OK.
This is going to be a bit of a non-review.
Why?
I read the book. I liked the book. Then I spent too long thinking about what I was going to say, got distracted by life, and, as a result, I can’t remember what I wanted to say.
Not ideal.
But if you want a bare bones recap, here we go.
I struggled with the first 100 pages as I got used to the world, tried to figure out the backstories, and keep track of the names.
That’s a fantasy trope that I could do without. Looooooong names. Stop. Please.
The middle of the book was fantastic: the twists, the ups and downs of relationships, the character developments, the depth to the world, the action scenes, the descriptions that can be both grim and beautiful, the humour, the quirk of it, the skull make up, prose that ranges from poetic to crass, and, of course, the bones.
I like anatomy. I always have. This book has it in coffin-loads.
It also has one of the best ‘anatomy’ quotes I’ve read:
“We do bones, motherfucker.”
Then we got to the end of the book. It lost me a little. Those twists kept coming and it got too much. To be fair, that may have been my insomnia playing tricks on me, but there were moments when I wanted a resolution rather than another ‘and then…’ moment.
That said, the inevitable sacrifice was well done and the book set up for the next one.
Which I will read. (And when I do, I’ll review it properly.)
Got a minute? Check out some of the fan art.
So.
Is Gideon the Ninth worth it?
Charlie Stross’s quote –
“Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!”
– paradoxically, both sums it up and does it nothing like the justice it deserves. It’s different to anything else I’ve read. That was part of its attraction and also where I struggled. Maybe not so much because of that difference, but due to the depth of that difference.
But, yes, it is worth it. It’s even worth a reread. And I suspect that when I do, so much more will make sense.
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