Gideon Books Novels & Stories

Had to dig a bit on this one because the name doesn't always jump out front and center on the covers, but the author is Lyndall Clipstone. She's the creator of the whole world with 'The Lakesedge' books and 'Moorbridge', with the Gideon series being part of that. Clipstone's writing has this very specific, lush, gothic-romance vibe that's hard to miss once you get into it—lots of atmospheric settings, morally complex characters, and a kind of slow-burn emotional tension. I see her grouped sometimes with authors like Hannah Whitten or Margaret Rogerson, but she's got her own thing going with how she blends folkloric elements and a sort of wounded, pastoral darkness.

It's interesting because the Gideon books, specifically 'The Unravelling' and its follow-ups, feel a bit more focused on a single character's journey through this haunted, magical landscape compared to the ensemble feel of 'Lakesedge'. Clipstone seems to build these worlds where the environment is almost a character itself, dripping with decay and beauty. If you come across her work, it's usually shelved in YA or New Adult fantasy, but the prose often feels more deliberate and weighty than a lot of category fiction. Not everyone's cup of tea if you want fast-paced action, but for mood and atmosphere, she's got a real knack.

Okay, so, Gideon books? I'm gonna assume you mean the ones by Tamsyn Muir, 'cause that's the locked tomb series everyone's yelling about. Honestly, I think there's only one real starting point: 'Gideon the Ninth'. Starting anywhere else is just... wrong. It's the first book! It introduces you to Gideon Nav, the world, the whole messed-up necromancy system. I bounced off the first chapter hard when I tried it, thought the slang was too much, but I pushed through and suddenly I was obsessed. The voice is so distinct—sarcastic, violent, surprisingly tender under all the bone jokes. You need that foundation to even remotely understand what's happening in 'Harrow the Ninth', which is a complete mind-bend.

That said, the sheer density of 'Gideon the Ninth' can be a barrier. It throws a lot of terms and names at you fast. My advice? Don't sweat understanding every reference immediately. Just ride along with Gideon's rage and her reluctant alliance with Harrow. The plot is basically a gothic mansion murder mystery with swords and skeletons, which is way more fun than it sounds. By the time you hit the ending, you'll be totally hooked and probably immediately dive into the second book, even though it feels like starting over from scratch with a new, broken perspective. Starting later in the series sounds impossible to me; you'd miss all the emotional groundwork that makes the later twists land.

I've seen Gideon pop up in a few different places, and honestly, I think labeling the series with one genre feels a bit off. It's marketed as fantasy, sure, and the setting is this wild, gothic space where necromancers rule and the sun is a lightbulb. That part's definitely fantasy. But the tone and the main character's voice throw it into a whole other category for me. Gideon herself is a sword-swinging disaster with a trash-talking, punk-rock attitude, and the book is soaked in her sarcastic, meme-adjacent internal monologue. The plot structure—locked-room mystery, ancient secrets, gory fights—has a strong horror-thriller backbone too, especially in the first book. So, while the skeleton is fantasy, the flesh and blood feel more like a genre-bending horror-comedy with a dash of science fantasy weirdness. The whole thing is a glorious, unclassifiable mess that somehow works.

If I had to pin it down for a bookstore shelf, 'Gothic Space Fantasy' or 'Science Fantasy Horror' might get you closest, but even that misses the queer romantic subplot that becomes central later. It's really its own thing. The author seems to delight in smashing expectations, so trying to fit it into a neat box kind of goes against the spirit of the books. You read it for the specific blend of tones—the bleak, cosmic dread mixed with juvenile humor and sudden, genuine emotional punches.