Dec 25

Dec 25 Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Author: Tamsyn Muir
Publisher: Tor Books
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

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 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.

TL;DR Review

Gideon the Ninth is as fun as “Lesbian necromancers in space” makes it sound! It’s definitely not perfect but I think it’s worth reading, and I’ll be reading book two for sure.

For you if: You are looking for more queer sci-fi/fantasy in your life!

Full Review

Her adept said: "I'll keep it off you. Nav, show them what the Ninth House does."
Gideon lifted her sword. The construct worked itself free of its last confines of masonry and rotten wood and heaved before them, flexing itself like a butterfly.
"We do bones, motherfucker," she said.

Gideon the Ninth — described with the promising words “Lesbian necromancers in space!!” — is super hyped, and it was nominated for the Hugo. Readers seem to either love it or find it disappointing, with no in between. Well, I’m that in between. At the end of the day, though, I thought this book was imperfect but really, really fun, and I’m definitely planning to read the second one soon.

The disappointing first half: I struggled with the first half of the book. The opening chapter is fun and sets the stage well, with a foul-mouthed, sarcastic, fierce main character. But from there, it really gets bogged down. The world-building is not great — information was presented without much explanation. It asked too much of the reader as we “listen in” on world-building conversations — which is a lot of pressure and also distracting to try to remember it all. I felt like I was left by the author to sink or swim, to just keep up.

Also, certain things felt like they were done for the plot’s sake without being true to the character, like Gideon’s willingness to take a vow of silence around all the other houses. Why would she do that? I also felt that the mystery and suspense was built sloppily. Multiple times, a character was interrupted right before they were about to say something important — like “I can only conclude that the murder happened by…” and then NO ONE went back and demanded that they finish their thought when the interruption passed. Even to solve a murder!! It was totally unrealistic and just felt sort of lazy.

Finally, I was so incredibly tired of Gideon and Harrow being enemies. It just went on WAY too long. Basically, I struggled with it until things finally picked up in the second half.

The great second half: There was one specific moment — a WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF moment — where I knew I’d hit the part where it was about to get good. I could have used that plot escalation at like the 25% mark instead of the 60-ish% mark, but it’s all good. Once we hit that point of no return, I was absolutely sucked in. Things moved fast, characters started growing and changing, central questions were answered, and evil plots were uncovered. The ending completely surprised me, and I need to know what happens next. I’ll be reading book two very soon, and I’m hoping it carries over the energy that the second half of this book built.

TL; DR: Set aside your critical eye, read this one for fun, and stick with it. I think it’s worth it.