Tatiana's Reviews > Gideon the Ninth

Now that I didn't have to break my brain over all the necromancy lingo and knew the characters, this way a much funnier read. A locked tomb mystery with a witty narrator, basically.
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Pretty much what karen said.

I haven’t worked this hard trying to grock a book since Ninefox Gambit. The world building is dense and elaborate, and I honestly had no idea there was so much to know about necromancy. Is all necromancy stuff in this book a total Tamsyn Muir invention? Or is this a commonly known lore? Am I just not reading the right books? ‘Cause this is fascinating.

If you put the complication of the world building aside, the plot is fairly simple - the Emperor of this necromantic world is trying to recruit new assistants by having a representative of each of eight necromantic houses and his/her bodyguard (cavalier) compete in a sort of test/trial/game to prove their worth. When the participants of this trial start dying out, things get interesting.

If the characters of this book weren’t so dope, I am not sure I would have had the strength to get through the narrative. Muir’s language is not exactly a breeze. I had to look words up in a dictionary! But I love Gideon and Harrow and their twisted relationship. It’s kind of sad that the book didn’t entirely deliver on the lesbian part of the Charles Stross’s “lesbian necromancers in space” blurb though. The ending made my heart hurt.

I am up for more heartbreak and more stories about this mysterious world. If you liked the intricacy and weirdness and strong women of Ninefox Gambit, Archivist Wasp, The Fifth Season, Gideon the Ninth must be your next pick.

P.S. If there are awards for best covers, the artist of this book’s cover should totally get it. This is SO GIDEON!