Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir | ARC Review

Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
Series: The Locked Tomb #1
Published on September 10, 2019 by Tor.com
ISBN: 9781250313195
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 448
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Gideon the Ninth is the most fun you'll ever have with a skeleton.

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

This book, friends.

This f*cking book.

Gideon the Ninth was on my radar for a while. Lesbian necromancers in space? How can you NOT want to read that?! But I was also a bit leery because I haven’t had the best luck with sci-fi lately. I’m pleased to say that this book was a definite win, though, and now one of my recommended must-read titles for the year!

A solid mix of fantasy and sci-fi, Gideon the Ninth follows the gruff fighter Gideon who seeks freedom from her mistress before they both end up in the middle of a murder mystery risking both their lives. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t hooked at the beginning. It took about 10-15% of the book before I started falling into it. There’s a lot happening, a lot of names to keep track of, a lot of world-building to piece together. Muir created a world meant for exploration but we don’t necessarily get the time to do that as Gideon and the Ninth House necromancer Harrow fly off to a new planet to compete for the chance at greatness.

At this point I expected it to take on a sort of Hunger Games-esque vibe with eight houses competing to achieve the title Lyctor (basically make themselves super freaking powerful) but instead it was mostly a puzzle to solve which I liked a lot more. I never felt like Gideon the Ninth fit a single mold or trope. Every time I thought it would go one direction, things would shift in another.

Now Harrow is better than Gideon at puzzles, by the way, but you’re in Gideon’s head for this book so that became a bit of an interesting struggle.

And then we go full-on murder mystery, necromancers and their cavaliers dying one after the next. It was good… really good.

So good I don’t really know how to describe it.

Gideon the Ninth is a confusing book at times but I found that once I let the world wash over me so I was in the moment with Gideon, I couldn’t put it down. The pacing kept the story moving at a good clip without flying through so quickly the reader is left in the dust. Gideon’s sarcastic nature and wit, not to mention her questionable morals, made her not only a protagonist I wanted to follow but also see succeed at the end. Her soon-to-be partner in crime Harrowhark is an altogether different creature but really she’s just been bottling a lot of emotions up and I loved watching her shell slowly crack until the two of them stopped their ridiculous arguing and developed a relationship.

So no complaints plot-wise, action was awesome. Loved the world-building. Then Muir comes in and wrecks EVERYTHING (in the most spectacular way) in the last 10-20 pages of the whole freaking book.

I. Died.

There was a lot of swearing involved.

And mental throwing of books across the room.

Essentially Muir ensured you will immediately need the sequel as soon as you finish Gideon the Ninth.

Be prepared.

In all seriousness, it’s been hard for me to talk about this book because it’s intricate and confusing and lovely and dark and gritty and weirdly romantic at times and I just… I loved it. One of my new favorite adult SFF titles, hands down, and I can’t recommend it enough!

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About Austine

I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.