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 be 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.
Ok, this might be a weird and/or complicated review, so… you know. Fair warning.
GIDEON THE NINTH is, like so many books, one that I’ve been meaning to get to for a long time. I was actually sent an ARC for this book all the way back in April of 2019, which…oof. I try my best to read everything that gets sent my way, but sometimes, things slip through the cracks.
But, well…it’s a bit more complicated than that with GIDEON THE NINTH.
While no book gets 100% good reviews across the board, there was something about GIDEON THE NINTH that really stood out to me as I watched the reactions to the book after its release. It was probably as divisive a reaction to a book as I’ve ever seen. I just wasn’t seeing a lot of “Yeah, it was pretty good, I liked it” type responses.
It was a lot more “I had no clue what was happening here, DNF!” or “THIS BOOK SPEAKS TO MY SOUL IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!!!!”
And for one reason or another, I think I let the divisive nature of these reviews put me off of reading this, a feeling I’m still trying to unpack. Especially when some of my closest online friends are LOCKED TOMB superfans…and they are folks I typically share similar opinions with!
GIDEON THE NINTH isn’t the most plot-heavy book I’ve read, and with nearly 12,000 reviews on Goodreads, I’m not sure my review needs to get too far into the plot details. But the book delighted me & made me feel F E E L I N G S in a way I didn’t anticipate. Tamsyn Muir is a fiendishly clever author, and this story just felt like some totally bananas/goth/queer riff on Clue.
I fucking loved it so stupid much. Oof.
Gideon Nav is great with a sword. Like, really fucking great. She’s training to become the cavalier to the Ninth House’s necromancer, Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Thing is, Harrow & Gideon kind of hate each other. A lot.
Maybe. You’ll see. JUST… IT’S A VIBE. The banter, the barbs, the vitriol…
They receive an invitation to a trial of sorts… a test. At the Emperor’s request, the heirs of all nine houses & their respective cavaliers travel to the planet of the First House, to a decrepit mansion called Canaan House. There, a series of puzzles & challenges await the heirs, as they vie to become Lyctors, and ultimately immortal.
For some reason the lyrics to that stupid “let the bodies hit the floor” song just popped into my head, because holy fuck, the bodies most certainly start hitting the floor at this point. Like … goddamn. 💀
Muir introduces a wild & extensive cast of characters, but I would urge you to not get super attached!
This book is just a fucking whirlwind of weirdness. There’s a whole lot of necromancy (NECROMANCY!), some really cool & imaginative fight scenes, and the whole book is just dripping with atmosphere. GIDEON THE NINTH is also funny as hell, too!
And as I mentioned earlier, this one had me choked up more than a few times, which I didn’t totally anticipate. I think that just speaks to how talented Tamsyn Muir is…this world kind of absorbs you into its bleakness, its harshness, its danger. And then you get this sucker-punch of raw emotion & beauty and it’s fucking amazing.
ONE FLESH, ONE END, BITCH.
Grimdark Dad 
I need to get to this one! I think I’ll love it but I have to admit the decisive reviews have made me hesitant. I’m glad it worked for you!
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Ooh, I’m glad to read your thoughts on this one. I’ve had this book for a while as well, but still haven’t read it! I hope I can get to it this year. 😛
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This book was definitely one of the strangest and most fantastic things I’ve ever read.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed this book! This is one of those weird, rare scenarios where I’ve been putting off reading a book because I am so thoroughly convinced I’ll adore it, that I think I’m worried I’ve hyped myself up too much. I need to just get over it, because I NEED to read this book (and I bought the first 2, so… what’s the hold-up?! Lmao).
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