Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir

Format: Audio (BorrowBox)
Read: April 2026

I have been aware of this book for quite a while, but I really didn’t think I would like it. I only read it because of the New Zealand author (for Law of Fives), and my library has the audiobook, so it seemed an easy option, and I could hope that (for once) the hype would be justified.

Well, at first, as I started listening, I thought I’d made a huge mistake, and I should have listened to my gut. This is not the tone or the humour for me, and Gideon is certainly not the type of character I enjoy.

And yet somehow Tamsyn Muir got me hooked? I still don’t completely understand how she did it!

So why didn’t I think I’d like this?

• Described as ‘lesbian necromancers in space‘, I was worried it would turn out to be some Romantasy bullshit. It’s not got any romance (or sex) in it. Many of the characters are queer, especially Gideon, whose POV we are in, so we get a Lesbian Gaze, but that’s just a natural part of the character instead of being A Thing.
• That keyword-laden description also sounds alarmingly Fan Fictiony… And I won’t lie to you, it does have trace whiffs of that, but mostly this is in the juvenile (and already dated) internet culture humour (more on that to come). This is its own world and characters, and it feels like a true labour of love that the author has intricately planned (we’ll see with the rest of the series if that bears out).
• Fantasy is not usually my thing! It’s just not my preference… A long and complicated list of characters and houses, and maps, at the start of a book generally makes my heart sink!
• I immediately found Gideon insufferable. I’d say I grew to tolerate rather than enjoy her, but my irritation didn’t stop me from enjoying the book… Again, that’s my preference for character!

Now I’ve read it, I think “lesbian necromancers in space” is not technically wrong, but it’s also not what this story is! Yes, there are plenty of necromancers, but the lesbian factor is by the by, and the space factor is also negligible (it’s Sci-fi like Dune is Sci-fi). I’d describe this as Space Fantasy with necromancy being like Science Magic (it’s all theorems and whatnot), and the plot is primarily a locked room who-dunnit type of mystery.

As I’ve already said, the irreverent tone of the book is not my favourite. It’s soaked in internet memeish language and humour that already feels very dated and cringe in 2026, and a lot of the characters speak in snarky quips – some people like banter, but I am not one of them. Now, a large part of this is because we are in the point of view of Gideon Nav, who is generally unserious, disaffected and not very smart. We learn there are good reasons for her attitude problems (she’s been a foundling indentured servant in a fanatical bone cult her whole life), but still, even if I can appreciate it as being character voice, that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy her!

What kept me going through the earliest section, which does move quite slowly, is Gideon’s necromancer counterpart, Harrowhark Nonagesimus. I was instantly intrigued by her. She’s sharp, very intelligent, a little ruthless and in the impossible situation of being seventeen and entirely responsible for holding together a dying House/planet/cult that is otherwise populated by the elderly. As the only children in the Ninth House, they have a long, complicated and antagonistic history together, which at the start of the book culminates in her forcing Gideon to help her become a Lychtor (one of the Emperor’s super-powerful special ones and functionally immortal) by undergoing the trials at Canaan house. I loved Harrow; she is the type of spiky vulnerability that would stress me out IRL, but I  find it compelling in fiction!

I was surprised by what a challenging read Gideon the Ninth is, especially given my above preconceptions about it (which I realise now were quite silly, given I knew it won the Locus Award for First Novel in 2020). Tamsyn Muir takes no prisoners; she is not going to explain anything to the reader. We are firmly in Gideon’s point of view for the whole thing, and as I already said, Gideon is not the brightest button. In fact, Gideon knows the least about anything going on of all the characters involved.

Reading this, you have to pick up context clues for all the necromancy and cult jargon, as well as the wider world and its potential history. In this way, it did remind me of the experience of reading Malazan – including finding it very hard to keep track of all the characters – but it is not quite that bad, and definitely more fun!

I listened to the audiobook, which only makes it tougher to keep track of who is who (who is a necromancer, who is a cavalier and what do the houses mean!) as I couldn’t flip to the character guide at the front of the book, and hearing names isn’t as good for my memory as seeing them written down (it also meant I had no idea how to spell anything!). Plus, most characters get referred to by 2-3 different names! About 2/3 of the way through, when I realised I was now fully hooked, I decided to buy the eBooks so I could have a reference and also re-read them to clear up the bits I was fuzzy on! So I would say while the audiobooks are well done – Moira Quirk is excellent – but I think that format does make a challenging-to-follow book even harder to follow!

I think that it is the trust I have that Muir has a whole world out there beyond Gideon and Harrow’s purview that has hooked me in. I am sure she has drops in crumbs and clues that I can spot on a re-read, especially with more context from later books. I really want to know what the deal is with God/The Emperor and these houses, and necromancy, and what happened to humanity. These characters are dressed in robes and face paints, they hold to tribal and religious traditions, and yet the deeper in we go, the more recognisable technology and “relics” are from our world, and the more suspicious I grow about what is really going on. Especially given how brutal and gruesome the necromantic power they wield is, and that they don’t see it that way.

It is not a flawless book. While I enjoyed the dynamic between Gideon and Harrowhark, and I get what the author was going for, I don’t think she entirely pulled it off. Some of the emotional journey wasn’t coherent, and the big shift in their relationship and understanding of each other happened too abruptly for me. I think the book wanted me to be more emotionally invested in it than I felt, but I was glad it wasn’t a romantic relationship. I was worried about that for a while, and I really think that a deeper sisterly bond between them is actually more significant and meaningful. There are also a lot of secondary characters in this, and it does rely on the YA-ish trope of houses having personality stereotypes. It is not the worst, but it is present. Generously, I could also say that it is a symptom of being in Gideon’s rather limited and imperceptive point of view!

When I try to nail down what it is that I really loved about the book, there are many good points – I found the writing to be imaginative and vividly descriptive without going overboard (necromancy is gross); I truly loved Harrowhark; and the main mystery was dramatic and twisty (though the villain was quite obvious from the start) but I think ultimately what has got me gripped is the need to figure out what the heck is going on in the wider world! The events at Canaan house were just a corner of it, and there are things that I think don’t add up on purpose, and I need to know!

This is a book I will re-read, and I may re-read it soon if I continue to be confused as I listen to the second and third books! I am curious how reading it in print will change the experience.

This book counts for Law of Fives: New Zealand author, new to me, a debut novel, first in a series, Locus Award winner (2020), genre explore (space fantasy) and fantastic creatures (necro constructs).