This is a rare example of a book that I abandoned and came back to a couple of times, before it eventually won me over. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood the first two times. I'd been reading a lot of nonfict and picking my way through some David Mitchell / M John Harrison, when Gideon the Ninth popped up on my radar. By "popped up on my radar" I mean that EVERYone has been talking about this series lately, probably because the second book came out. I also know that my erstwhile editor is very keen, and many of my writing friends. It didn't look like my usual kind of book at all, but I tried the free download. The sample ended, and I had mixed feelings. Gideon has a fantastic voice (and on that note, if you are not enjoying the voice, the book won't work for you) but I wasn't sure it would pan out. I put it down and didn't download the rest. I kept thinking of odd phrases, though, just on and off. Things or expressions Gideon had said. And honestly, it was weirdly refreshing to have a snarky character in third person for once. Sidekick snarky characters are usually in first person, for narrative reasons that I won't go into here, so it was interesting to see that done differently. Eventually, I ended up circling back to Lesbian Necromancers in Science Fantasy Gothic Spacestation Book and downloaded it properly. Tried again. Stopped again. Picked up where I left off and tried a third point. Somewhere along the way, Gideon clicked. She grew on me, as she grows on her compatriots in the novel, and by the 50% mark I was completely invested in the plot. Voice carries a long way, which is good, because some aspects of the worldbuilding were a bit overwhelming/confusing for me initially. Well worth a read, and bitingly written. (read less)

This is a rare example of a book that I abandoned and came back to a couple of times, before it eventually won me over. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood the first two times. I'd been reading a lot of nonfict and picking my way through some David Mitchell / M John Harrison, when Gideon the Ninth popped up on my radar. By "popped up on my radar" I mean that EVERYone has been talking about (read more)

For the record, I was not aware that books about young female necromancers in space was a thing that was missing from my life....but it was definitely a thing that was missing from my life. I loved SO DANG MUCH Of this novel. I am not a huge fan of body horror, so I did find myself skimming over a bunch of that. But as a whole, I am very much here for this. Bring on book #2!! (Soon, please!!)