“Ninth House” Discuss Everything *Spoilers*

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

A few questions to get us started:


1. What did you think of the world?
2. What did you think of the characters?
3. What worked or didn't for you?
4. Overall thoughts?

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Finished this weekend! Overall I very much enjoyed this.

1. A lot of the worldbuilding went over my head. I cannot tell you the difference between Skull & Bones, Lock & Key, etc. etc. That being said - I did think the world building was pretty amazing. The part where Alex had to crossover and the bridegroom/North was just hanging in the corner I thought was so cool. The different types of grays… It’s fantasy set in the real world but it feels very different to the real world, which was fun.

2. I loved the characters. Alex Stern was super tough but it was kind of an earned toughness because she’d been through hell and back. I loved her attitude and her quick thinking but also that she could still be vulnerable. And Darlington with his grandpa/fallen from grace/gentleman demon backstory was hard not to love.

3. I think the only think I questioned really was when she murdered everyone with a baseball bat and then somehow gets away with it…? It was kind of stretching the limits of my believability there.

I liked that Darlington was not actually rescued. I expected him to be and he wasn’t, which makes me wonder what other surprises these books will have in store for me.

4. I’ll definitely continue on with He’ll Bent and then Dead Beat whenever that comes out. Glad I finally got to this one.

[Catherine]

I'm really liking that the "world" is just a slight twist from the "real" world. The way the story plays out, we learn as we go about the magic world and how things work. It's a bit jarring at first because I felt throw into this new world without any warning, but that's what is making this book so interesting for me.

[Riyadh]

This was so boring, so far all the book club books this year haven’t been for me (haven’t read station eternity yet.

[Gage]

Overall, I enjoyed Ninth House. The world building wasn’t overdone, but like Sarah, I couldn’t keep track of the different houses. But I guess that wasn’t super important. Ninth House reminded me of a mash up between Katabasis and Sandman Slim, but was an easier read than the former, and less crass than the latter. I’d read the sequel(s).

[P.E.N.]

@Sarah @Catherine I really enjoyed how the world feels like our own but with this hidden, ritualistic underbelly, the contrast between polished Yale and the occult societies makes the forbidden magic feel dangerously intimate. Alex’s earned toughness and vulnerability hit hard; she’s carrying real weight from the start. Darlington’s ‘gentleman demon’ arc is fascinating too, that fallen-from-grace vibe adds such a rich layer of moral cost and longing.
The way power always invites corruption and what gets sacrificed to keep secrets felt deeply unsettling in the best way. The baseball bat scene stretched believability for me too, but the emotional payoff made it work.
Definitely continuing with Hell Bent, curious to see how the prophecy/identity themes evolve. Anyone else feel that quiet dread about what ‘belonging’ to these societies really costs?

[Nastia]

This is a well-written book. However, I would appreciate some warning before reading it. The violence and sexual assault almost made me give up on finishing it.

[Bonnie]

Nastia wrote: "This is a well-written book. However, I would appreciate some warning before reading it. The violence and sexual assault almost made me give up on finishing it."

Hi Nastia, the moderators are very good about providing content warnings. They get posted in the first message of the non-spoilers thread for every official group book. In this case:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I thought the sexual assaults (or analogs) were handled in a respectful, serious way. There were three different examples, all different... i didn't think they were gory or revel in it - more about how Darlington, Alex, and Mercy handled it later on.

[P.E.N.]

That’s completely fair, those elements can be really difficult to read, especially when you’re not expecting them.

I felt something similar at times. Even though the book treats it seriously, it still hits hard because it’s so grounded in the characters’ experiences rather than just being there for shock.

I think that tension between “meaningful” and “too much” is part of what makes it such an uncomfortable read in places.

Did it change how you felt about continuing the series, or are you still planning to read the next one?

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I did read book two.