Gideon the Ninth Review—Haunted Necromancers

A skull-faced girl in black slicing her way through an explosion of skeletons—I only needed to see the cover of this book to know that it would be exactly up my alley. Despite the fact that this debut novel was one of the most talked-about fantasy releases of 2019, it took me over a year to finally get my hands on a copy. I am, of course, talking about Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. But if you’re late to the bandwagon like I was, now is the perfect time to hop on—especially since the second book in the series, Harrow the Ninth, just came out this summer.

We meet Gideon in the midst of an escape attempt. A snarky orphan foundling, Gideon Nav has always felt out of place on the gloomy, grave-obsessed planet of the Ninth House. Her only hope is to enlist in the military and carve out a new life for herself by her sword. But before she can achieve this dream, the Ninth House heir Harrowhawk Nonagesimus makes Gideon an offer she can’t refuse. The emperor has invited the necromancer heirs from each House to compete to become powerful lyctors and join the ranks of his personal acolytes. Harrow will need Gideon to play the role of her Cavalier Primary while she learns the long-buried secrets of the necromantic arts and proves her worth among her peers from the other eight Houses. Gideon just has to exchange her two-handed sword for a rapier and pretend at being a polished guardswoman for a few weeks, until Harrow awards her with her freedom. How hard could it be? But when necromancers and their cavaliers start mysteriously dropping dead in the middle of the trials, Gideon realizes she may have signed up for more than she bargained for.

The worldbuilding in this novel is spectacular. Essentially, a myriad of different cultures have sprung up around the central concept of necromancy. The empire is ruled by an immortal “necrolord” who is worshipped as a god for his ability to conquer death, while each House is governed by a ruling family of necromancers. Some of the Houses specialize in spirits, some in bones, while others focus on medical knowledge or the beauty and art inherent in death. Yet despite being surrounded by so much death and dead bodies, there are still death-related taboos among the necromancers. The Ninth House is shunned for their unusual religion, which focuses on the emperor’s ancient enemy hidden away in the Locked Tomb. The Eighth House necromancer has his morality questioned for his willingness to siphon the souls of the living. And the trials that each heir must pass if they want to become lyctor have them asking themselves how much they’re willing to sacrifice for power.

The setting of the story is also particularly Gothic. And I don’t just mean the gloomy planet of the Ninth which seems to consist mainly of buried catacombs and an eerie chapel. The necromancer trials take place in Canaan House on the abandoned planet of the First. The heirs and their cavaliers have access to only a small fraction of a labyrinth of rooms in a building that has an air of both palace and laboratory. Theirs tasks involve acquiring the keys to unlock hidden doors that conceal occult knowledge lost to the ages. Of course, what is considered ancient to this far-future society resembles today’s technology. Gideon looks upon the electric lighting and carbine guns in the undisturbed rooms as quaint and old-timey, while the denizens of the future equip themselves with swords and magic. And like any good Gothic setting, Canaan House has its handful of hauntings.

As much as I loved the fantastical elements of Gideon the Ninth, the realistic aspects are important, too—particularly the casual queer representation. Gideon is a lesbian, but her sexuality isn’t the central focus of the book. The story isn’t a romance, nor does it focus on trauma or prejudice. While Gideon is a bit of an outcast for several reasons, her sexuality isn’t among them. In fact, queerness seems to be pretty normalized in the world of Gideon the Ninth and none of the other characters seem to bat an eye when Gideon crushes on another woman. As I think the popularity of this book proves, readers are eager to see characters of different gender expressions and sexualities taking part in all kinds of stories.

Are you a Gideon the Ninth fan? If you haven’t read it yet, now is the perfect time to pick up both this book and its sequel. You can find Gideon the Ninth on shelves at your local retailer, or you can order it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. Let me know what you think of it in the comments!