In a complete 180, here is the insanity that is “Gideon the Ninth.”

This book is for the sci-fi lovers and is part of a trilogy where I have only read the first book.

The book takes place in another universe with nine houses ruling like lords under an all-powerful Emperor.

This Emperor has been worshipped as a god by the houses for thousands of years and is basically immortal.

“How is that possible?” you might ask: oh necromancy.

Each of the houses practices its own “specialization” in the necromantic arts and has heirs who are some of the most powerful necromancers,

all in constant competition for the King Undying’s favor.

The story follows Gideon Nav, a very unwilling indentured servant to a crumbling Ninth House.

Gideon is all set to leave the house she hates when the Emperor suddenly summons all the heirs of the houses to undergo mysterious trials to have a chance at becoming Lyctors.

Lyctors are the Emperor’s most trusted servants gifted with great power and immortality like himself.

The heir to the Ninth House, Harrowhark Nonegesimus jumps at the opportunity to gain power for her house however,

the heirs are also required to bring their Cavaliers (basically fancy bodyguards wielding rapiers).

Gideon being the only viable option, is forced to go with Harrow to the trials despite their mutual hate for each other.

There they are faced with a great deal more than they were expecting…

This book takes a bit of stamina in the beginning.

The author takes her time setting out the lore and mythology, and not gonna lie, I nearly stopped reading in the beginning.

What kept me going was that Gideon is the funniest character ever.

The only time I have read a “that’s what she said” joke in a book and I actually laughed out loud.

Her sarcastic (and perfectly judgmental, lude, and vulgar) inner monologue pairs well with her brutal insults.

She gets you through the expedition but once the plot starts to get going, you won’t be able to put the book down.

The magic system alone is a wonder, being perfectly justified by scientific means it feels like it could almost be real.

Every spell is rationalized with theory that pays attention to detail.

Not to mention it’s a giant murder mystery in a haunted gothic castle. What more could you want.

The mystery in question puts the characters on a journey that forces them to grow closer to each other in such a natural way.

Which makes it that much more nerve racking for them to figure it out.

I’m telling you, the plot twist,

hit. me. like. a. bus.

I am on my fourth read of this book and I am still finding easter eggs that relate to the twists that I hadn’t found before.

I haven’t read the other two books in the series, but they are at the top of my list.

This is seriously a must read in every definition of the phrase.