"Gideon the Ninth:" a Humerus Read That'll Crack You Up
Tamson Muir’s writing in Gideon is chilling, immersive, memorable, and a one of a kind must read for your lists.
By Sharon Kim
Tamson Muir’s writing in Gideon is chilling, immersive, memorable, and a one of a kind must read for your lists.
By Sharon Kim
“Gideon the Ninth,” a novel created by Tamson Muir, came out on Sept. 19, 2019, and is the first book of four. This novel contains fascinating science fantasy, gorey horror and kickass action. It has won the 2020 Lotus award and the 2020 Crawford award, for best first novel and has received exceptional reviews from critics all around, including myself.
“Gideon the Ninth” takes place in space, where there are nine houses that follow a planetary system. Each of the nine houses have a necromancer family that studies a different aspect of necromancy and all are under the domain of a god like emperor. A letter is sent to each of the nine houses from the emperor inviting the house’s heirs along with a cavalier to come to his mansion and compete for the chance of becoming a lyctor, a position that grants immortality and honor under him. Upon seeing this opportunity, Reverend Daughter Harrow Nonagesimus pressed for a choice of cavalier offers Gideon, an indentured servant of the ninth house, an ultimatum. If she complies to attend as her cavalier, she would grant her freedom. Gideon immediately says, “like hell I will,” but ultimately gets dragged along anyway. However things don't go as smoothly as planned because once they arrive at Cannon house, people begin to mysteriously disappear, perishing in brutal ways. When venturing deeper within the mansion through the creepy hatches, secret rooms and abandoned labs, they begin to discover that the secret of becoming a lyctor is worse than any of them could imagine.
Gideon Nav, an absolute punk that has been through hell and back, is our charming protagonist. Endearingly stupid, tough as hell and exceedingly gay, her only loves are swords and women. Despite growing up on a bleak and desolate planet with its main inhabitants being the dead, her personality shines through the pages that you can’t help but wonder how her soul hasn’t been crushed yet. The bane of Gideon’s existence is Harrow Nonagesimus, heir of the ninth house, a devout nun and a skilled necromancer. She wants to bring the ninth house back to glory with this chance of being a lyctor and has pretty morally gray standards.
The two main character’s dynamic is so intriguing since they’ve detested each other since childhood yet when placed in this competition against the other houses, are the only people they can trust. They compensate for what the other lacks, whether it's Gideon’s muscles or Harrow’s brains, they can tackle anything. The tests and trials they go through allows them to gain a new sense of respect for each other, with something more blossoming in the shadows.
The author’s writing style is one of the more cultivated forms I’ve read so far as well as confusing. There are references made in this book that are inspired by a wide range of classical, biblical, pop culture, and the dumbest memes you can think of. But it’s blended in such a beautiful way that it’ll be hard to read any other book the same way. The writing style is not as straightforward as many would expect so you might get lost, but the charming thing about Muir’s writing is that it's written so well that you don’t mind. You learn to trust when the author does crazy stunts from time to time.
This book has the most raunchy and out of the blue humor I’ve ever read and it's amazing. In between distinguished and serious dialogues there would be a “your mom” joke, out of left field. I annotate my books so when I flip back through the pages, I see how much I underlined and filled the side margins with my reactions and doodles, which is another good sign of how much I adore this book.
I gotta warn that this book has mature and dark themes so expect an entourage of colorful language, lots of skeleton anatomy and, of course, what would be a necromancy book without death. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you have any interest in a well done enemies to lovers or a gripping murder mystery, what’s not to love? As long as you have the patience to read 500 pages and have time to kill, I highly recommend this book to you. “Gideon the Ninth” made me depressed, confused, and roar with laughter. Even when I felt like I was dying at times, I loved every second of it and I hope you will too.
“Gideon the Ninth” takes place in space, where there are nine houses that follow a planetary system. Each of the nine houses have a necromancer family that studies a different aspect of necromancy and all are under the domain of a god like emperor. A letter is sent to each of the nine houses from the emperor inviting the house’s heirs along with a cavalier to come to his mansion and compete for the chance of becoming a lyctor, a position that grants immortality and honor under him. Upon seeing this opportunity, Reverend Daughter Harrow Nonagesimus pressed for a choice of cavalier offers Gideon, an indentured servant of the ninth house, an ultimatum. If she complies to attend as her cavalier, she would grant her freedom. Gideon immediately says, “like hell I will,” but ultimately gets dragged along anyway. However things don't go as smoothly as planned because once they arrive at Cannon house, people begin to mysteriously disappear, perishing in brutal ways. When venturing deeper within the mansion through the creepy hatches, secret rooms and abandoned labs, they begin to discover that the secret of becoming a lyctor is worse than any of them could imagine.
Gideon Nav, an absolute punk that has been through hell and back, is our charming protagonist. Endearingly stupid, tough as hell and exceedingly gay, her only loves are swords and women. Despite growing up on a bleak and desolate planet with its main inhabitants being the dead, her personality shines through the pages that you can’t help but wonder how her soul hasn’t been crushed yet. The bane of Gideon’s existence is Harrow Nonagesimus, heir of the ninth house, a devout nun and a skilled necromancer. She wants to bring the ninth house back to glory with this chance of being a lyctor and has pretty morally gray standards.
The two main character’s dynamic is so intriguing since they’ve detested each other since childhood yet when placed in this competition against the other houses, are the only people they can trust. They compensate for what the other lacks, whether it's Gideon’s muscles or Harrow’s brains, they can tackle anything. The tests and trials they go through allows them to gain a new sense of respect for each other, with something more blossoming in the shadows.
The author’s writing style is one of the more cultivated forms I’ve read so far as well as confusing. There are references made in this book that are inspired by a wide range of classical, biblical, pop culture, and the dumbest memes you can think of. But it’s blended in such a beautiful way that it’ll be hard to read any other book the same way. The writing style is not as straightforward as many would expect so you might get lost, but the charming thing about Muir’s writing is that it's written so well that you don’t mind. You learn to trust when the author does crazy stunts from time to time.
This book has the most raunchy and out of the blue humor I’ve ever read and it's amazing. In between distinguished and serious dialogues there would be a “your mom” joke, out of left field. I annotate my books so when I flip back through the pages, I see how much I underlined and filled the side margins with my reactions and doodles, which is another good sign of how much I adore this book.
I gotta warn that this book has mature and dark themes so expect an entourage of colorful language, lots of skeleton anatomy and, of course, what would be a necromancy book without death. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you have any interest in a well done enemies to lovers or a gripping murder mystery, what’s not to love? As long as you have the patience to read 500 pages and have time to kill, I highly recommend this book to you. “Gideon the Ninth” made me depressed, confused, and roar with laughter. Even when I felt like I was dying at times, I loved every second of it and I hope you will too.