The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

[Auspice]

I got this book at her book signing stop here in Austin because, hey, I love her other stuff (I want a Grishaverse MU so bad). It's her foray into adult fiction and oh man. I love it. I love it so much.

I wasn't sure what to expect because the blurb I initially read seemed sort of meh to me and I wanna fire whoever wrote it (since it's usually marketing people that do that!).

It is an amazing book for the 'low magic' urban fantasy genre. I've been swapping between it and the second Expanse novel and I've all but forgotten about the Expanse book for the moment. Ninth House is just so good and it draws you in more and more and I think it'd be an amazing setting for a MU.

It also has a TV show in the works (on Amazon Prime). The deal was cut before the book was even released and I imagine it'd hit in the same way Magicians does.

Anyway. If you like Bardugo and/or low magic urban fantasy mystery, def. give it a read.

[Groth]

I remember reading Six of Crows and quite enjoying it up until the point I realized that the author set it up to make sure that literally every single one of the main characters got paired up and it started feeling really really weird.

[Auspice]

@Groth said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

I remember reading Six of Crows and quite enjoying it up until the point I realized that the author set it up to make sure that literally every single one of the main characters got paired up and it started feeling really really weird.

It is a Young Adult novel and that sort of thing is generally required. I didn't mind: at least she avoided the all-too-common love triangle.

[lordbelh]

@Auspice said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

I've been swapping between it and the second Expanse novel and I've all but forgotten about the Expanse book for the moment.

I'm the opposite. I started reading Ninth House, while also reading a bit of the Expanse, and I ended up dropping Ninth House for the time being. Not that it was bad, it's just that I got totally engrossed with the Expanse. I'm almost done with the series, tho, so I'll soon be returning to Ninth House.

[Auspice]

@lordbelh said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

@Auspice said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

I've been swapping between it and the second Expanse novel and I've all but forgotten about the Expanse book for the moment.

I'm the opposite. I started reading Ninth House, while also reading a bit of the Expanse, and I ended up dropping Ninth House for the time being. Not that it was bad, it's just that I got totally engrossed with the Expanse. I'm almost done with the series, tho, so I'll soon be returning to Ninth House.

I'm only on book 2 of Expanse and I feel like I need to just sit down and devote a few hours to it vs my fits and bursts of bus reading.

[TheOnceler]

If you're reading a Ninth, the best Ninth of 2019 was Gideon the Ninth.

[Derp]

@Auspice said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

@lordbelh said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

@Auspice said in The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo:

I've been swapping between it and the second Expanse novel and I've all but forgotten about the Expanse book for the moment.

I'm the opposite. I started reading Ninth House, while also reading a bit of the Expanse, and I ended up dropping Ninth House for the time being. Not that it was bad, it's just that I got totally engrossed with the Expanse. I'm almost done with the series, tho, so I'll soon be returning to Ninth House.

I'm only on book 2 of Expanse and I feel like I need to just sit down and devote a few hours to it vs my fits and bursts of bus reading.

I haven't read those, I just saw the first season of the show, but I want to read them so bad. I need to get through The Dark Defiles first though.

[Auspice]

I finished the book and...

***=some thoughts to follow***

click to show

I really dig the setting. A lot. I also super appreciate the descriptions she gives of the other Houses through the text as chapter intros (and also little blurbs at the end of the book!).
I'm curious to see how the Amazon show ends up being done since the book jumps around time-wise a bit. Flashbacks? It'd be the only way, I suppose.
I really, really like Darlington and Dawes both. Alex is KIND OF an annoying protagonist, but her being so flawed is probably a good thing.
I did really like how Dawes shaped through the book and the point where she chews Sandow out for trying to victim blame Alex was perfection.
My big complaints are:
-The ending felt like it rushed to completion. Everything else played out slowly, but the reveals at the end were just a bit too fast.
-Her unknown father got dangled too much. I get that it was sort of a red herring as to 'what' she is, but it got dangled out there to the extent that now, IMO, if Bardugo doesn't make something of him, it'll be disappointing. I was totally fine with the sort of blurb of 'I never knew him' but then it came up more and with more 'mystery' around it that now he has to be something.

Lastly: poor North.

[Zobi]

Sorry for the necro - but if anyone has been waiting around to read this and don't mind ebooks (or Amazon, I know some people dislike them), it's on sale today on Amazon for $2.99.