Gideon the Ninth

Author: Tamsyn Muir

ISBN: 9781250313188

Tags: Lesbian, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror

Gideon the Ninth is the first book in the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Locked Tomb Series, and one of the Best Books of 2019 according to NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, BookPage, Shelf Awareness, BookRiot, and Bustle!

WINNER of the 2020 Locus Award and Crawford Award
Finalist for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Series!
Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, Dragon, and World Fantasy Awards

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

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

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.

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 be 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.

“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