Ninth House

(Alex Stern, #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

E-book, 448 pages

English language

Published Sept. 11, 2019 by Flatiron Books.

ISBN:: 9781250313089

View on OpenLibrary

(10 reviews)

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult …

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Vinjii reviewed Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Review of 'Ninth House' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I will post this review with a warning: this book isn't for everyone. If you're a fan of dark fantasy and horror and can deal with the triggers present in such stories, then this book is pretty damn good. However, there is sexual assault, and I know not everyone likes to walk into that unprepared, especially considering Bardugo's earlier books.

Now, I wasn't a fan of [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156.SY75.jpg|42077459], and I only decided to read Ninth House because I was promised a dark, adult fantasy. Ninth House delivers.

Ninth House is about PTSD and moving on from trauma. It's about surviving abuse, and it's about privilege, inequality and finding the strength to persevere and move on.

(I do wonder if Bardugo chose Galaxy "Alex" Stern's last name because it's the German word for star...because that would mean her name is Galaxy …

I will post this review with a warning: this book isn't for everyone. If you're a fan of dark fantasy and horror and can deal with the triggers present in such stories, then this book is pretty damn good. However, there is sexual assault, and I know not everyone likes to walk into that unprepared, especially considering Bardugo's earlier books.

Now, I wasn't a fan of [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156.SY75.jpg|42077459], and I only decided to read Ninth House because I was promised a dark, adult fantasy. Ninth House delivers.

Ninth House is about PTSD and moving on from trauma. It's about surviving abuse, and it's about privilege, inequality and finding the strength to persevere and move on.

(I do wonder if Bardugo chose Galaxy "Alex" Stern's last name because it's the German word for star...because that would mean her name is Galaxy Star, and uhm...yeah.)

The pacing is a bit off every now and then, and there were moments that I found boring. I'm finding a pattern here: whenever a book tries to infuse a clever premise with a mystery I seem to find the mystery rather weak. Here, it wasn't weak, but it wasn't what kept me interested.

What kept me interested: Alex's past, the occult, Yale, the world-building and the characters.

I love damaged, struggling main characters, especially when they're also smart, and I will definitely read the sequel.

Great book; recommended to fans of dark fantasy.

MrDRR

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May 4, 2020

abi

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June 10, 2020

Lavinia

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neo

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I Read Dots

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July 19, 2020

hedgeling

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MidnightIvy

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cjhubbs

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March 1, 2020

Subjects

Fiction, thrillers, general
Fiction, occult & supernatural
Fiction, fantasy, paranormal

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