Qing

Artwork:
[ ] Not for me
[ ] Average
[ ] Good
[x] Great
[ ] Amazing

Plot:
[ ] Terrible
[ ] Cliché
[ ] Done before but made interesting
[x] Unique

Characters:
[ ] Terrible
[ ] Boring / Cliché
[ ] Passable
[ ] Likeable
[ ] Like-Love
[x] Extremely Lovely!

Short Summary:
Can we turn this into a tv show? It's an endearing slice of life story for anyone of any age and I'm here for it. The artwork is so adorable. The characters are lovely. I usually get very bored with slice of life stuff but this one kept me interested with the setting. The tea dragons themselves are so cute and I totally want one in real life (I'll settle for a plushie for now). Really accessible story for anyone of any age with good lessons throughout.

🧩 Plot:

• Suspenseful & Thrilling
• Gripping & Unputdownable

• Societal/Global Stakes Woven In
• Consequences Matter
• High Stakes for Characters

• Leaves Room for Sequel Gracefully
• Earned & Inevitable

• Keeps You Guessing

• Vivid & Descriptive Language
• Generally Solid, With Occasional Gems

• Well-Organized & Logical Flow

• Page-Turner Momentum

• Unique & Interesting Worldbuilding
• Vividly Described & Immersive

• Compelling & Relatable
• Memorable Individuals

• Distinct Voices Per Character
• Subtext-Rich Conversations

• Eye-Catching & Appealing

• Perfect Fit for Fans of Similar Authors
• Great for Book Clubs

• A+

Protagonists

• [ ] Hate them
• [ ] Dislike them
• [ ] Accept their existence
• [ ] Like them
• [x] Between love and like
• [ ] Love them

• [ ] Forgettable
• [ ] Terrible
• [ ] They're ok
• [x] Like them
• [ ] Love them

• [ ] Forgettable
• [ ] Terrible
• [ ] Cliché
• [ ] Serviceable
• [ ] Likeable enough to not want to dislike them
• [x] Love to hate them

• [ ] Average, generic plot
• [ ] Average plot made interesting with creativity
• [ ] Crazy plot that is either so bad it's good or just plain bad
• [x] Unique plot that keeps you interested

• [ ] Terribly written
• [x] Very simple but effective language
• [ ] Average writing that does the job
• [ ] Beautiful but accessible writing
• [ ] Challenging

This is a children's book that I picked up due to the art.

The art is so adorable. It's simplistic in the shapes used but the colors and shading are so lovely.

The story itself is cute, amusing and has a simple moral.

My grip is I bought this on the kindle version and you can tell that they just took a pdf and converted it to a kindle format. The text looks horrible. The translation is kind of odd at some parts but not enough to ruin the gist of the story. 

3/5 Stars

What is this book about?
Gideon the Ninth is supposedly about “lesbian necromancers in space.”

Which is...trueish.

The space aspect is not really explored other than necromancers live on different planets and use shuttles to travel.

Lesbian in that Gideon and she does become attracted to women and notes attractiveness. Not a bad thing - we don't need outright sex scenes or cliché “I've never felt like this about a woman before.” It was nice that anyone could be attracted to anyone without consider what gender they are.

Necromancers are abound but each necromance uses their powers differently which was interesting but not explained well unless you looked that text provided at the end of the book that contains a glossary and notes on the necromancers themselves.

How is the cover?
The book cover is a nice painted cover of our titular character Gideon surrounded by reanimated skeletons. Yes, Gideon does rock sunglasses in the book. The artist is Tommy Arnold who also drew the covers for the sequels. He captured Gideon's badassery well in this.

Thoughts when started reading?
The first 30% of this book is a test of patience and picks up after. I am thoroughly confused about the setting. I prefer the show don't tell method of showing a world when possible but it just wasn't shown well. For example: Gideon was raised in a crypt on an desolate, dour planet that revolves around death and despair but somehow she got to read comic books? Comic books exist here? I guess that makes sense since there are shuttles but it felt like the world was trying to be medieval yet futuristic so it was confusing for a bit. It felt slow for a while and I was really about to drop the book.

Thoughts after finishing?
I am glad I finished it but I'm still left a bit confused about the rules of this world.

Character wise, Gideon is a fun character but she does have some juvenile lines that might turn off some readers. She will drop a “that's what she said” joke here and there. I was rooting for her character through the whole thing. She is a strong character - both physically and emotionally - that I think a lot of people would enjoy.

As I kept reading the book, I kept saying “I hate Harrow” over and over. I get it. She is the master, Gideon the plucky likeable lead is the slave. You aren't supposed to like her initially. The author made her dislikeable on purpose (good work Ms. Muir) . But even by the end with her character growth...still couldn't like her. I just think I'm not a forgiving person.

The other necromancers and their cavaliers were alright - some cliché, some grating, very few interesting - but you can tell who was going to die from the get-go. I really liked the Sixth House characters but that maybe due to the fact they got the most development besides Gideon/Harrow. I know the author made a short story about that house so I might take a look.

The use of made up words and rarely used words were.....interesting. It didn't hinder my reading but I'm not going to remember them if reused in sequels. Speaking of which:

Reading the Sequel?
I do not like Harrow at all. I'm not sure if I can read a book from her point of view. On the other hand, I am curious about some unresolved issues from the ending so damn you Ms. Muir.