Gideon the Ninth

(Hardback)

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"Unlike anything I've ever read. " -V.E. Schwab "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" -Charles Stross The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit. Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. The emperor has called his necromancers to action, and Harrowhark is set on Gideon attending her as bodyguard. If Gideon survives, she'll be a hero, and a free woman. If not, she can look forward to eternity as a shambling bone-servant.

Reviews

"Deft, tense and atmospheric, compellingly immersive and wildly original." --The New York Times

"Unlike anything I've ever read. Muir's writing is as sharp as a broken tooth, and just as unsettling." --V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

"With a snorting laugh and two middle fingers, the whole thing burns end-to-end. It is deep when you expect shallow, raucous when you expect dignity and, in the end, absolutely heartbreaking when you least expect it." --NPR

"Warm and cold; goofy and gleaming; campy and epic; a profane Daria in space." --Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

"I can't remember the last time I was so delightedly baffled by a book. An astonishing, genre-defying, hilarious-violent-tragic-horrifying-thrilling wonder of a novel." --Kiersten White, NYT Bestselling Author of And I Darken

"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!" --Charles Stross, author of The Laundry Files and Empire Games

"I started this book chuckling at the outrageous premise. I finished it crying, because the ending punched me straight in the gut." --Vox

"Space opera, murder mystery, comedy, grotesque horror, and fantastic necromancy spin together in a book like no other." --BuzzFeed

And Five Starred Reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, BookList, and BookPage

Author Bio

Tamsyn Muir is a horror, fantasy and sci-fi author whose short fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the World Fantasy Award and the Eugie Foster Memorial Award. A Kiwi, she has spent most of her life in Howick, New Zealand, with time living in Waiuku and central Wellington. She currently lives and works in Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Gideon the Ninth is her first novel.