Gideon The Ninth - REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2020
- My review of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
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Since it's from Gideon's POV, I think the "holes" in the plot could be explained by Gideon not really knowing or paying attention to certain things
If the plot was about boobs and damsels, Gideon would have known everything
I just finished the book, and I didn't realize "Reads like a bar fight" meant at the end I'd have my emotional teeth kicked in with the story rifling through my pockets for tears. Amazing story, wait till you have time off or a weekend for the end of the book
Necromancy scifi that is a genre I didn't know I needed in my life
This is the type of comment that I didn't know I needed to see in almost every daniel Greene video.(recently)
Read Dune.
The Duncans lmao
Agreed
Ehhh, I’d call it fantasy more so than sci fi
Daniel: Necromancy
Me: Oh he's gonna like this book
Daniel loves necromancy, you didn't know? He used to talk with J.R.R Tolkien.
Leader of the party: "I must avenge my brother!"
Warrior: "You have my ax!"
Ranger:" You have my bow!"
Necromancer: "And you have your brother!"
LOOOLLLLL
ROFL
"Show them what the Ninth House does!"
"We do BONES, MOTHERFUCKER!"
As someone with a Master's in writing, I was blown away by Muir's style. Her main weapon in this book is humor, and the comedic elements are the best I've seen used in the genre. Not only does it keep you interested in what's going on by the use of off-color descriptions and commentary that are just plain bizarre, it also serves to contrast the deep inner loathing that several of the characters feel later on. You get an idea of the true depth of human emotion as a wisecracking badass is popping jokes while being in the midst of crippling depression. I began the book laughing, I finished it (and began Harrow the Ninth) in very real tears.
I am not even close to the target audience for the book and I'm finding myself agreeing with you at about halfway through. Her command of tone is so strong that I can see how it's polarizing but I'm impressed and enjoying it way more than I expected to.
As someone who doesn't have a masters in writing, I agree
if someone had told me "lesbian necromancers in space" would be a thing I'd be into... ok, I'd have been intrigued ngl. but i didn't know just how much I'd love the voice! that sarcastic cynicism is just perfect for this world. i really hope the author can keep it up.
Me "I need to stop buying books"
Partner "Stop watching Daniel Greene videos"
Me "..I...I can't" ~adds Gideon the Ninth to the list~
Daniel: people SUFFER across the board
Stares in Dulcinea Septimus
Other than how likeable Gideon and most of the characters are, I liked how gross the necromancy was. It’s not just blood and skeletons, there’s gross fat and gristle flying around as well.
I loved that one of the other necromancers just confuses people because he knows medicine and basic first aid.
Also, Moira Quirk is an absolute delight of a narrator in the audiobook version
She made the book for me. I had just finished The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire and I loved the comparison of social exchanges.
The ending absolutely wrecked me. Ugh I really need to reread Gideon the Ninth
Yeah same I was emotionally hung over for the whole day when I finished it
The ending stayed with me for days!
I love Gideon the Ninth, I'm a massive fan of anything gothic and here it is done in such a unique way. The atmosphere is so so good and honestly I didn't mind some of the gaps in the story, it added to the sense of a deeper mystery for me, I feel like overexplaining what was going on might have taken away from that.
part way through reading this now. Love the characters. Other reviews were complaining about the lack of world building. But I really have liked the world-building so far. It doesn't spoon-feed it to you. It doesn't info-dump it on you. You get pieces of info as they occur naturally in the story, and it's rarely in the order I would use if I were to explain it to someone. The reader is dropped into the world without preparation or explanation. You wake up, and there you are. Time is moving forward and the plot must flow. You will have to figure the world out as you go along, stumbling over bone and sinew until your find your bearings. It's a polarizing approach that I really enjoy; I am perfectly OK with being thoroughly confused in the beginning of a story. It feels life-like.
I also eally like Muir's world building. It's more immersive when I'm not constantly being bombarded with descriptions of everything that's different from rl, like every scifi/fantasy is a primer first, story second. Finding the details yourself is much more satisfying.
It really adds an element of reread value! i just finished the audiobook and im immediately going to listen again (rip to the person on the library list waiting on me for their turn but I absolutely NEED to experience this story again with all the Lore in mind. let it really marinate)
I absolutely loved this book I mean Lesbian Necromancers in Space + a mystery in a Gothic Castle... What's there not to love?
I'm in no way, shape or form emotionally ready for the next book in the series
@@ebonking5486 there is no explicit content in the book
Only just noticed she's wearing sunglasses on the cover, lmao
wears sunglasses in the book as well, has to do with the fact the 9th house is located in a low light world and the "Trial" is on a planet with significantly more sunshine.
I would highly recommend the audiobook version. I listened to this one on Audible and the narrator was perfect for it and did such an amazing job
alexis162103 SO MUCH AGREE
Agreed! the narrator did such a good job of bringing the characters, and Gideon's voice specifically, to life.
I agree so much.
Daniel: I going to give some hard number ratings.
Also Daniel: Themes... exist.
I really got the impression that the Houses were the 9 planets of our solar system in order. Yes, including Gideon's Pluto.
Close, but they are not in order. For example Earth is home of the First, Mercury is home of the Sixth.
I found this book very neat. A cynical protagonist with a strange relationship with her partner/rival, a fantasy/sci-fi setting with horror elements, mysteries wrapped with a violence and a cool magic system... A good surprise, indeed, and I'm glad you also enjoyed it! I'm looking forward for the second book, which I think will be avalaible next month!
AAA hello sorry for replying with nothing to add but i really wanna know if this book can be read as a standalone? or if its just... conclusive enough? (i find replying to comments helps get answers! escpecially if they are to people who know what theyre talking about!)
@@doha4258 I wouldn't really say this book can be read as a standalone because there are lots of major plot points that go unexplained that is fleshed out further in the next book. Hope that helps!
@@bean6281 oh it totally would have!! thank you!! unfortunately (not unfortunately) i already read gideon the ninth! and harrow the ninth! and i love them completely and am now waiting for the release of the last one :) so it all worked out, but i really do appreciate you trying to help me out!!
@@doha4258 LOL i guess I was a bit late in my answer, but yayyyy I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I loved Harrow the Ninth too and am so excited for the next as well!
Good luck and godspeed, my friends-Alecto the Ninth has been pushed back to 2022 😔
I wonder if one day, my grandkids will witness Daniel review The Chronicles of Amber or will they continue my legacy of asking for it.
The Amber Chronicles are very under rated and definitely under represented, a hidden gem of a series.
I found this book so opaque, I never felt grounded in the space. It was a super ethereal read. I will say that ending and the promise of the sequel has me intrigued. I’m hoping the next book does a golden son and expands on the universe, leaves the singular location and finds a clear direction of where it’s going.
I couldn't put the book down, my love for the character of Gideon is eternal. I'm painfully excited for the upcoming books. You were spot on about gut punches in the last couple of chapters, and honestly the character development for characters going into book two was interesting.
Great book. I loved how it morphed from fantasy to sci-fi to a murder mystery. Influences from Gormenghast I think, which can never be a negative. A refreshing take on the genre without too many stereotype tropes. Definitely looking forward to the sequel.
I absolutely loved Gideon the Ninth. I’m planning to re-read it this month before Harrow comes out. I think it should have been classified as a fantasy instead of science fiction...I mean, really the whole being in space thing was only mentioned for like 2 seconds. I LIVED for the hysterically funny interactions between Gideon and Harrow. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
“Say it, loser.”
yup that's what i always say about this book: it's so fun and amazing BUT it's a really niche type of book and there are a lot of people who just won't vibe with it
what makes it niche?
i'm so happy you liked it!! by the way, i've read harrow the ninth already and it's even more confusing and "messy" than gideon the ninth. i loved it for that, but i do think it's important to be aware of that when you pick it up!
"Necromancy's awesome"
- DnD player who loves playing necromancy
The end had me screaming for 25 minutes like "how dare". Best book of 2019.
(Maybe spoilery) Honestly that ending, months later still has me salty. But I have hope, considering certain things were never actually confirmed or was conclusive at the end.
Next book is pretty much the same, but you start screaming "how dare" from earlier on.
I'm a sci find reader and this was one of my favorite books of 2019. Gideon is just the coolest.
Coming back to this review after I read the book makes me really appreciate you as a reviewer. You really nailed signalling all the problems ppl may have with the book, while also radiating positivity. 😁 I loved the book to death, so thanks for convincing me to try it!
Yesss this book was so good! I love Gideon so much as a character, and the story was so... different, but in a good way! My boyfriend read it in one sitting, and he's usually not that type of reader. It was definitely a one-sitting reading for both of us.
Wow, your reviews have leveled up! So informative, great job!
Never thought I would hear skeletons and galactic empire in the same line but now that I have that's pretty dope
I've read all three books, and I'm currently rereading them as I wait for Alecto's release. Something I really appreciate about Tamsyn Muir's approach to this series is that she slowly reveals the overarching plot to you. Rereading the series is a lot of fun for that reason. You have a lot of context for choices that don't necessarily make sense on the initial read, and you really get an appreciation for the planning she put into this series. I can absolutely see why that would be a turn off for someone who is a more plot focused reader, but it's something I genuinely enjoy.
Just burned through this book in one day. So good. I felt that even though this is the first in a series, there were not any glaring cliff hangers.
I read this the second it came out last year and have done several rereads since. Hands down the best book I read in 2019. That being said, I agree that those isn't the book for everyone. Less than two weeks until Harrow, and the short story made available back in June was also wonderful.
I adore this book so much! Gideon is my new fav queen. Muir has a gift with language that is reminiscent of Abercrombie imo. Love, love, love. Thank you for the review!
I bought it, read it in two days and bought the second book.
Oh man! i really love this book but everyone i have spoken too hasn't liked it that much. I didn't expect to love it as much as i did but Gideon is such an engaging character and i could read her internal monologue forever.
at the end of the book i was waiting for Gideon to say Journey before destination.
I think Gideon the Ninth is up for a Hugo this year, so that is really cool! I'm glad you enjoyed this book Daniel. I'm a character driven story lover too, and Gideon was a lot of fun to read. My heart is happy to hear you say stories with Necromancy are awesome, as I work on a story with a Granny Necromancer and a plot conflict engineered by Necromancy. :D :D
Hayley ^_^
Damn you, Daniel! Each positive review puts even another book on my TBR.
I think if I stop adding books, I will be able to finish in hopefully less than 1000 years
I clicked on this immediately as someone who’s in the middle of reading this and loving it so far. It really vibes with me as someone who loves the Old Republic setting in Star Wars as well as LGBTQ stories!
A *humerus* approach. I couldn't help myself.
ahh Im so glad you reviewed this! Very hyped for Harrow the Ninth, hope you'll review it as well!
Loved this review and now I really want to pick this one up!
Fantastic job of selling this book for us. I actually picked it up on Kindle recently when it was on sale and I will absolutely be reading it in the near future.
Great review. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I noticed when you started your channel you got a ton of viewers really quick. How did you break thru so fast?
Chaotic is the right word - but I love Muir for *committing* to the chaos. And while it's not deep literary analysis, I find that as long as I care about the characters, even if that care translates to hatred (looking at Cytherea and John and Ianthe), I can handle a LOT of chaos.
So glad you finally reviewed this. I loved the main character in this, though i haven't finished this yet.
Wait I was JUST looking at this book not even 2 hours ago online and I go on yt and the first vid I see is your review posted 4 hours ago! Thanks!
Have you read Sabriel? I really enjoyed its magic system.
Yes! Those books were incredible! Garth Nix rocked with that series!
Thanks Daniel. I do really like great magic and character work in books. So, I did purchase the audio book from Audible. Once I get my current project of the Wot done, I will check this series out. I am now almost 20% finished with the Shadow Rising.
I just bought the book on a whim this review definitely convinced me to read it ASAP 🤣 thank you so much for making thiss!!!!
If you’re looking for more unorthodox fantasy, I would recommend “How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse.” It’s Sci-fi with magic and fairies and political intrigue. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
Happy reading😁
Got this book arriving today on your recommendation. Super excited.
A rec: The Tensorate Series by J.Y.Yang. Choosing your gender is a core part of the world building and it's set in fantasy Singapore, magic system is like Avatar: TLA meets string theory. Not a very long series but very character/world driven.
Oh I'm glad you read this one! It's super refreshing amid so much standard fantasy and sci-fi.
Glad I saw your review and watched. Book is on sale today for Kindle!
I appreciated the talent the author has but I could not get into it for the life of me. And it sounded right up my alley! I couldn't even explicitly say why I couldn't get into it but I couldn't even finish
Just finished the first book today. Loved it.
Fun book and the 2nd one comes out on August 4th for anyone interested. The audiobook version has a stellar performance
Definitely going to have to pick this up next time I go to B&N!
If you're really into Necromancy I definitely recommend you check out Dead of Night by M.R. Forbes. It's an urban fantasy series with an original take on Necromancy and the power struggle of warring magical houses
I just bought it, excited to get into it.
Cool review, Daniel. An overall score of 7.5 is high. And you mentioned Glokta as comparison so I might give this a read. Talking about sci-fi, let me digress, when are you going to continue the review on The Expanse? If I remember it right, you are on Book 3, right?
read this one so quickly, surprisingly it was very fun and made me extremely pumped for the sequel
Does anyone know if he's already picked up and reviewed the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour?
I know I was really happy that I randomly picked up this book when it was released. I went in blind and loved it.
Love this review. Non-traditional fantasy? This makes me super eager to get my book in front of you for an honest review. LoL I'm gonna have to hit you up in 2021 haha
Finally read this. Super fun!
Okay I’m going to check this book out. I just discovered your channel today and I’m glad I did. If you want an untraditional si-fi then I encourage you to read Nightlife by Rob Thurman. It’s realistic in the bonds that are made and so twisted at the same time. Please read you won’t be disappointed.
I agree that I am very interested to see how the second book pays out, I think my biggest personal preference disconnect was the writing style. My brain was just constantly having issues processing the complex bits which is weird cause I just read Ninefox Gambit which is super intricate and had no issues so I think the writing style and my brain just didn’t go well. I think I also would have just loved a dual pov approach so I could get more Harrow cause they obviously knew all the things I wanted to know and pay attention to while Gideon was just sort if being political but mostly just silently walking around and getting into random fights.
One of my favorite books of the past year! Also recommend Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
2 star review right here... I can appreciate a different direction, but not one whose world seems inconsistent. It was a shame, because I liked the magic system, just not the main character or writing style.
I read it last month loved it.
Its right down my alley....
Thank you for reviewing this one! I also thought it was awesome and wrote a review for it for my little media group just last week. I saw some of the plot holes as being Gideon’s unreliable narrative.
You mentioned in a previous video that you like fantasy and stuff that isn't set in a western or european location.
I can reccomend "Kingdom" South Korean zombie show on Netflix. (Over simplification) Based upon the graphic novel "Kingdom of Gods".
One of my favourites and I think it is right up your street.
Love the videos!
''The Last Kingdom'' and ''kingdom'' are the only decent shows on netflix.
This book sounds interesting and worth a read. Thanks Daniel!
Hey @Daniel Greene, I'd like to give some reading recommendations to some self-published Kindle books that deserve some love. I have 2 self-published book recommendations.
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The first is the Magebreakers series by Ben S. Dobson. To sum it up in a sentence, its Muggle Sherlock Holmes and Orc Watson teaming up to solve magical crime in a magical steampunk world. The description for the first book is,
" In a city that runs on magic, it takes a man with none to solve an impossible murder.
In a world of elves and dwarves and sprites and mages, Tane Carver is a human with no gift but his wits. Which, to be fair, did get him into the world’s most prestigious university of magical technology.
For a while.
Until his lack of magic was discovered. And then it all came crashing down.
But when a student is murdered on campus behind unbreakable wards, Tane gets a second chance. Solving an impossible crime should be easy for the man who fooled the university’s best mages for years. Except he’s not counting on the head constable being an old flame who isn’t so fond of him anymore. Or on Kadka, the half-crazy half-orc who insists she’s his partner-whether he likes it or not.
Not to mention the masked mage who keeps trying to kill him.
Now, Tane’s survival depends on the one truth that has never failed him. The flaw in all magic that those who have it prefer to ignore: the mage.
Outsmart the mage, and you outsmart the spell.
And outsmarting mages is what Tane does best."
Anyways, Dobson gets creative with the execution and twists of the standard fanatsy races and it does feel satisying seeing Tane use his wits as a Muggle to outsmart and defeat Mages with his just as magicless but super strong female half-Orc partner Kadka by his side, all while solving a magical murder in a magic powered steampunk city. Their chemistry as platonic partners is great. I highly recommend checking the series out.
Plus, each of the 4 books out so far are about 200-250 pages so it's a quick read to voracious and fast readers like myself. And each book is $0.99 so you can get the whole series so far for about $4.
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The second recommendation is the Paternus Trilogy by Dyrk Ashton. Imagine the Percy Jackson series but grimdark and for adults. It's isn't SUPER grimdark but around GRRM's level of gore when it comes to fight scenes and it's subject matter is more suited for teenagers and adults.
Anyways, all the gods exist and they all exist under a cohesive world mythology. The Gods are known as Firstborn and they're known by various names in different mythologies. I think Ashton does a pretty great job in welding various mythologies together into a cohesive whole and I got to give props on how well he did in doing his research on Hindu mythology, which is rare in the West. I also like the unique way that he was able to link all these mythological deities together which involves ancient extinct animals and dinosaurs . The characters, action, and humor are pretty great and it's a real treat to see how all these mythological figures fit in this world. And man, the Final Battle in Book 3 is over 200 pages long and it makes the Final Battle of Avengers: Endgame look tame by comparison.
Fair warning, this is a series that really requires you to have a pen and paper or a Word document beside you when you read because taking notes is going to help a lot because a lot of information gets thrown at you and I think it helps to organize it on a word document. But man, I'd totally be down for a Paternus style Silmarillon if it ever comes out. Highly recommend this series. It's one of my Top 5 Fantasy Book Series.
Half way through the book and I'm torn. I am enjoying it, but there are some writing issues or language usage I have with it that pulled me right out of the immersion regularly. The most blatant that comes to mind is when the main character learns that her bed is positioned at the foot of another character's bed. "I nope'd harder than I ever have before." It's just such a 2019 written line that broke any semblance of it being another world for me. There are many of these. I also was admittedly hung up on the question of "in a world where there are space stations and other advanced tech, why is there even a need for sword fighters?" All of that aside, many other reviewers are correct that the humor does deflect a lot of that and has me continuing to carry on with the read and likely to keep going in the series. It just isn't settling well in a category for me right now if that makes sense.
Since ur getting more into sci-fi Daniel I would recommend empire of silence by Christopher Ruocchio
Gonna listen to the audio book, right now!
Based on that I think you might like Black Dog Blues and it's sequels.
Have you tried the queen's thief series?
Thanks for sharing
I love Gideon the Ninth. It's world and magic are just so cool.
How is the prose in your opinion?
This was actually a really good read. Looking forward where the series ends up! Just hope it doesn't completely shit the bed like the lightbringer series .....
Daniel could you please make a review of Mother of Learning? It's excellent but rather unknown web novel, besides the web novel community, with interesting world, good magic system and great characters. The novel's structure make characters, their interactions and development, especially the protagonist, and this world magic, the main points of the story. I mean, the protagonist is delving into mind magic and one of his enemies is the necromancer.
agreed, really loved this! i felt the climax dragged on a bit but thats all honestly. the victorian mansion setting was also cool and atmospheric
That's what spoilt it the ending went on forever the characters were great
It's fine.
One of my problems is that if Gideon was ostracized as much as the story claimed, I don't think she would have been as well adjusted as she came off in the book.
The feelings are fairly shallow particularly the hate. From the first couple of pages, it felt like the word "hate" was used as an overly emotional teenager to a parent or sibling. However, what the story was implying had occurred in Gideon's past, then statements sounded empty.
As for characters, you can see the remnants of bad fanfiction with how they were portrayed, though two, in particular, were the most glaring. They came off as set-dressing.
...
I think what it is, is that there is far too much telling and not enough follow through. It's not even a deficiency of showing/telling, as that seems more clinical in application. Here, it's akin to lies.
It's not awful.
It's fine.
To the lesbian fiction aspect, it seemed like male-gaze from a female but not much else. If Gideon was a male, this wouldn't be labeled as a straight fantasy... but a book with a bit of a male-gaze problem.
I also think TOR did the book a disservice by adding the Stross blurb to the front cover. How many books have you seen with sentences on the front? I felt sullied by marketing. Warning off bigots. Pandering to a possibly starved demographic.
I was expecting more.
But it's fine.
If your looking for unique fantasy try China Melville's work, namely Perdido Street Station.
We've got to get Daniel to do one X-Cellent scene
Have you read sabriel by Garth nix?
i read this!!! i just finished it!!!!! my face is cold with my drying tears!!!! its one of the best things ive ever read please go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its spunky!!!!!!!!
I loved this book. Ready for the second.
SY-FY!!!!!!??? So I have read all of red rising series and have also watched your review of the first book. I agreed with quite a bit of you points of that review and truly respect your opinion even when some differ from my own. I really hope you give The Red Rising books another chance. There are so many well written characters and plot points. I hope you try out the books again and love them but if you don't I still respect your choice and decision not to do so! I know you are super busy and have a huge tbr list so good luck!!!
Since you like necromancy you will also probably like the Necroscope books by Brian Lumley. They've been compared to Bram Stoker's Dracula. They're about a guy that speaks to the dead and hunts vampires.
Lumley has also written a few books in the Lovecraftian universe.