benefit of the doubt.

I debated on the rating for this book for a long time, even after my second read, but finally settled on 5 stars. After my first read, I was battling with 4 or 5 due to world building details feeling a little too convoluted/unclear, but especially on my second read through, I realized it was my fault for reading too fast to pick up on what I had complained about previously. I adore that this book was even more enjoyable the second time through and can't wait to re-read it more and more.

This book has swords, lesbians, a thrilling haunted house murder mystery, necromancy science, and more. Along the way on my first time around, I came up with some wild theories that all ended up being really wrong but we're decent guesses. I initially went into this book expecting it to be way harder to keep up with than it was, based off of MANY reviews along the lines of “you won't know what's going on at all but you'll love it”. I personally didn't find it hard to follow–the whole point of a murder mystery is not having the answers or solution until it tells you? You can't solve every Sherlock Holmes book before the end for the same reason. Anyways, fantastic read that has me full of brainrot even months later.

It was an interesting story, I guess, but in no shape or form does it live up to the hype that's being generated by Tor and certain readers. I came away from it pretty disappointed. The world building is lacking, it was tiresome to be in Gideon's head, and the so-called competition/trials thing to be SuperNecro was a complete let-down.

The best thing about this book is the cover. The first few chapters made me want to give up on this multiple times. A number of character names are beyond ridiculous, by the way, but I think the thing that tripped me up most is that this book reads like an urban fantasy with the same oh-I-am-so-edgy-hear-me-snark, smart-mouthed main character. It's like the author began writing this as an urban fantasy but then decided to change tack and try dressing it up to look and act like a more serious fantasy story. (The juvenile edginess of the main character didn't help matters – I began to like the story a lot more when she was forced to stop talking.) Also ... I feel like it was written in first person POV, which then was changed to third so it wouldn't scare away readers who hate first person perspective.

Sometimes you need to read out of your comfort zone, and if you're lucky it's good. Holy cow this was so good. I loved Gideon and her drive. Harrow was awful and annoying and amazing. Most of the other necromancers and their cavaliers were really interesting - some blended together a bit for me though. The whole idea is just so amazing, I kept thinking “how did someone think of this?!” I am so excited to continue the series!

I find it funny the promotional blurb they chose to stick on the front of this book: ‘lesbian necromancers explore a haunted mansion in space'. Technically all the statements in that are true, but that really does not give an accurate picture of what is going on in this book. It's sensationalism manages to undersell the true brilliance of the book.

Gideon the Ninth is one of the rare breeds of books that manages to breath fresh air into the speculative fiction genre. The love/hate relationship between Gideon and Harrow is a thing of beauty. Gideon's snarky observation and the acerbic attitude of Harrow lend a wit to an otherwise unremittingly dark setting.

The universe created here is a dark and mysterious one, ruled over by a mysterious necromantic emperor. Nine houses of necromancers provide the structure which is used to rule (hence Gideon the Ninth, is a reference to her being from the ninth house), each necromantic house specialising in different aspects of necromancy. The relationships between these houses are complex. The central plot of the book revolves around a set of challenges to ascend to lictorhood - a kind of supremely powerful necromancer under the Emperor.

The world building, characterization and atmosphere are second to none here. This is a supremely accomplished piece of story telling. The interactions and the bitchiness of the characters are entertaining and the pervasive gloom of the setting is fantastic. I don't think I have read a world quite like this.

To return to that tagline: Yes, Gideon is a lesbian. This is one of the most minor details of her character. Yes, technically this is a space faring civilization. The vast majority of the book is taking place in one ruined palace though, so the sci fi is element is entirely incidental to the plot. The main element here is necromancers exploring that haunted palace. That is the central part of the plot and the exploration and murder mystery generated are what gives this book its drive and focus. And it is a brilliant drive and focus.

Read it. Now. You won't regret it.

This was a journey. It started very confusing and it took me a while to get into it. But once it kicked off this was great. Great writing, great characters, great story. Knowing what the next book was called kind of made me suspect pretty early on how this was going to end. And I am still mad about it but I also feel like the story needed it. 

The only thing I am annoyed about is that Gideon's origin is still a mystery. None of the weird shit surrounding her has been explained, and given the ending, it's like it doesn't matter anymore. What is the point of harrow figuring out where she came from and why she didn't die from the smoke only for Gideon to be unable to emotionally react to it. Where is the pay-off you know? 

I can't say that Gideon the Ninth was a perfect book, but I CAN say that this beautiful genre-crossing slam dunk of a wild fucking novel took my heart with humor, disaster lesbians, heart-break and imagination I can barely comprehend. If you can listen to the audiobook to hear Gideon's and Harrow's voices, I URGE you to do so. It brings so much character and heart to the book.

I'm really not sure how to rate this. I enjoyed reading it, but it also took me a long time to finish. It has lots of intriguing ideas, but it takes its time setting them up. The chief characters are memorable and I formed some attachments, but too much of the main relationship is told instead of shown. Gideon is hilarious and snarky, but her lingo can also disrupt the tone.This book is inventive and confusing, textured and conflicting. It's like a Brian Lumley novel and an Agatha Christie novel had a baby, and occasionally John Scalzi babysat, and the baby's ambition is to be [b:The Final Empire 68428 The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480717416l/68428.SY75.jpg 66322] when it grows up.I think I can only give this three stars, despite having a ton of quotable lines and being incredibly bold and interesting. Three main problems: pacing, the central relationship, and unsatisfying mysteries.First, it is a bit slow, taking a long interval to set up both a totally unfamiliar setting and a huge cast of characters/suspects. I was happy to read a bit each night, but rarely felt like I needed to know what would happen next.Second, the current state of the central relationship is very clearly drawn through real-time interactions. Such as, “Nonagesimus,” she said slowly, “the only job I'd do for you would be if you wanted someone to hold the sword as you fell on it. The only job I'd do for you would be if you wanted your ass kicked so hard, the Locked Tomb opened and a parade came out to sing, ‘Lo! A destructed ass.' The only job I'd do would be if you wanted me to spot you while you backflipped off the top tier into Drearburh.” “That's three jobs,” said Harrowhark.But the backstory of how they came to hate each other, and the final development of their relationship, are both quickly told (not shown) in the midst of a bunch of action, and compared to the robust view of their real-time interactions, seem pretty thin and unconvincing. Third, the world building and central story raise many tantalizing questions, wafting the promise of revelations to come by story's end, that will make things fit together in a satisfying way. Here is a spoilered list of “ooh, what about . . .?” questions I was looking forward to learning the answer to (or at least some further, revealing clues about), which are ALL just left dangling:-they fight with swords and write with nubs of old pencils on salvaged paper, but they use words like "pizza" and "doughnuts," use modern-American slang, and have spaceships. Why the weird mix of technological prowess?- the Emperor is "the Supreme Necrolord" who saved the world 10,000 years ago and has been resurrected and become immortal, and the whole society is based around death magic/religion - wait, is this a view of Christianity off kilter by a few degrees?- nine houses; nine planets; weirdly modern references but tons of decrepit tech; is this our solar system in the far, far future?- what was Cytherea's deal? How did she relate to the stuff they discovered in the labs? There were some tantalizing hints that she was part of a team that created Teacher, but why? What did she do between then and now? What is she trying to accomplish at this point?- Who is the girl in the Locked Tomb and why is she there and what is her relationship to the Necrolord and what does Harrowhark think about all that?- Gideon has a mysterious origin. Maybe she's someone special! Her name is in an old note! Cytherea says she . . . knew someone else with the same name in the olden days. But then implies there is more of a connection! But the final answer for the reader is . . . go fuck yourself. I guess we're meant to assume there will be revelations about this stuff in the sequel, but given how little satisfaction we got in this book, I'm not feeling confident in that. It would have been more alluring to get a couple things more definitively tied up from this plot, which then opened up further questions to be explored later.

Hard DNF on this one. Damn, I wanted to love this story as it was one of my most anticipated releases this year. I did not connect with this character. I tried. I really, really tried. I picked up the book and put it down a number of times in different mental states. But Gideon felt as a character, forced. The snark that Gideon displays, which was funny on page 25, felt annoying on page 100. It felt contrived. The goth world building in the beginning that I started out loving, started feeling forced right around where I stopped reading. I give this book two stars instead of 1 because of the ideas for the world-building were awesome and unique in the beginning. It was a very cool way to approach a world. 

Now, this is one of those rare books that is insanely polarizing. If you love this book, you really really love it. Like 5 stars, a huge fan of it and that is fantastic! I am so glad that there are books out there for everyone. So give this book a try. You might be in the “best book ever camp,” which would be wonderful and you will have discovered a new favorite book. Or you might be like me and this book might not have resonated with you, and that's alright. Not every book has to be for every person. It would be a boring world if that were so.