Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo - Fantasy Novel Review
Ninth House is a novel that has been on my radar for quite some time. I first saw it on Instagram and then it seemed to slowly make its way across my other social media before I finally caved and added it to my GoodReads list and borrowed it from the library, and I am so glad that I did!
Ninth House tells the story of a troubled young woman named Galaxy Stern who can see ghosts, known here as Grays. The confusion and anguish that this brings on leads her into a life of drug addiction and crime which she is saved from by Dean Sandow who integrates her into one of the houses of a prestige American university called Yale. Lethe, the house Galaxy joins, has been created to police the various magical rituals of the other eight houses of Yale. But when the death of a girl named Tara catches Alex’s attention, she finds herself in far too deep and the magical powers of her co-students, seem more than she can reasonably handle…
The novel began promisingly, if a little confusingly at times. I will admit I found myself slipping back a few pages to ensure I had understood everything correctly, but I think this was more a fault with my concentration than the novel itself! The plotline did not follow a legible arc making the events even more suspenseful and surprising when they did come along. The ending too was succinct, but of course, left open for another edition in the series.
As I trundled through the novel I began to find the character of Galaxy Stern a little overdone at times, her aggression seemingly both overdone and yet underplayed at the same time which was a little alarming to read. There were moments when her aggression seemed unsightly and unnecessary and some of her more violent acts seemed to spark none of the same kind of reaction from other characters as I felt was warranted. Nonetheless, she was a solid protagonist and her exuberance and will to survive despite everything carried her through the novel when all the cards seemed stacked against her.
Darlington too, despite his brief appearances was the perfect Gentleman Dandy and I am sure there are many readers better than I who managed to vid a little literary crush on the Bridegroom with his Byronic good looks and seemingly similar appearance to Morrissey!
As far as the contents of the novel go, I was conflicted. On one hand the events in the novel, especially the scene with Blake and Alex that she videoed, I don’t think I have ever read anything that turned my stomach more, seemed extremely adult. Yet on the other hand, the novel seemed a little as though it was made for young adults. The sentiments of the characters and the lessons that Alex was supposedly trying to teach didn’t quite feel deep enough for an adult novel, although I will admit inexperience with the fantasy genre.
Overall, however, I enjoyed the novel and will certainly pick up the next in the series. I felt it was extremely tightly written, everything made sense and led towards a conceivable yet unpredictable ending and the character of Alex has a defined character arc that carries her through the novel's events. My only concern is that certain vocabulary aspects, as well as events and morals, seem a little more suited to a young adult novel rather than a fully-fledged adult series, so I would rate this 8 / 10
