Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1)

Summary:

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

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

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 cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

To start with, this is definitely a book that you’re not going to understand everything off the bat.  These types of books can be frustrating because I want to fully understand the context, but it came together beautifully.  I have no clue how this got on my “must read” list, but I think it was a random Instagram recommendation and I’m so glad it was.

Gideon is a badass stuck on the utter wasteland that is the Ninth, yet thrown into an opportunity to escape by helping Harrowhark in the trials for Lyctorhood.  Throughout the trials we get to know both Harrow and Gideon better and how the Ninth turns out to be quite different to the other eight houses.  There is something about the complexity of the characters and world that had me enraptured the whole book.  It’s extremely refreshing to have an entirely new world-building that is different than anything else that I’ve read.

This will definitely qualify as one of my favorite books of 2019 and I will certainly be looking forward to the release of the subsequent books in the series. 

Warning: Contains repeated violence.

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? People that are ok with necromancers and a bit of a horror flair to their science fiction.

Want to read the whole series?

• Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #2)

• Alecto the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #3)