Ninth House

Hay magia negra, fantasmas, sociedades secretas y vida universitaria, pero esta novela es en realidad una crítica al sufrimiento atroz sobre el que se funda el sistema capitalista. Un sufrimiento que, además, carga todo su doloroso peso en las desposeídas: mujeres, personas racializadas, pobres, disidentes y neurodivergentes ven su vida consumida para que los privilegiados mantengan su poder.

I finally read this, before the release of the 2nd book yeah (after more than 3 years lol), Alex Stern is a very interesting and compelling character, this book was violent, gory, murdery, magicky but I really enjoyed it, I would have liked more of the side characters, and I hated one horrendous scene with 13 yr old Alex that was unnecessary imo

I enjoyed Leigh Bardugo's excursion into adult fantasy. The setting of the old houses was exciting and felt like a magical homage to the dark academia genre. One or the other (important) character has very rudimentary motivations and some backstories felt like they came right out of a template book, but that didn't stop me from diving into this new world. Even if the finale seems a bit like a fever dream. I am looking forward to a sequel.

Best ghost story I've ever read. Probably because it's not a ghost story in the classical sense of the word, but a modern book with all the necessary hook and payoff to make it a great read. But it's also a ghost story.
What I love about it is that people seem brutally realistic. People with power act like people with power. People who want to do better are flawed people who try and sometimes do a bit better. People with problems get into more problems. For the most part. But there's a bit of power and rightness fantasy in it too, to not make it completely bleak.
Really, really solid read (or listen).

3/5
Intriguing concept, bland plot, decent characters...

I am not all that into fantasy books but I thought it'd be good to give this one a try. In short: it wasn't a total disappointment but it could have been much better.

What irked me most about the writing goes back to the way characters/plot lines were ~wrapped up~ more so in the case of Darlington's situation, which felt quite... dull.

At her web site, Bardugo warns potential readers that this book is very different from her Shadow and Bone books, darker and more adult, and I appreciated the tip because it is definitely an adult book, intense and violent enough that a couple of times I almost decided to stop reading. That said, I couldn't stand not to know what happened! And it's a very good book and enlivened with touches of the same humor you'll find in Shadow and Bone. I don't regret reading it and look forward to a planned sequel.

Ha sido un libro extraño en principio. Se trata de urban fantasy y te introduce en un universo en el que no se explica nada con saltos temporales de la protagonista y los secundarios pero a medida que vas leyendo todo va cayendo en su lugar.
Los personajes me ha enamorado, están muy bien construidos y te vas encariñando de ellos a medida que va pasando la historia. Me he quedado con ganas de leer el siguiente.

Als Fan von Urban Fantasy sollte dieses Buch eigentlich genau mein Beuteschema sein, allerdings habe ich mich mit dem ersten Drittel sehr schwer getan und hätte es beinahe abgebrochen. Ich hatte Probleme mit dem Erzählstil, in dem zahlreiche Informationen erst nachträglich scheibchenweise nachgereicht wurden.

Etwa nach einem Drittel hat die Handlung mich doch noch gepackt, allerdings blieben die Figuren für mich eher blass. Ob ich den nächsten Teil lesen werde, weiß ich noch nicht.

Parece un trhiller normal ambientado en una universidad pija americana, con sus asesinatos, sus drogas y sus fraternidades, pero se le suma el factor fantástico de sociedades secretas de magos, y fantasmas pululando para dejarlo todo bien arriba.
Protagonista bien desarrollada y secundarios interesantes, los giros esperables y los inesperados, y un ritmo más rápido de lo que esperaba viendo el tamaño del libro son lo que ha echo que me haya gustado mucho.

This book had all the elements I like, but for whatever reason I found it hard to keep my attention focused on it. I'm wondering if I were to read it when we're NOT in the midst of a pandemic if I would've been more immersed. Love the strong (and unlikely) Alex Stern as its protagonist. I'll look forward to her next adventures – hopefully without the distraction of these crazy times.