Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network 

Books, Ballads, and B-Roll

Skeletons, Spirits, and Surreal Sights

Episode #3

You are listening to Books, Ballads, and B-roll the podcast with your hosts Bee and Alastair.

In this spooky scary special episode of Books, Ballads, and B-Roll the Podcast, we discuss connections between halloween-themed media. 

Segment 1: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

This book is one that we were both quite excited to read. It takes place on another planet and is centered around Gideon, a skilled swordsman, and her sworn enemy--and later her lover--Harrowhark. Harrowhark is a necromancer, an expert at summoning the dead to do her bidding. Gideon’s initial hatred towards Harrowhark is fueled by the mistreatment she endured from Harrow’s parents and her harsh life of indentured servitude. Harrowhark’s hatred seems to stem from immense pressure she feels as a necromancer, and the fact that she blames Gideon for her parents’ suicides. In the solar system of Gideon the Ninth, there are nine planets, which each have a powerful House of necromancy. All of these Houses answer to the all-powerful Emperor. Now, much to Gideon’s dismay, she and Harrowhark end up being forced together when the Emperor summons a necromancer of each House, along with a swordsman, in order to compete for role of Lyctor, extremely powerful and immortal necromancers. Much later, as they struggle to figure out why people are being mysteriously murdered on the Emperor’s planet, they discover that the creation of a Lyctor is a very sinister process, which requires the spirit of the swordsman and necromancer to become intertwined.

Our thoughts on the book:

• The blurb is really bad and does NOT do it justice
• The writing style is really interesting—not at all like modern pulp fiction
• There’s modern humor and dialects, but also an ancient vibe
• It includes a substantial amount of graphic depictions of injuries and pain—very appropriate to halloween
• Necromancers animating bone constructs causes them to break out in “blood sweat”
• Duels between cavaliers result in painful injuries
• Mysterious murders and other deaths occur in hideous ways
• We love Gideon
• She’s a bit dramatic which is relatable
• We enjoy the development of Gideon’s and Harrow’s relationship
• Originally they both appear to be very tough and a bit ruthless, but you watch them start to let their guards down around each other and their relationship feels very delicate at