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gideon the ninth, harrow the ninth

Book Review: Gideon the Ninth & Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

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I’ve been on the library waiting list to borrow Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir, for a while. My turn finally came and I got to read it. Once I finished it, I put myself right on the waiting list for Harrow the Ninth, expecting to wait another several weeks. But ended up getting the notice it was available later that same night!

gideon the ninth

Description from Goodreads:

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

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.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

my reviewIt took me a while to sink into Gideon the Ninth. I was confused for most of the first chapters; it does kind of just drop you in it. However, once I caught on, I really enjoyed it. Gideon is such a character and I loved her. Harrow is a flaming bitch queen for most of the book, but did manage to redeem herself in my eyes by the end. And I enjoyed most of the side characters and the mystery. However, the end…THE END. I am so not OK with the ending! But I can’t wait to read book two.

gideon the ninth

Harrow the ninthDescription from Goodreads:

She answered the Emperor’s call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath — but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor’s Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?

my review

It took a long time to get into this look—even longer than in book one, which took a while. I think it was a full 25% before I had any idea what was going on. To be fair, neither did Harrow and that’s sort of the point. But a quarter of an almost 500 page book is a long time to be confused (and without Gideon). However, I stuck with because I so enjoyed book one. And once it all finally did start making sense…or a sense of sorts, I really did enjoy it. I just love the snarky sarcasm in both the dialogue and the narrative. I’ll definitely be looking for book three.

harrow the ninth

remote control

Book Review: Remote Control, by Nnedi Okorafor

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I borrowed and audio copy of Nnedi Okorafora‘s Remote Control from the local library.
remote control nnedi okorafor

“She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own.”

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­—a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks—alone, except for her fox companion—searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

my review

I quite enjoyed this piece of Africanfuturism*. It has a near-future, Ghanian setting that is alive and real to the reader. The writing is sharp and visceral and the narrator brought it to life well. The main character, Fatima/Sankofa is marvelous to spend time with as she becomes a living myth. All in all, I seem to have no real complaints. It’s a short little thing, so I guess it gets a short, little review

remote control

*I have been using the wrong term and was corrected. I’ve learned something today, Afrofuturism vs Africanfuturism and I apologize to Dr. Okorafora for having gotten it wrong. She’s apparently spoken widely about this distinction.

network effect fugitive telemetry

Book Review: Network Effect & Fugitive Telemetry

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I pre-ordered a hardback copy of Martha Wells’ Network Effect and received an e-copy of Fugitive Telemetry through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:

Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.

You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot.

Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.

Review:

OMG, full length Murderbot book; cue incoherent and excited babbling. Except, I do this weird thing when I’m really excited to read a book. I buy it and then I sit on it. Not literally, I just mean I don’t immediately read it. I don’t know why. But I do it often enough to recognize a pattern and I did it with Network Effect. So, I’ve had the book and the anticipation for a while now. But I read it yesterday. So good.

I did think the beginning a bit rough. Murderbot has a tendency to sarcastically name thing and make internal commentary. The result was several passages I had to read more than once to grasp the meaning. At one point, for example, Murderbot entered a room with what I thought was 2 people (and Amena). I had to go back and read it again and again because I couldn’t figure out how some were dying and still running away. Turns out it was 4 people; I’d just misunderstood Murderbot’s naming structure.

It did smooth out and I loved seeing Murderbot grow. I think there is more emotional growth in this book than all the others combined. And please give me more of ART and Three. I’m so curious about Three! I, as always, look forward to continuing the series.

network effect

fugitive telemetryDescription from Goodreads:

No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!

Review:

After stepping away from Preservation Station in Network Effect, we’re back during Fugitive Telemetry. It was a little jarring, because it didn’t feel like it fit the timeline, like maybe FT should have come before NE. But either way I enjoyed it after those first few disconcerting “when am I” moments.

As always, Murderbot is wonderfully sarcastic. Here we see it working with people who aren’t (or aren’t yet) it’s people. It’s a struggle sometimes. As was Murderbot trying and do it’s job while ham-stringed by not being able to hack the computer systems. It was forced to interact with outside individuals more. All of it was a lot of fun.

The writing is readable and editing clean, as it has been with all the books so far. I can’t wait for more.

fugitive telemetry