Gideon The Ninth Locked Tomb Series #1 by Tamsyn Muir
Product Details
Web ID: 12620816Fun and confusing, 3[1/2] stars?
i was recommended Gideon by a friend who had just recently finished it and I needed something refreshing to read. The characters are fun, I did occasionally get confused as who was who and what house they were from but I grew attached to most of the cast. The 2 main characters in particular are funny in different ways. Gideon is much more immature and sarcastic in her humor and Harrowhark's is more dry and usually unintentional. The world building was really interesting, I especially liked how there were different forms or studies of necromancy and how each house usually had a specialty in each and learning a bit about how they work. But at the same time it's pretty confusing. Gideon, the POV main character, arguably has the least amount of knowledge on what's going on, but that doesn't tend to prompt anyone to explain it, or at least not well. They usually either ignore her requests for information or they explain it in so much Jargon that it goes over my head and leaves me more confused. Without giving anything away, by the end one character does something but I'm still completely lost as to what he did and there's not really an explanation on how it works the way it worked and why. And plot was also even more confusing, maybe bc it also relied heavily on the magic system I don't really fully understand but I felt like I really couldn't follow at least half of the lines of logic the characters were theorizing on. The writing style, in my opinion, kinda felt like everyone else knows what's going on so either you have to too or you're left in the dust. Which i guess comes with the territory of writing from a POV perspective of someone in it, and someone who also doesnt have as much knowledge as everyone else rather than some omnipotent narrator. There were times that it was hard to really get into what was happening because i was having to reread so many times and try to imagine it and my brain just couldn't compute the 2 things at once. And my friend has been reading the second book and says that it's even more confusing and has been taking her even longer to get through😅. And this is the kind of book where you think "well now I HAVE to read the next one." Overall it's fun and it's interesting but HELLA confusing as well so I would maybe prepare for that.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
I need a brain transplant
I’m going to be the outlier here and say while I liked the book, I’m not sure if I can bear to read it again. The character are engaging. The storyline is…..impossible to follow. I have no idea who did what or where or to whom most of the time. I feel like I need a brain transplant to understand these books. And it’s a shame because what I do understand is delightful.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Must Read!
This book is quite literally one of the best things I have ever read (and I've read quite a lot, as one can imagine). Witty, heartbreaking, humorous, just an outrageous display of talent on the behalf of the lovely Tamsyn Muir. One of the most iconic additions to the realm of Sci-Fi-Fantasy, it's genrebreaking and defining. Easily some of the most enticing and genius worldbuidling, characterbuilding, and all around prose that I have ever consumed! The audiobook is also absolutely amazing, if you are partial to them!
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Necromancy At its Finest
My father gave me this book as a present and whatever led him to it has my eternal gratitude. Muir creates a world so beautifully horrid you cant help but want to be part of it. Every part of this story had me eager to read more, understand more, be Gideon more. It was the sort of page turner I annoyed friends and family with trying to explain in hopes I could talk to someone about. A beautiful blend of Sci-fi, Fantasy and LGBTQIA+ shenanigans. Truly my new favourite book.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Absolutely incredible
This novel gripped me by the throat in the first chapter and never let go. Gideon is an incredibly compelling character, and Muir does not rush into unpacking her. This slow-burn novel starts strong and builds, immediately earning its place on my best shelf. The plot is complex and requires attention, and while it slows down at points even its slowest moments are fascinating. I have never read a book like this one, and there are multiple moments that left me reeling. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll run out to buy the next one.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Wish I could read it for the first time again!
I cannot praise this book, or this series, enough. I cared about every character, especially our title character, Gideon. She is a national treasure. This series is part spooky necromancers in space (with an amazing magic system!), part murder mystery whodunit, and all heart. I alternated between laughing out loud (so much of this story is deliciously quotable), stressing over our characters' fates, and crying my eyes out. What a rollercoaster! I only wish I could experience it for the first time all over again. I will say outright that the beginning can be a little confusing at first, especially if you aren't too familiar with the scifi/fantasy genres, because you are introduced to a lot of complicated names and unique worldbuilding that the author tosses you right into the thick of. But just hang in there! It all makes sense and it is so, so worth it!
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Loved it!
This is very different from most books, so you have to have a sense of adventure to read it. Be prepared to be confused for the first half of the book, as you are caught up in a world like none you know, but Muir really delivers at the end. I really enjoyed the world building and the main characters; it is rare to write a likeable, loyal dumb jock as a female and even rarer to have her be the main character but Muir pulls it off beautifully, even combining genres to add a locked room mystery in her lesbian necromancer romance!
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Incredible! Show Stopping!
Gideon the Ninth is the perfect book for queer people who love complex world building, necromancers, skeletons and women. The aesthetic is fantastic. Gothic sci-fi is definitely a genre that needs more books. The characters are so entertaining, especially the mc, Gideon. Her humor is just a perfect mixture between middle school and gen z pessimist humor. This book is really one of a kind .
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com