Gideon the Ninth

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How do I review Gideon the Ninth without spoiling what Gideon the Ninth is? I'm sure almost all people involved in the world of books have heard of this one by now, but I've found that not a lot of people have any idea what the book is actually about. And it is...God, this is really hard to do, isn't it? Well, Gideon the Ninth is an experience. Yes, it's a book. A book about lesbian necromancers in space. (That always makes me giggle. It's an over-simplification, but it's a fantastic description.) Gideon the Ninth is — no, no, The Locked Tomb series, at it's core, a phenomenal feat of plot. Of the two books that are currently published and available for reading, Gideon the Ninth is the more simple and easy to understand.

We'll get to that in my review of Harrow the Ninth. I'm scaring you, I can sense it.

So what's Gideon the Ninth about? Well, in this world there are Nine Houses ruled over by the Emperor. The Emperor has a problem — all his special soldiers — his lyctors — are dying. He needs to re-up his numbers, so he's asked the Nine Houses to send their best to the mostly-made-of-ruins-and-abandoned First House for a competition to see who is worthy to join his ranks. (This plot is vaguely Hunger Games-y. There's a competition between houses but there aren't really any rules.) Each House is supposed to send one necromancer, and one cavalier.

But the Ninth House has a problem — they have a necromancer, Harrowhark, but no worthy cavalier. Instead, they have to settle for Gideon. Gideon is a foul-mouthed, trash goblin of a person and I love her with my whole entire heart. She spends the entire novel spewing sarcasm and memes and taking almost no situation seriously. Despite being 99% sarcasm, Gideon is fantastic with a sword and she knows it. The biggest problem though, is that Gideon and Harrowhark hate each other. It is so much fun watching them circle each other like sharks, and eventually figuring out one another.

There is a huge big question mark in the middle of this book — a huge something that the entire plot revolves around. The mystery is left until the very end and when you finally, finally get answers it's like getting hit by a high-speed train. Muir writes the reveal phenomenally well, and you won't be left feeling like you're missing something.

This is a review of Gideon the Ninth after me reading it for the second time, and I can honestly say it's still a five star read for me. But I will say that with this caveat — this is not a book for everyone. Gideon is a little obnoxious. There are actual literal internet memes referenced in the text. If you aren't into these things, you'll probably not like Gideon the Ninth, and that's okay. But if you're at all interested, give Gideon the Ninth a shot!