Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Gideon the Ninth is a Brilliant and Daring as it is Entertaining

Gideon the Ninth is the first novel in a glorious new series by Tamsyn Muir. The novel blends many genres and subjects as you’ve never seen before; here, Gothic meets space, and necromancy meets teenage angst.

Set in a universe where necromancy is considered normal, this series launches a new plot of politics and magic around a culture of death and resurrection. Enter Gideon; she never wanted to be a vassal of Ninth House. But she wasn’t given much of a choice. Not that Harrowhark, the Reverend Daughter, ever seemed happier about Gideon’s presence.

But that all changes when the emperor calls upon them. Now, the two are thrown into the deep end and have to hope that they can both uphold their sides of the bargain. And that they won’t kill each other along the way.

If you’ve been paying attention to book banter, then the odds are good you’ve heard a lot about Gideon the Ninth. I know it has been blowing up my feed nonstop for the last eight months. And with good reason.

Writing

Gideon the Ninth was a rich and thrilling read from start to finish. Tamsyn Muir put a lot of work into this work, as it shows. The writing was captivating, filled with details, complex characters, and even more complex and foreboding plots.

One of the novel’s highlights was Gideon, the main perspective and by far one of the sassiest characters known to man. She knows what she wants and what she doesn’t want. And she’s not afraid to let people know it. Her unique personality shined through in a much darker world, making her stand out to all around her (for better or for worse). This resulted in several memorable moments, to put it lightly.

The magical (read: necromancy) system was shockingly complex, but it went a long way in explaining the Nine Houses and their differences. This complexity adds so much to the world, leaving me desperate to see more.

Development

Gideon the Ninth had a pretty even pace. It would occasionally wax and wane, giving us a chance to catch our breath before tossing us into the next stage of development. It made for a wild ride that held my attention through to the end.

The novel started oddly but quickly progressed into something entirely different. There were twists and turns, some predictable, some less so. I do not doubt that the predictable ones were tossed in to throw us off our guard for later.

The character interactions carried a large amount of this plot but in a good way. Gideon had such a unique way of interacting with the world and people around her – it was something Muir excelled at portraying.

I’ll be honest with you here: in the last day since Gideon the Ninth came out, I’ve done almost nothing but read it. And when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I honestly didn’t want to put this one down until I was finished.

Conclusion

I’ve been looking forward to Gideon the Ninth for months. No exaggeration there. After hearing nothing but good things about it, it was impossible not to raise my expectations to insanely high levels. But despite all of that, I was thrilled with what I found within these pages. It lived up to the expectations set and has left me desperate for the next novel (which is titled Harrow the Ninth, for any curious).

So, if you’re looking for a unique read that can be summed up in four words (lesbian necromancers in space), then Gideon the Ninth is a novel for you to check out.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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