The Ninth rules!

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1)


by Tamsyn Muir

Published September 10th 2019 by Tor

Two young women are tethered to lives neither have chosen. Harrow is leader of the Ninth, a talented necromancer who wants to save the people who follow her. Gideon has been raised on the Ninth and she hates it with a passion and has planned her escape from the planet and is ready to start a new life.

At the last moment Gideon finds herself back in the throes of the Ninth and even worse being part of a bigger scheme involving the Emperor. The Emperor has summoned the eight houses to compete for a prized position that offers eternal life. None of that really rankles Gideon, what annoys the crap out of her is that she is now required to protect Harrow. As the two women become entangled in the machinations of this game they are forced to play, they also come to realise that perhaps they are not enemies.

Muir has created one richly dense world with deftly created characters and you are sucked into it holus-bolus. It does take some time to come to grips with the character motivations as they seek out the ultimate goal. There is plenty of political gamesmanship and then the murders commence.

The story is told primarily through Gideon's point of view and she is mouthy, crass, gun-ho and at times the exact opposite. That is what makes her a great lead as she develops as a character. It is her relationship with Harrow is pivotal. As Harrow starts off hiding in the shadows, we always find her lurking, scheming and slowly she drawn out. Through Gideon, we learn that there is more to Harrow and that she is intelligent, caring and carrying some severe baggage.

There are some wonderful supporting characters, that are well realised, have great depth to them and not one is vanilla.

I have seen comments concerned about this being a lesbian story, just get over it. In this wonderful mind-bending world that Muir has created, she has also crafted a love story. It is central, it is important and Harrow and Gideon make decisions based on their feelings. Without it, this story would not have such an impact on the reader.

If you want some wonderful dark fantasy, with fantastic characters and a story line that keeps you guessing to the end, give this book a read. You will not be disappointed.

For more information on Tamsyn Muir head over here. 

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