Gideon the Ninth

Gideon the Ninth, debut novel of Tamsyn Muir, is no longer the new kid on the block. (But as a former homeschooler, I’m used to being late to the pop culture party. So here we are!)

The premise of this soft sci-fi brick (seriously, it’s long) pits main character pair Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus against a cast of other necromancers in a contest to achieve Lyctorhood – and serve as the right hand(s) of the necromancer emperor of the universe.

Will Nav and Nonagesimus overcome their antipathy to one another? Or will they stay enemies and die screaming at the hands of whatever malevolent forces inhabit the site of the contest? Every character (including our protagonists) have dark secrets that slowly get revealed throughout, often at their deathbeds.

There are a bunch of things I want to tell any reader considering picking this book up:

• Don’t attempt an audiobook! There are so many characters and so many scene switches. Pick up a physical copy, because you’ll want to switch back to the cast of characters.
• When I switched to a physical copy, the white room syndrome was less problematic. I could catch more of the tiny clues that described the location of the characters. I wanted more description, though. The setting is unique and weird. I wanted to learn more about it.
• The language is the stand-up-and-cheer part of this book. The contrast between the dark universe and the irreverent language… chef’s kiss. I will read at least one more in the series for that alone.
• The resolution of certain relationships didn’t really hit for me, but I think for fans of enemies-to-lover and/or morally-grey tropes it will work well.
• Check on the content warnings via Storygraph before reading. It’s violent, for sure.