Gideon the Ninth

by Tamsyn Muir

Hardcover, 448 pages

English language

Published Aug. 6, 2019 by Tordotcom.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-31319-5

(265 reviews)

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

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 be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their …

Of course, some things are better left dead.

8 editions

Sergio reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I didn't know what to expect from this after 2 years of this series being talked about among people whose taste tend to align with mine in kind of ambiguous ways. I knew people liked it but I also half anticipated it to be a gamble for me on the basis of all the "memes references" and "ow the edge" talk. Both, as it turns out, were way overblown (at least to me), and instead I found an incredibly entertaining sci-fantasy novel with great worldbuilding, a clever magic system, a memorable cast, some really alluring lore, a core plot that reminded me of the Zero Escape video game series (which is a good thing), and a unique, refreshing author voice. Halfway through the 80 percents I realized I was in what I can only (unfortunately) describe as a Brandon Sanderson-style rollercoaster of a last act (I'm told Gene Wolfe once …

sapphiction reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Would make an awesome show...

5 stars

Very fun read!

Blind_Mapmaker reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb Trilogy)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

4.25 Takes a while to get into and you should be okay with lots of gore, lymph, fat and of course bone (and boning jokes). There are a tad too many characters for my taste, but the main ones are very well-developed. The world-building is good, but sparse. It's really structured around being the first volume of a tetralogy. Gideon might not be the most relatable protagonist with her weird upbringing, but her wisecracks are generally not annoying and the conceit for making her shut up for the middle part of the book is quite nice.

In general, it's great to see some lesbian respresentation that doesn't drift much into the physical. The way the characters feel about each other actually does make sense for the horrible death-universe they grow up in. It's probably not for those just looking for a more upbeat read, but it's also not quite as …

Maese reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Durante más de la mitad del libro no tenía ni idea de que iba,pero aún así me tenía enganchadisimo. A ver cuándo puedo poner las manos encima de la segunda parte.

Barbara Krasnoff reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I read this by chance and I'm very glad I did. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first - all those bones! - but I was completely drawn into the story to the end. I also loved the matter-of-fact voice of the narrator, Gideon. A really fun read.

marksutherland reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Update: it's unusual for me to reread anything these days, especially only after a year, but in the wake of Harrow it seemed like the obvious thing to do. Second time round there are less surprises, but instead you get to appreciate how well they are set up and foreshadowed. The duels still stand out, capturing the intensity of combat, and the last third of the book is almost impossible too so reading (not including the substantial back matter that helps flesh out the world, which is missing from Harrow come to think of it). If you're looking for a Halloween read, this should be it as is hard to think of a box it doesn't tick: bones, witches, ghosts, monsters, costumes, face paint, prizes for showing off, childhood trauma and dad jokes.

This book seems to have been built from the parts of so many great things that is extremely hard to pin down what one thing it is, but it is certainly entertaining and hard to put down once it gets going. It's also the first book I've read where instead of yearning for a movie or TV series adaptation it really feels like it needs to be animated. Perhaps the poor souls behind the Castlevania Netflix series can pick this up.

Now follows a list of pop culture hybrid descriptions that don't do it justice: Goth Dune, literary black metal, Utena goes to the Hunger Games, Bleach in spaaaaaace, Agatha Christie's Dracula, Harry Potter except Voldemort won and everyone is in Slytherin now, etc.

While it is very much my thing, I can imagine some folk might be put off by the abrupt changes in tone, hyper modern dialog and relentless dad jokes, but all of these things just seasoned the broth to my delight. An unexpected bittersweet joy.

anaulin reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

My notes: anaulin.org/blog/book-notes-gideon-the-ninth/

Vilhelm R reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Oh Undying King, Prime Necromancer, what an absolute gift this book is! I read a lot, and this is easily one of my favourite books of the past few years, and I bought the sequel before I had even finished this one. I'm thrilled that it's a part of a series, that I get to follow this tale even farther, and I can't imagine anything stopping me from recommending this book far and wide. Love it! In fact, it could cause me to downrate certain other five star books to four, simply since the ceiling has been raised so much!

Andy Pressman reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Joss Whedon has doomed us all

2 stars

Book's okay, with a plot that chugs along and some fun character design and costuming, but it's just so in love with its own voice. Narrator and descriptive text are both arch, clever, "cussy!", and devoid of anything human. As review title suggests, we have yet to escape Buffy.

Darius Kazemi reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

A love-it-or-hate-it proposition

3 stars

Count me as one of the people who really can't stand the author's extremely strong authorial voice. Sometimes it was genuinely funny and I loved it but it was SO omnipresent and overbearing that eventually it felt like I was being told a pretty interesting scifi/fantasy story by someone who desperately needs me to find them hilarious.

I love the world it's set in, I love the whole goth cultists in space thing. I don't like the protagonist and I don't like that most of the characters are emotionally confused teenagers. It feels like I was tricked into reading a mislabeled YA novel. And like, YA is fine, but I like to know what I'm getting into ahead of time?

I think that if your sense of humor aligns with the author you might love this novel! But if you don't, you might hate it.

ish-i-ness reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I can’t even begin to rate this book. There’s a lot to like. Gideon has a unique, very entertaining voice. The magic is all very cool. The interplay of characters is complex and intricate. But I am so confused. Lol. I will say that if an adaptation were ever made (for some reason i think an anime-style thing would work really well) I would totally watch it. At the moment, though, I’m really on the fence about whether I want to continue with the series, and I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m so reluctant.

TowerOfTheArchmage reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb Trilogy)

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Holy crap that was amazing

mouse reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #1)

necromancer space lesbians, hello

5 stars

this book is just FUN? like there are moments where it could have been a little too on-the-nose or too self-conscious but it pulls it off because it's so enjoyable to read.

and the audio book is great

Jon Fincher reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Review of 'Gideon the Ninth' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow.

Just... wow.

This was a hell of a fun ride. I love stories which just throw you into the world, and expect you to figure it out as the story goes along. That is, as long as the author can give you enough clues and description and character development to show you the world she's building.

And Tamsyn Muir is more than capable of doing just that. She is a wonderful writer, and I would read anything else she chooses to write, no matter the genre or material. Hell, even the Acknowledgements at the end of the book were entertaining.

I won't give the plot away, except to say that this is a great twist on the traditional swords-and-sorcery fantasy genre, with a bit of a sci-fi element. Her characters are modern and smart and three-dimensional. The dialogue is crisp and funny and sometimes poignant and always moving …