Book Review: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

TLDR: Dark, decayed setting and premise, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is a gorgeous and grim mystery, with purpose and love at its heart.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Necromancy IS this book. You can’t escape it. If you’re not a fan of bones, skeletons, dirt, blood and just moldy, decaying worlds, this book is not for you. But within that darkness lies an interesting tale of love, friendship, loyalty, and secrets that once unwrapped, grabs you by the throat and won’t let you go.

It is a very long book that doesn’t get going until approx. 220 pages in, so if you’re unwilling to go that long for the action, this book is not for you. And plenty of reviewers have had that very complaint. I get it. I felt it was a bit slow as well, but it was complex enough and went deeply enough on who Gideon was that I kept going.

Once we hit the midpoint and the murdering begins, it’s on like Donkey Kong (yes, I know, my age is showing).

And I loved it. I felt it, more than I expected to. I got the relationship between Gideon and Harrowhawk and I understood why the author spent the time she did in the setup. It wasn’t just for the characters, but for the world as well (it’s a trilogy, with book 2, Harrow the Ninth, out already).