Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Gideon the Ninth

(The Locked Tomb #1)

Tamsyn Muir (Goodreads Author)

4.19 · Rating details · 24,143 ratings · 5,041 reviews

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

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

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 ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 448 pages

Published September 10th 2019 by Tor

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Gideon the Ninth, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

2019 Queer SFF

133 books — 220 voters

Can't Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2019

580 books — 1,798 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.19 ·

Rating details

· 24,143 ratings · 5,041 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Mar 19, 2018 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbtqiap, arc, adult, f-f, fantasy, read-in-2019, sci-fi, book-expo-2019

ARC provided by Tor in exchange for an honest review.

“The more you struggle against the Ninth, Nav, the deeper it takes you; the louder you curse it, the louder they’ll have you scream.”

Hi, my name is Melanie, and this was a really hard review to write for many reasons. First, I think I have hyped this book for all of 2019, and I have been very vocal about it being my favorite book of the year, and the best debut I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. Next, how do you write a review ...more

flag 667 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2019 chai ♡ rated it it was ok

Shelves: adult-sff, adult, 2019-releases, lgbtq-ff, lgbtq-rep, arc, fiction, read-in-2019

“What greater debt could be accrued than that of being brought up?” There’s an invisible collar rested around Gideon Nav’s throat, its leash leading back to the Ninth House, the claws of its heir fastened tight in her flesh.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the sole daughter and secret ruler of the Ninth (and Gideon Nav’s executioner by increment), wore her destiny like a noose. She kept the frailty of her house guarded, locked-down, putting up a masterly front, but a chance at competing for the prestigou ...more

flag 798 likes · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2019 Emily May rated it really liked it

Recommended to Emily May by: Tatiana

Shelves: fantasy, 2019, coverly-love

“Maybe it’s that I find the idea comforting . . . that thousands of years after you’re gone . . . is when you really live. That your echo is louder than your voice.”

Ugh, I wish I hadn't taken so long to sit down and write a review of this. I prefer writing a review when everything is fresh in my mind, but I do actually have things I want to say about this dark, dense, totally unique fantasy.

One thing I think it might be helpful to know when starting this book is: you're going to just have to make peace with not totally "getting" it for a while. If you're anything like me, when you read something you don't really understand, you read it again and again until it makes sense. In my experience this can lead to book slumps, and I just don't think it's that helpful when it comes to Gideon the Ninth. Things get painted in over the course of the whole novel, so just accepting I didn't understand it at first made it much more palatable.

Because this world is dense and complex and, with a little patience, absolutely fascinating. Nobody can accuse Muir of a lack of imagination. This surely has to be one of the most detailed and unique necromancer fantasies ever written (though connoisseurs of that niche might be able to tell me different). In this world, the Emperor has a representative of each of the nine houses (with their accompanying cavalier) compete in a series of weird and dangerous trials in order to determine those most worthy of being a servant of the Resurrection, complete with power and immortality.

The plot is simple; the world-building and writing are anything but. However, more than either of those, what made this book shine so so much for me was Gideon. Well, really, a number of the characters, but mostly Gideon. How to explain her... She's a snarky lovable badass but with none of the standard heroine, fits-a-perfect-mold kind of badassery that I've grown so tired of. She's just really cool and funny. And somehow relatable, even though I can honestly say I've never been a swordswoman in space (no, really).

Honestly, as a character she really stands out as someone unique. Which is saying a lot because I've read a ton of fantasy books and most of them are obviously recycling characters at this point. Here, working through the author's challenging prose and world-building was easier because I cared so much about Gideon. This book really proves how much characters make or break a book. Without Gideon, I am sure this would have gone to my mental "not for me" pile.

Muir's ending hit me in the feels, too. The book surprised me by having a bunch of sad and sweet moments amid the darkness. I'm almost afraid to read Harrow the Ninth, but hell am I going to.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube ...more

flag 453 likes · Like · see review

Oct 02, 2019 Petrik rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-and-review-copies

ARC & Review copy provided by the publisher—Tor.com—in exchange for an honest review.

Gideon the Ninth is a damn fine example of why readers’ reviews are incredibly important.

If you have been active on bookish social media, you should know by now that Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir’s debut and the first installment in The Locked Tomb (or The Ninth House in the past) Trilogy, has been tor.com's most hyped book of the year. The buzz and praise for Gideon the Ninth has been immense to say the least ...more

flag 271 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hardback, fantasy-all, own

Update: $2.99 Kindle US 7/28/20

PS - I was too late to get the black stained edges so... I said hell with it. I did my own!

Holy shit ass snacks! That was different and I loved it!! I’m loving the covers on these books too!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

flag 238 likes · Like · see review

Sep 24, 2019 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it liked it

I cannot actually believe my hands declared their independence from the auto-control of my brain and gave 3.5 stars and rounded it down to three stars! I can shout at my hands and tell them they are ungrateful! They should have clapped this author’s creativity for this controversial, unique, fantastic plot and good characterization but well, my hands made the right decision! You know why! Okay keep reading and stop yawning in front of me!

I already started my happy dance and dropped this book se I cannot actually believe my hands declared their independence from the auto-control of my brain and gave 3.5 stars and rounded it down to three stars! I can shout at my hands and tell them they are ungrateful! They should have clapped this author’s creativity for this controversial, unique, fantastic plot and good characterization but well, my hands made the right decision! You know why! Okay keep reading and stop yawning in front of me!

I already started my happy dance and dropped this book several times as I performed Travolta’s classic hip and point move because I started one of the most anticipated books of the year and it deserved to be celebrated with my over exaggerated dance moves (at least I gave an quiet amazing show to the neighbor’s kids who got bored from their Fifa tournaments on play station)

How can you resist to a plot about necromancers and well rounded, intriguing badass heroine characters.

But when I started to flip pages, my thoughts completely changed. I read 150 pages…Nothing happened…

I treated this book as patient as I could (I’m aries, patience is not my best virtue) and I read 50 pages more. Nada… Another 50 pages more…Still nothing… I started to think maybe Jerry Seinfield used a different pen name and wrote this book about nothingness as he’d done with his TV show “Seinfield”

Well 50 pages later…Still nothing happened and I cuddled with the book and took a break because I got also lost with the technical terms of the book. I even tried to order a dictionary about necromancers to understand their terminology. But no publishing companies released this useful source! I also had hard time to understand true natures, attributes, motives, back stories of characters because they were more 15! There are nine houses and I prepared schematic to match the characters with its houses like I’d done with the time tables of character’s aging when I was watching enigmatic German Netflix series named Dark!
I was so bored and suffering from lack of energy. I couldn’t even lift my glass so my husband helped me drink my Chardonnay with a straw (I know, I disgusted with myself, too!)

And after 300 pages later, something magically happened! THE STORY’S PACE SUDDENLY FASTENED! The story turned into a great combination of space opera, thriller, mystery and sci-fi. It was sad, funny some parts are too edgy, gothic and irritating. Actually I appreciated writer’s effort to create this amazing and extraordinary concept. However the creativity and visualization defeated by complex, long, slow-paced writing and unlikable characters. Especially heroine acted so immature and annoying little brat who deserved my tones of slaps.

If it wasn’t for the first 300 torture, I could give this book 5 stars for the author’s success to bring out something different, shiny, capturing, special but in my opinion, book was needed reductions and polishing of characterizations before the release date! I still enjoyed so many parts but I felt like I watched three times the first 28 minutes of Saving Private Ryan! I got really exhausted as if I ran 10K marathon or 10 bottle Chardonnay drinkathon!

Intentions, originality, high efforts of the author but maybe I lately read too long books and my timing was not right to start something needs to much energy, concentration. So unfortunately this one didn’t work for me,too. ...more

flag 224 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2020 Miranda Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, scribd

New month, New Booktube Reading Vlog - tier-listing all the books read in July!

The Written Review

Holy crap.

I'm so dead. I'm ruined for every new book ever. ...more

flag 228 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2019 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: death-is-not-the-end, thank-you-bea-or-ala, bea-2019-wishlist

oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST SCIENCE FICTION and BEST DEBUT NOVEL 2019! what will happen?

”You want to fight it.”

“Yep.”

“Because it looked…a little like swords.”

”Yop.”

okay. so. usually when i write a review, i am writing it for some nameless, faceless reader who is deciding whether or not to read a book and looking for some information to help them make that decision, so i’ll do the whole plot-point, pull-quote thing—giving an overview of the book so they know what to expec ...more

flag 203 likes · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2020 carol. rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, female-lead

In retrospect, this book is a bag of Doritos Mix. Either you love the pastiche, or you don't, but there's nothing about this that is going to be a classic that people will come back to time and time again. It's snack food, pure and simple, fun to munch-crunch, some parts better than others (p but perhaps just the occasional too much to really sit well.

Following a young person desperate to get off her residential planet, it has the distinctive voice of a new adult/young adult book, full of snark ...more

flag 218 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2018 Elle (TheBookishActress) is currently reading it

the blurb of this quite literally contains the phrase "lesbian necromancers" like thanks Tor you know you’re the only publisher I trust anymore

flag 201 likes · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2019 Chelsea Humphrey rated it it was ok

Shelves: bookstagram-made-me-do-it, from-publisher

Well, I finished. If nothing else, at least I received closure that it wasn't the timing that was off for me surrounding this story. I could go through a long list of why this book didn't work for me, but instead I'll just leave it at that, it didn't work for me. Chaima wrote a fantastic review that expresses my thoughts 100% HERE, so if you'd like an alternative, unpopular opinion that is well written and fairly offered, please check it out.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review ...more

flag 167 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2020 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: yay-for-presents, lgbtqia, fantasy

Here's another great Kindle sale: $2.99 as of June 23, 2020. This one won't be every reader's cuppa tea - read the reviews and decide for yourself - but those who like it tend to REALLY like it.

4.5 stars, rounding up. This is one of those books that gets better the more I think about it! Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:

Necromancers and their sword-fighting cavaliers star in Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir’s radically original debut novel, which has been nominated for the 2019 Neb ...more

flag 142 likes · Like · see review

Jul 28, 2019 Holly (Holly Hearts Books) rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf

I've been sitting on this DNF for a couple months now. For those of you who are avid YouTube watchers of mine, you know I could not get through this book. I wasn't going to rate it but I feel SO strongly about this 1 star rating. This book suffers from the Tor hype as did The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons which I also highly disliked. The writing is a mess. Characters names are "neiowhgiewongow"..
The main character is an absolute ass. She gets the chance to get off the planet and her literal respo ...more

flag 128 likes · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2019 Ashley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: awesome-friendships, incl-some-of-my-favorite-characters, book-buyers-anonymous-bought, epic-adventure, extremely-unique-concepts, lgbtq, fantasy-and-magic, fantasy-dark, loveforever-always-changedmylife, fantasy-epic-adventure

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars!

My heart hurts. It ACHES.

SO INCREDIBLE. I literally cried when it was over... and as it was ending.

I mean that ending? And this whole damn novel? Brutal AF!

Perfection. Truly. Im so confused as to some readers’ complaints that this was extremely confusing & didn’t follow a solid plot line (incl subplots) that made sense... hmm.

(You can skip over this part if you aren’t interested!)
***BUT! before I go into any more detail... I have stumbled upon the PERFECT way to experi ...more

flag 104 likes · Like · see review

Jun 01, 2019 Hamad rated it liked it

Shelves: from-the-publisher, 2019-reads, arcs, good-covers, paperbacks

This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange of an honest review :D

“Two is for discipline, heedless of trial;
Three for the gleam of a jewel or a smile;
Four for fidelity, facing ahead;
Five for tradition and debts to the dead;
Six for the truth over solace in lies;
Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies;
Eight for salvation no matter the cost;
Nine for the Tomb, and for all that was lost.”

🌟 I am pretty sure this will ...more

flag 104 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2020 Nataliya rated it really liked it

Shelves: hugo-nebula, 2020-reads

“Does anyone else want to take this opportunity to admit that they’re already dead, or a flesh construct, or other relevant object? Anyone?”

It took me about three weeks and a hundred pages to really warm up to this book, but then I inhaled it, flew through it like a necromancer to a bone, happy and giddy even if at times exasperated.

This was different and weird, full of “huh?” moments, and snarky one-liners, and immature teenage humor. But it’s the same kind of humor that my inner voice ten

“Does anyone else want to take this opportunity to admit that they’re already dead, or a flesh construct, or other relevant object? Anyone?”

“Gideon rolled her eyes so hard that she felt in danger of twisting the optic nerve.”

So did I, repeatedly. But with happy and giddy love.

This is a story about space necromancers (!!!) in an alien (or not?) planetary system, where nine necromantic Houses occupy nine planets. Our (anti)heroine Gideon Nav (“absolutely goddamn starved of any contact with people who didn’t have dark missals and advanced osteoporosis”) is from the Ninth, which is a creepy cultist place even by necromancer standards.

“You couldn’t spend any time in the Ninth House without coming away with an unwholesome knowledge of skeletons. She could’ve easily filled in for Doctor Skelebone without practising a single theorem.“

Gideon is doing her best to escape her indentured servitude (until death and then thereafter — because of, you know, necromancy and all it entails) while being tormented by her arch-nemesis Harrowhark, who has puppeteered her dead parents for years now (ahem, necromancy) and is now de-facto the planetary ruler.

“Are you telling me that when you were ten years old—ten years old—you busted the lock on the tomb, broke into an ancient grave, and made your way past hideous old magic to look at a dead thing even though your parents told you it’d start the apocalypse?”

The Ninth house is in serious decline. But there’s a way out - if Harrow wins the position of a Lyctor, a “necrosaint” to the Emperor of the Nine Houses, Necrolord Prime, God who became man and man who became God — or basically some dude that resurrected the dying world 10,000 years ago and his supposedly immortal knights turned out to be just a bit mortal, after all. The heirs to the eight necromantic Houses have been called to the First planet for a competition that would allow at least some of them to become Lyctors. Each necromancer needs a devoted Cavalier at their side, and Gideon with her mad sword fighting skills gets roped into playing this part for her nemesis Harrowhark —by the promise of release from her indentured servitude.

Although Gideon — a foul-mouthed trash-talker, a committed rule-breaker, the one who reads “titty magazines” for the articles and loathes her necromancer — is perhaps a bit ill-suited for the part.

“Gideon comforted herself by recoiling at her reflection in the cracked mirror: a grinning death’s-head with a crop of incongruously red hair and a couple of zits. She pulled her sunglasses out of the pocket of her robe and eased them on, which completed the effect, if the effect you wanted was “horrible.”

With all the necromancers and their (more or less) devoted cavaliers all trapped on an empty planet in the very necromantic ruins (complete with animated skeletons as your waiters at mealtimes), the competition begins. Although it’s not really a competition as there are no tasks, no clear objectives, no rules except for the vague suggestion “that you never open a locked door unless you have permission.” It’s not too long before suspicious deaths start. And it almost has a vibe of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (if Madame Christie had taken some serious mind-altering substances while writing that book):

“But natural law—the laws against murder and theft. What prevents us from stealing one another’s keys through intimidation, blackmail, or deception? What would stop someone from waiting for another necromancer and their cavalier to gather a sufficient number of keys, then taking them by force?”
Teacher said, “Nothing.”

Although Gideon is our eyes and ears (and a sarcastic snarky mouthpiece) to this odd creepy and yet somehow immensely fun world, it’s really almost an ensemble cast, with a few minor characters that really stand out. At least to me — since I’m a shameless fangirl now of one Palamedes Sextus, Warden of the Sixth and his cavalier Camilla. Oh come on, they are Necromancer scientists and born in the Library. And Palamedes is a walking store of snark, second only to Gideon herself. And Camilla is beyond badass and into a whole new dimension of badassery which she shares only with Gideon.

“Reverend Daughter, you know as well as I do that the Eighth House wouldn’t let a little thing like fair play get in the way of its sacred duty to do whatever it wants.”
——————
“Hm,” said Camilla neutrally, and Gideon knew immediately that she organised Palamedes’s and her socks by colour and genre.

This crazy weird skeleton-ridden, sinister, death-obsessed world is so much fun. It really shouldn’t work - this incongruent mix of overwrought language and teen snark and flowery metaphors and cheap jokes and gothic pathos and trashy cheap shots. It shouldn’t work — but somehow it does.

It marries fantasy and science fiction and the total is so much more than just the sum of the parts.

And I love it. I’m so glad I scaled this personal Everest of a book until, like Gideon and Harrow — and no, it’s not a spoiler unless you really have no clue about the enemies-to-lovers-or-at-least-gruff-admirers trope — we developed those feelings and the rest is history.

“Suck it down,” said Gideon. “You’re already two hundred dead daughters and sons of our House. What’s one more?”

———————
Before I wrap up, I’m dying (figuratively) to share this tidbit from the glossary at the end of the book, the section on necromancers:

“There is no isolated genetic code associated with necromantic potential, nor the presence of any extra biological feature apart from heightened activity from organs we would otherwise mark as vestigial.”

I mean — does necromancy involve the appendix??? I must have some clarification on this!
———————
4 stars.

———————
My review of the sequel, Harrow the Ninth, is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more

flag 87 likes · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2019 Tatiana rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: fans of brain breaking world building

Recommended to Tatiana by: Melanie

Shelves: ala19, 2019, sci-fi, fantasy

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 w ...more

flag 93 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2018 Emily Duncan rated it it was amazing

This is it. This is the perfect book.

flag 104 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2018 Rebecca Roanhorse rated it it was amazing

Stunningly good. A brilliant and original mash-up of genres, the story is brimming with memorable characters, acerbic dark humor, a unique magic system, space travel, decaying technology and layers upon layers of mystery. It is the Gothic space adventure I didn't know I needed.

flag 76 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2019 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, sci-fi, read-2019

i still don't even remotely know what to do with this book that has left me splattered across the footpath. I'm currently GLARING at it. But also in awe of it. I'll straight up admit: adult scifi is a genre I very rarely reach for, but I had to for this because anyone who who says lesbian necromancers in space deserves my pledge of allegiance. It took adjusting to get into and I still have infinite questions about the world building. But also -- holy shit -- tHIS BOOK.

[world building]
Going to ki ...more

flag 81 likes · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2019 Charlotte rated it liked it

Shelves: women-and-nb-of-speculative-fiction, rest-of-2019

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
"'We do bones, motherfucker,' she said."

Yes, that's right! Another 2019 fantasy - at the end of the year I realized that I hadn't really read anything from this year yet and should probably rectify that. Did I go overboard? Perhaps. In any case, I'll now be talking about Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Spoilers follow!

So What's It About? (from Goodreads)

"Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an af ...more

flag 84 likes · Like · see review

Apr 02, 2020 Deborah Obida rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult

Buddy read with BBN

Never have I ever seen such a misleading publicity, I know its petty cause the book delivered half but its still a lie, We picked this book to read in one of my book clubs because its about Lesbian Necromancer but the book only delivered on the necromancer part. Gideon who is the supposed queer character isn't even a necromancer so how, she just had a crush on a necromancer which in my opinion wasn't returned, she also thought Niberius a guy was hot but that doesn't make her s Buddy read with BBN

Never have I ever seen such a misleading publicity, I know its petty cause the book delivered half but its still a lie, We picked this book to read in one of my book clubs because its about Lesbian Necromancer but the book only delivered on the necromancer part. Gideon who is the supposed queer character isn't even a necromancer so how, she just had a crush on a necromancer which in my opinion wasn't returned, she also thought Niberius a guy was hot but that doesn't make her straight so its all confusing.

I also disliked the writing style used in this book, the info dump was just too much. There was a part where the author was describing the environment for 10 pages straight, who does that. If the author isn't describing the environment for the millionth time we're stuck in Gideon's internal monologue. I don't even like Gideon the protagonist, I disliked all the characters except Sextus. I was in Gideon's head throughout the book and I still didn't understand her, she went was hating Harrow's gut to whatever that ending is. It makes absolutely no sense, I was in her head so I should know if she was pretending or changed her opinion, but alas I don't know what happened there.

This book is more like a horror, some bunch of teenagers and like three adults or so went to a planet for a test to become a Lyctor which is a name for the emperor's advisers/elite necromancers. The house they were in was hunted by creatures they know nothing about. Just like a horror movie they were killed off one by one. So a murder mystery.

If not that they were on different planets and there was electricity and other modern things this book is more fantasy than sci-fi, I think that is why the author took the pains to depict the world but she did a terrible job.

The final battle that everyone is raving about got tiring after the first five pages to read. When a book is written from only a one character's perspective its hard to imagine that person fighting for their life and still know what is happening with others. One part during that fight scene that annoyed me was when Gideon pick up her favourite type of sword and instead of fighting her foe she was reminiscing about the first time she used that sword and how awesome with the sword she is.

The explanation of the necromancer sucks, we don't need that much details, there was no forward that explained the terms and the author didn't explain it in the book, words like thernagy and the rest, even Gideon the narrator was confused. I don't know about most of you but I only know the names of few of my bones, the author was using the names of the bones which was confusing.

All in all this book was a disappointment, The Bone Witch did a better depiction of necromancer. Even the little depicted in Malazan was better than this whole book. This book is more about animating bones and less about bringing the dead back to life which I think is what necromancy is. The bones don't even remember their previous lives. Maybe the second book will explore more parts of necromancer but I doubt that. ...more

flag 67 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2019 megs_bookrack marked it as to-read

Shelves: books-i-own-to-read, 2019-releases, fantasy-to-read

SWOON.

I need this yesterday.
Look at that cover!

Just LOOK at it.
Behold its beauty and then read the synopsis...

I know, right!?!?

...more

flag 67 likes · Like · see review

Jul 19, 2019 sofia (sam willows) rated it it was amazing

Recommended to sofia (sam willows) by: Melanie

Shelves: arc, lgbtq, in-english, own, debut, audiobooks, couples-i-like, 2019, sci-fi, favorites

so, i loved this book. it wasn’t perfect, by any means, but in the end i loved it all the same. even though this book is a new favorite of mine, i feel obliged to spend some time talking about what i didn’t love for the sake of people who will pick this up when it comes out.

the worlduilding

i’m pretty used to high fantasy worlduilding, where you’re thrown into a complex, made up society and you have to figure out how it works as you go. i can usually grasp the basics and how things work from the ...more

flag 66 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2018 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] marked it as finish-me-soon

Shelves: owned-physical, owned-ebooks, diverse-reads, owned-tbr, review-copies, lgbtqiap

As RIDICULOUSLY pumped as I was to read this... I'm just... not in the mood for it right now, and it breaks my little queer heart. :( I'll pick it back up and try it again in a few weeks because I truly, 100% believe it's me, not the book.

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

May 14, 2020 Philip rated it really liked it

Shelves: hugo-2020, 2019-releases, author-woman, fantasy, horror, hugo

4.25ish stars.

For all its faults, this book is pure entertainment. It's a cool set-up from the get-go, and offers a new spin on classic fantasy/sci-fi tropes such as separating the world into different "houses" with various unique characteristics.

The main thing is that the story itself is just really well-written. It's fun, exciting, and at about the halfway point it's absolutely gripping. It's also a kind of a sample platter of genre fiction; it's fantasy but there are also elements of horror, ...more

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2019 Meaghan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bea-arcs-2019

I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how to summarize this book. I don’t even know how to review this book. All I know is that Gideon the Ninth may just be my favorite book in 2019, maybe ever since Strange the Dreamer. This book took me by complete surprise, especially as I was originally put off by the beginning few chapters.

This book kind of just drops you in this large, extensive world without a guide, and while I was originally quite lost, you very quickly learn to just go along with the chara I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how to summarize this book. I don’t even know how to review this book. All I know is that Gideon the Ninth may just be my favorite book in 2019, maybe ever since Strange the Dreamer. This book took me by complete surprise, especially as I was originally put off by the beginning few chapters.

This book kind of just drops you in this large, extensive world without a guide, and while I was originally quite lost, you very quickly learn to just go along with the characters and plot and trust the author to give you the pieces as you need them. Even after finishing I don’t have a clear picture of the world and how it’s set up, but I believe the intrigue is quite important to the story and how it will develop later on. There was also a lot of in depth necromancy talk, which was sometimes like reading a science textbook too high above your level, but it was understandable enough to get the story + it wasn’t necessary to fully get it either, as the character you’re following doesn’t get it all either.

The characters were also all quite well-rounded and haunting in how real they felt, you came to understand all of their motivations (even if you don’t agree with them all), and you come to feel for their pain and their mistakes. Almost every single character was explored and given an in depth background, meaning you were always aware of the people at play in scenes and situations. It all also tied well into their actions and emotions, making the story feel overall consistent. Our two main characters, Gideon and Harrowhark, also had such an interesting relationship, and the exploration of that alone made this book fantastic.

The prose, while being something to get used to, was also beautiful in a quite unique way. It was quite dense prose, describing almost everything and using long chains of large paragraphs and stretching sentences, but was constantly broken up by Gideon’s trademark sarcasm. While snarky and sarcastic characters are very quickly getting old, Gideon was her own brand of witty, and there were many serious moments made hilarious by a small snide comment on her end. It was just fantastic.

The plot was also fantastic, as it kept winding and twisting throughout the entire novel, never truly settling in any one place. It was a journey both for the characters and the reader, even as they stayed in one place. It was also just an extremely well-constructed plot, the answers to every question hidden in every part of the storyline. While some reveals were shocking, none were pulled from nothing and everything had more than enough build up and time to truly form. It was also just an extremely thrilling and gripping plot. From page 200 onwards I couldn’t stop reading, and I was on the literal edge of my seat at points, rushing through to see what would happen next.

Gideon the Ninth, while gruesome and full of skeletons and death and the ghosts of the past, was also just a beautiful book. It explored the relationships of the living through these ghosts and through death while also just constructing a lyrical and moving story. I couldn’t get enough of it, I still can’t, and I’m honestly debating reading it already. ...more

flag 58 likes · Like · see review

Mar 04, 2020 Kiki rated it really liked it

So I enjoyed this book immensely, and it’s been a long time since I’ve fallen so deeply in love - real, actual love - with a protagonist. But while my heart says FIVE STARS! my head says three. There is a caveat to my final rating, and it boils down to the fact that I understood what was going on about 65% of the time. Even after finishing it I still struggle to picture how this world works socially and economically, and I’m also not sure why there needed to be any sci-fi angle to this. The sci- So I enjoyed this book immensely, and it’s been a long time since I’ve fallen so deeply in love - real, actual love - with a protagonist. But while my heart says FIVE STARS! my head says three. There is a caveat to my final rating, and it boils down to the fact that I understood what was going on about 65% of the time. Even after finishing it I still struggle to picture how this world works socially and economically, and I’m also not sure why there needed to be any sci-fi angle to this. The sci-fi elements are very superficial and kind of pulled me out of the story; occasional mention of space shuttles was the only thing that reminded me of the sci-fi backdrop (I use the term “backdrop” very loosely).

It took me a while to get my bearings with this one, and while it wasn’t difficult to understand the basic plot, I feel like some reveals and twists were lost on me. I found the set pieces, magic system, and general social politics a bit muddy: the necromancers all come from different planets? Is that it? How is that even feasible? And why are we still using swords when we have space shuttles? Why don’t the cavaliers even have basic armour or protection? Are there magic types outside of necromancy, and if so, why aren’t the cavaliers magically gifted? It would make more sense than having a single mortal soldier to inexplicably be the last line of defence for a magical death witch. Because of this, I missed certain plot points and found it difficult to remember who was who. I was so distracted with trying to understand the context that some of the big revelations just didn’t hold the intended weight. I like to know why things are happening, not just that they are, so while some parts genuinely shocked and thrilled me, others fell flat.

That said, the characters were so much fun. To make it even better, the audio narration of this was note perfect. Moira Quirk so effortlessly captures Gideon’s strong, funny, and endearing voice. This is also a brilliantly written book; while some of the dialogue might have come off as corny in a different setting, it’s tempered with enough maturity in the descriptive prose to maintain the book’s adult feel. The characters’ sense of humour really makes this story shine, and it strikes a perfect balance between seriousness and silliness.

To put it succinctly, this was a flawed and excellent ride, and I’m looking at the sequel the way Gideon looks at her two-handed sword. ...more

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

Mar 08, 2020 Mel (Epic Reading) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-earth-floab, library-print

Well the space part is irrelevant. The lesbian part comes up but not really anything major. The part that is really the whole focus of the book is necromancy. While convoluted in the beginning by the end I was following 85% of things; the rest I assume is fairly irrelevant. This wraps up many questions, but not all. I have two large questions that I assume book 2 or 3 will answer. Gore and writing style reminded me of Black Panther, Red Wolf (which I also loved). But a lot less sex and innuendos ...more

flag 58 likes · Like · see review

Feb 12, 2020 Tim rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, 2010s, science-fiction, reviewed, fantasy

“I pray the tomb is shut forever, I pray the rock is never rolled away. I pray that which was buried remains buried, insensate, in perpetual rest, with closed eye and stilled brain. I pray it lives, I pray it sleeps ... I pray for the needs of the Emperor All-Giving, the Undying King, His Virtues and his men. I pray for the Second House, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth; the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. I pray for the Ninth House, and I pray for it to be fruitful. I pray for the soldiers and adep ...more

flag 57 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Beyond Reality: Gideon the Ninth (7/20): Finished Reading Spoilers OK	11	33	Aug 01, 2020 01:38PM
Beyond Reality: Gideon the Ninth (7/20): Roll Call & First Impressions NO spoilers	13	23	Jul 21, 2020 06:05PM
Book to the Future!: October 2019: Gideon the Ninth (unofficial)	1	3	Jul 01, 2020 10:32AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fantasy

2,857 users

Science Fiction

886 users

LGBT

520 users

Fiction

482 users

Horror

347 users

GLBT > Queer

247 users

Adult

225 users

Mystery

155 users

Audiobook

127 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

125 users

See top shelves…

About Tamsyn Muir

Tamsyn Muir

2,285 followers

Tamsyn Muir is a horror, fantasy and sci-fi author whose short fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the World Fantasy Award and the Eugie Foster Memorial Award. A Kiwi, she has spent most of her life in Howick, New Zealand, with time living in Waiuku and central Wellington. She currently lives and works in Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

Her debut science-fant ...more