Uptown Oracle Reads… Gideon the Ninth

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

(Affiliate Links)

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

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 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.

Gideon the Ninth was a book I went into with very little information but I had been told it was good. I was luckily not disappointed at all. Gideon the Ninth is a wonderful book full of great characters, intriguing world building and also a heavy emphasis on it’s necormancy magic system (in space!).

The start does start of slow paced, but quickly brings you a lot of information on Gideon and Harrowhark, as well as the Ninth House and the overall worldbuilding in the first few chapters. It was definitely a lot to take on board, but because it’s written within context and not just told through someone else I found after those first few chapters I was leaning into this new world easily and wanted to learn more.

Gideon the Ninth combines fantasy and sci-fi with necromancers who also live and travel in space. When in space and travelling, I adored the descriptions of the beauty of seeing the planets and the new things from Gideon’s perspective as she’d never left home (despite wanting to!). However the majority of the book is spent on planet.

Gideon and Harrow are vastly different people with a lot of hatred (but also a hint of goodness there). I liked the way that them fighting throughout the entirety of their childhood actually helps them when it comes to fighting together, as they knew and understand each others movements so well. Another good thing is that they do eventually communicate with one another, instead of consistently misunderstanding one another.

On top of our main characters there’s many secondary characters of the other houses. Starting with all their names listed out at the front was helpful, but as you read further they all become distinct because of their personalities and how they act. Most of them do lean into their house stereotypes, but I liked how all of them interacted with one another too.

The arc of the story hinges on the weird mystery of becoming a Lyctor in general, and the strange tasks to take on in the First Hosuse. Necromancy is a whole magic system in itself, with different ways of being a necromancer. Each house has it’s own ways and they judge one another for it. It’s a bit like cliques but a bit darker at times, and I enjoyed seeing Harrow learn more about Necromancy and put skills to the test. The other house necromancers also had their own specific skills which were shown off too.

Gideon the Ninth is a SFF book, but it also has hints of a murder mystery/horror. A group comes together to stay in one house and someone gets killed, and all suspects are within the room. The horror vibes are probably from the skeletons and necromancy, but it’s even got the vibes down to blood messages on the wall. There’s a big mystery, but also smaller mysteries which are beautifully unveiled by the end of Gideon (although some mysteries are left for the next book too).

Gideon the Ninth’s pacing starts of slow with a lot of info, and by the end the pace is so quick that you can’t put it down. The writing also shows so much that at times it doesn’t even explicitly tell you what happens, but you instinctively know because of the context and knowing the characters.

Positives of Gideon the Ninth

• Strong character developement
• Unique necromancy

Negatives of Gideon the Ninth

• Some slow pacing near the start (but gets better)

If you enjoy content on Uptown Oracle consider supporting us:
 Ko-fi  | PayPal