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Gideon the Ninth is Tamsyn Muir’s debut novel, published in 2019, and could be described as a bit of a survivor slash overcoming the monster story. The story is almost entirely told from Gideon’s perspective with a little bit from the point of view of her necromancer, The Reverend Daughter Harrowhark. After several attempts of starting to run away at the age of four, by the time Gideon reached the age of eighteen they numbered eighty-six, but after Harrow receives a letter and invitation to Caanan House for a chance to become Lyctor, Gideon begrudgingly decides that she will go along to be her cavalier. There they meet with several other House heirs and cavaliers where it will be decided which one of them will become Lyctor, through a series of tests. 

This book turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag for me. While I thoroughly loved His Dark Materials, I’d be lying if I said that this series isn’t starting with a couple of problems. I’m not going to talk about the overall arching story, as it’s not completed yet, nor will I talk about La Belle Sauvage because this review is about The Secret Commonwealth. Although reviews for this book are overwhelmingly five stars, there are a couple of one stars that are worth noting. I’ll start by saying that if you have any issues with the f-bomb or deadly violence in a book like this it won’t be for you—but if you’re reading my blog, I’m going to assume that it’s not.

I found this to be an incredible story, and perhaps my favorite of all his books at this point. I truly enjoyed The Book of the Ancestor: Red Sister, Grey Sister, Holy Sister. I found the book to have everything that I look forward to in a story, and love not only his characters but the dystopian worlds that he builds with remnants of ancient technology. This book is no exception, and takes place on the same planet where Nona’s story took place, and not only brings us many characters that we had a chance to experience with her story, but if I’m not mistaken there were other characters that I had a chance to see in not only The Broken Empire such as The King of Thorns, but also The Red Queen’s War and The Wheel of Osheim. 

King of Thorns is the second installment of The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. Similar to Prince of Thorns, this story switches back and forth between two narratives—one that takes place presently, the other four years earlier. One narrative, taking place four years earlier, is a there and back again tale that begins early on in the book. The second narrative develops as a bit of a mystery as Jorg is uncovering information from his Aunt Katherine’s journal, we continue to learn more about the antagonist, The Prince of Arrow. The entire novel is told in first person, though switches from three points of view: Jorg in the present, Jorg in the past, and Katherine’s POV through the journal. 

Episode number 007 and I'm reviewing Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

In this episode I'm reviewing Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence. 

Some common tropes that I notice in grimdark fantasy.  I talk about the difference between anti hero's and anti-villains and some of my favorite characters.  

Here I'm reviewing Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.

Book review of Red Sister by Mark Lawrence.

Introduction to my new podcast.  This is actually my recording as I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing, but it's going to be episode number one.

My book review for The Wheel of Osheim by Mark Lawrence.