|
If you're not certain, TOR has the first eight chapters of Gideon the Ninth online, starting from here: https://www.tor.com/2019/04/08/read-gideon-the-ninth-chapters-1-and-2/ At that point, if you're enjoying the ride, I think you're pretty safe picking up the book, and if it doesn't click for you, you're pretty safe walking away. It does keep gaining momentum throughout. And for me at least it was just extremely fun to read entirely opposite of a slog.
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2019 06:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 21:00 |
|
|
That's the blurb from like one author, it just keeps getting brought up because its catchy. There's a perfectly good synopsis on the dust jacket that is reproduced literally anywhere you can buy the book online.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2019 13:33
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:I am just reading the new Abercrombie instead. I read Gideon last night. Overall it was pretty solid. Only thing I didn't like was the ending, and there were a few unresolved plot hooks which I imagine will become relevant in sequels.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2019 18:17
|
|
|
I just finished it and was tremendously into it all the way through. It's not perfect by any means and it commits perhaps my least favorite mystery plot/subplot crime of the answer to the mystery basically being a left field thing hinted at exactly nowhere (or like twice in this case and very briefly) but to be fair that particular mystery is almost adjacent to why the book is good. It's probably not gonna be for everyone. I had this interesting moment of self-realization that after years and years of self-serious, entirely up its own rear end epic fantasy and mil sci-fi and poo poo like that, even if the writing is clever as hell and the setting is cool, it's absurdly refreshing to read a book where the characters are fun. Or at least say the clever things we all come up with two hours after the moment it would have been deathly hilarious. Not rear end deep in scowls and world-ending plots and fifty five theses on treachery for breakfast. I will probably end up reading some more dour wizards and sly assassins kind of bullshit next and I'm going to in some small way regret it. E: Not that I would object to recommendations to the contrary. Orv fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Sep 14, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2019 21:44
|
|
|
I'm still reading Gideon and it is as much fun as everyone says it is. The most impressive aspect to me is that the author manages to hold her tone in place--there is a serious plot and it is happening--amidst all the snark. The turbo-gothic setting holds up by taking itself so seriously it's literally falling to pieces around the characters. Gideon herself is the kind of protagonist I normally hate--smug and cynical--but she's got genuine emotion to her and the narrative does not fiat her every action as being correct. In fact it fairly regularly admits she's kind of an idiot, but in a bad situation that isn't her fault. The author being actually funny with her smirking protagonist is again a vital component of this. I plan to go back and look at some folks' spoilered comments later, but I appreciate Muir's ability to write a convincing fantasy in very modern language.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 01:37
|
|
|
Ah well now it shows as #1 LGBT science fiction. I will buy this lesbian LGBT sci fi romance book.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 02:05
|
|
|
Lowness 72 posted:Ah well now it shows as #1 LGBT science fiction. I will buy this lesbian LGBT sci fi romance book. A correct decision.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 02:57
|
|
|
occamsnailfile posted:I'm still reading Gideon and it is as much fun as everyone says it is. The most impressive aspect to me is that the author manages to hold her tone in place--there is a serious plot and it is happening--amidst all the snark. The turbo-gothic setting holds up by taking itself so seriously it's literally falling to pieces around the characters. Gideon herself is the kind of protagonist I normally hate--smug and cynical--but she's got genuine emotion to her and the narrative does not fiat her every action as being correct. In fact it fairly regularly admits she's kind of an idiot, but in a bad situation that isn't her fault. The author being actually funny with her smirking protagonist is again a vital component of this. I plan to go back and look at some folks' spoilered comments later, but I appreciate Muir's ability to write a convincing fantasy in very modern language.  I went into Gideon expecting it to be a great concept dragged down by the writing failing in some way - too snarky, too overdone, whatever - but instead it just all worked for me. Absolutely great writing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 03:59
|
|
|
I enjoyed the scifi/fantasy mashup of the setting a bunch -- reminds me of JRPGs, in a good way -- and the writing manages to sell it, being descriptive enough to be evocative, without losing itself into excessive pointless details of world building. Sure, here's a far-future empire under some kind of (necromancer) god-king, but for instead of one house/faction/etc being necromancers, they all are -- just different flavors, which is an amusing twist. I get the impression that the Ninth House is a bit of a technological backwater, though they're certainly aware of technology (Gideon reads comics about soldiers serving on the empire's front line, recognizes things like electric toothbrushes, is apparently familiar with sonic showers and shocked by water-based showers and bathtubs, and so on). First House is decaying but is propped up by animated undead servitors (as opposed to robots). There are automated lights and doors and remote-piloted shuttlecraft. I enjoyed that having all the participants from the various houses gathered together, there was a brief nod toward a "welcome to necromancy school" bit... “As for your instruction here, this is what the First House asks of you.” The room drew breath together—or at least, all the necromancers did, alongside a goodly proportion of their cavaliers. Harrow’s knuckles whitened. Gideon wished that she could flop into a seat or take a sly nap. Everybody was poised in readiness for the outlined syllabus, and scholarship made her want to die. There would be some litany of how breakfast would take place every morning at this time, and then there’d be study with the priests for an hour, and then Skeleton Analysis, and History of Some Blood, and Tomb Studies, and, like, lunchtime, and finally Double Bones with Doctor Skelebone. The most she could hope for was Swords, Swords II, and maybe Swords III. Only to immediately let you know that no, that's not what this book is going to be... “We ask,” began Teacher, “that you never open a locked door unless you have permission.” Everyone waited. Nothing happened. They looked at the little priest and he looked back, completely at his ease, his hands resting on his white-clad thighs, smiling vaguely. A nail went ping out of a rotting picture frame somewhere in the corner. “That’s it,” said Teacher helpfully. There's a moment where Gideon and some others are descending into, well traditionally it'd be a dank dungeon of some sort, which is described thusly: What lay beneath the trapdoor was a retro installation. A six-sided tunnel lined with dusty, perforated panels stretched out before them. The ceiling was merely a grille that air coolers pumped through and the floor a grille with visible pressure pumps beneath, and the lights were electric bulbs beneath luminous white plastic. There were exposed pipes. The supporting archways contained bulky, square autodoor sidings. This rhapsody of greys and sterile blacks was interrupted over the nearest arch, where, twisting in the dry breeze of the climate cooler, hung a bundle of old bones. Ancient prayer wrappers were ringed around it, and it was the only human, normal touch. Little things like that just had me smiling throughout the entire book.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 09:16
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/tomgauld/status/1173165235231973376
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 13:39
|
|
|
Tom Gauld is dope.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 13:41
|
|
|
I finished Gideon and did end up loving it. I thought it suffered from Sorkin-syndrome a little, where everyone is equally clever and equipped with an equally extensive vocabulary, but I didn’t really care because it was so much fun. The only time I was flat-out annoyed was when real honest-to-god memes showed up. Studied the blade? Died on the way back to his home planet? Twilight princess? Clever girl? I get it, we’ve watched all the same poo poo, it’s very cute. But it also reminds me that there’s a world outside the book and that’s heartbreaking when the book’s world is as enjoyable as it is. I have a feeling the next book will be even better as the author has a stronger feel for the world and reader’s appreciation for it, and I hope she doesn’t feel the need to shoehorn in as many on-the-sly references. They all worked within context, sure, but blaring sirens within context are still blaring sirens. They’re better left out if possible.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 16:27
|
|
|
I expect Harrowhark's voice to be different from Gideon's (and am interested to see inside her head a bit) -- I would be disappointed if this were not the case.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 17:04
|
|
|
"the Necrolord Prime" So Gideon the Ninth opens with a dramatis personae.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 17:39
|
|
|
I feel like that has to be almost a joke, given the actual book.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 18:07
|
|
|
Was at a used book store the other month and came across the Chronicles of Amber Compendium that had all 10 Amber books. I've read some Zelazny before ( Changeling, Lord of Light, etc) so I was pretty excited. I blew through the whole thing in about 2 weeks. Is there a good write up on where he wanted to take the series before he passed? Prince of Chaos has a pretty good ending but left so many threads just kind of dangling.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 19:31
|
|
|
Less Fat Luke posted:Can you give me some more context/background on which Borges and what work? I totally don't remember off the top of my head, but here's what a quick Google yielded. LA Review of Books posted:You’ve cited the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges as a source of inspiration. What have you learned from reading Borges? What are some of your favorite stories of his, and why do they resonate with you? In what ways did Borges influence Gnomon? https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/an-interview-with-nick-harkaway-algorithmic-futures-literary-fractals-and-mimetic-immortality/ Your Gay Uncle posted:Was at a used book store the other month and came across the Chronicles of Amber Compendium that had all 10 Amber books. I've read some Zelazny before ( Changeling, Lord of Light, etc) so I was pretty excited. I blew through the whole thing in about 2 weeks. Is there a good write up on where he wanted to take the series before he passed? Prince of Chaos has a pretty good ending but left so many threads just kind of dangling. IIRC he wrote Amber books fast: they were strictly a moneymaking series, not a labor of love, and he didn't plan ahead much. He was getting super excited about cyberpunk when he died. Kesper North fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Sep 15, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 23:07
|
|
|
Interesting, thank you!
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 23:12
|
|
|
Your Gay Uncle posted:Was at a used book store the other month and came across the Chronicles of Amber Compendium that had all 10 Amber books. I've read some Zelazny before ( Changeling, Lord of Light, etc) so I was pretty excited. I blew through the whole thing in about 2 weeks. Is there a good write up on where he wanted to take the series before he passed? Prince of Chaos has a pretty good ending but left so many threads just kind of dangling. Going by Zelazny's past output with the Amber series, guessing a 3rd series with the son of Merlin, grandson of Corwin as the main character. Duke of Uranium was exactly as bad as I thought it would be. On the other hand, skipped the Mack Reynolds book and read 1st Alex Verus/Benedict Jacka book, and came away satisfied. Would/will eventually read followup books in that series.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 23:58
|
|
|
The Verus series is pretty good. It has a solid plot, and minimal times where the character is perfect and can do no wrong. Also, no DBZ'ing his way through the plot. New one is coming out in a few weeks I think.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 00:01
|
|
|
I just finished Gideon today and really liked it. The tone is a weird combination of Gormenghast and The Murderbot Diaries. It works somehow.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 01:11
|
|
|
Dark Forge, the new Miles Cameron book, is out this Tuesday, and I am excited to read about the heroes soldiering all over the faces of magic nazis.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 02:15
|
|
|
Joining the n-thing of Gideon the ninth, finished it last night at 2am in a binge even though I don't normally like goth/murder mysteries. It was funny, and surprisingly sweet at parts, and the mix of humour and atmosphere definitely nailed it. Major spoilers and a question: I loved the bit during the total meltdown war crime - salt pool scene, where Harrow thinks she's about to be Ritually Drowned and relaxes, and then flips out like a wet cat when she realizes it's a hug instead. But definitely the final scenes were a gut punch, with the high gothic atmosphere, the dramatic horror, "Gideon's" joking narrative and then the casual matter of fact mentions mixed in that Harrow is basically staring at Gideon's corpse and screaming her head off in distress mixed in. HOWEVER, I fully admit (probs due to the fact it was 2am), I didn't quite work out what was going on with muscle sister / Babs / Ianthe? Like, I know what textually happened, but I feel like I missed some sort of set up about the deeper dynamics of their relationship if there is one? coolusername fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Sep 16, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 02:59
|
|
|
NoNostalgia4Grover posted:
I've only read one thing by John Barnes--a short story called Martian Heart. It's really good. Anyone got opinions of what his best novel is?
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:10
|
|
|
Seems like Gideon needs to be my next book. I tried to read Hawkwood and the Kings and gave up. I'm way over gritty these days. I was already considering abandoning the book after the author had an all-rape chapter but then the author casually mentions the titular hero had been having sex with his pre-teen cabin boy  Yes yes it happened in the real world but why does this fantasy book need a pedophile for a protagonist
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:14
|
|
|
Because the author is a creep. That's the explanation for like, 95% of the hosed up things that make it into books.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:15
|
|
|
coolusername posted:HOWEVER, I fully admit (probs due to the fact it was 2am), I didn't quite work out what was going on with muscle sister / Babs / Ianthe? Like, I know what textually happened, but I feel like I missed some sort of set up about the deeper dynamics of their relationship if there is one? Something I really liked about Gideon is how the author gave all of the characters some deeper backstories and made them living people and they were obviously the protagonists of their own books. So no, you didn't miss anything overt about that set of characters - I remember some subtle hints earlier in the book, but you don't get the whole story about them. I suspect there might be more in the sequel but who knows.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:22
|
|
|
Yeah the Third just kind of drifts in and out of the story Gideon and Harrow are having and now the trick is that Ianthe is the only other person who made Lyctor but she also hosed up at it so she'll no doubt be around and nutty in Harrow The Ninth. She's also apparently permanently short that arm which I gotta say, even for me that particular bit was an out-loud "Euuuggh" when I read it.
Orv fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Sep 16, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 04:38
|
|
|
i read the gone world based on someone here saying it was like true detective + spaceships and I really liked it all the way through up until the last page where the so far independent strong woman main character's happy ending version of herself is getting pregnant at 16 and being oh so excited for child bearing and having a husband to take care of her
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 05:14
|
|
|
Microcline posted:Warning: I haven't read The Gone-Away World, but Gnomon is mediocre if not bad. Harkaway spends 600 pages being in love with his cleverness for a coming up with a concept Borges would have handled in 6. Yeah. The Borges part wouldn't have bothered me if not for the bloat. Around 15% into the book I began mentally editing the text, thinking after each paragraph or page what could have been cut with no loss of meaning and always finding that about half the text could've been jettisoned. The book wasn't bad by any means but should've been edited much more strictly. Unrelatedly, but what's Adam Roberts' best book? I really enjoyed Yellow Blue Tibia.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 06:51
|
|
|
wiegieman posted:Dark Forge, the new Miles Cameron book, is out this Tuesday, and I am excited to read about the heroes soldiering all over the faces of magic nazis. I read that last week - must be a staggered release. Actually no, I read the third one cold Steel? More of the same as the previous one but it was fun and the story moved along nicely. I like this series more than the red knight one branedotorg fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Sep 16, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 10:59
|
|
|
branedotorg posted:I read that last week - must be a staggered release. Actually no, I read the third one cold Steel? There's only the first one (Cold Iron) out afaik. I definitely prefer the villains to just be Reactionary Politics as opposed to dragons or alien worms, and I like the message that the Hard Thing is keeping your principles and not torturing people because you think it will get you anywhere but Being a Torturer.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 16:38
|
|
|
BananaNutkins posted:I've only read one thing by John Barnes--a short story called Martian Heart. It's really good. Anyone got opinions of what his best novel is? Gaudeamus.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 17:22
|
|
|
Neurosis posted:Yeah. The Borges part wouldn't have bothered me if not for the bloat. Around 15% into the book I began mentally editing the text, thinking after each paragraph or page what could have been cut with no loss of meaning and always finding that about half the text could've been jettisoned. The book wasn't bad by any means but should've been edited much more strictly. I always get defensive about this attitude toward books because I don't think books need to be edited down to the bare minimum to be worthwhile, but it's not something I can defend with much evidence.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 18:10
|
|
|
AMA from Gideon's author.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 20:28
|
|
|
Murderbot novel cover reveal and blurb: https://io9.gizmodo.com/weve-got-the-exclusive-cover-reveal-and-opening-lines-o-1838069621 Yeah I know it's Gizmodo but the article is mostly stuff directly related to the release.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 20:28
|
|
|
She let the name of the third book out, Alecto the Ninth. She also basically took away any hope of Gideon coming back. Really cool AMA. Thanks for posting it. Also it let me know there was a limited edition oversized hardcover that is already sold out. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 21:07
|
|
|
Doorknob Slobber posted:i read the gone world based on someone here saying it was like true detective + spaceships and I really liked it all the way through up until the last page where the so far independent strong woman main character's happy ending version of herself is getting pregnant at 16 and being oh so excited for child bearing and having a husband to take care of her The ending is only "happy" because the world doesn't get destroyed by the QTP. It's pretty clear that the character at the end will be going through some major poo poo without that
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 22:28
|
|
|
wiegieman posted:There's only the first one (Cold Iron) out afaik. I definitely prefer the villains to just be Reactionary Politics as opposed to dragons or alien worms, and I like the message that the Hard Thing is keeping your principles and not torturing people because you think it will get you anywhere but Being a Torturer. I have three books in the series on my Kindle. Looks like a bonus book for you this week!
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 23:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 21:00 |
|
|
branedotorg posted:I have three books in the series on my Kindle. Looks like a bonus book for you this week! I read the first book and was waiting for the third to read the whole thing (i hate being stuck on the middle book in the trilogy) and now looking at amazon, the release dates are confusing me - it says the third book came out in august, but only in paperback, and is 'not available' on paperback, with the other formats not even being selectable, and the release date for book 2 was in january on paperback and sept 17th on kindle. Is there some weird regional release thing going on?
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2019 01:17
|
|
