I didn't get past page 3 on my first attempt but diving in a second time, resolving not to take Gideon too seriously, let me get to Harrowhark, and to a better taste of the world, and from there, I was hooked.

The world is my favourite aspect, made delighful by Muir's esoteric terms that you have to piece together from etymology and context, as well as her soft magic system masquerading as a hard one from within its shell of pseudo-academia. By rights, this should be medieval fantasy but putting it in space was a stroke of genius that more or less manages to justify the modern language coming out of the characters' mouths. Said characters are of course my second-favourite aspect, with many getting a chance to reveal hidden depths that instantly punch a character out from 2D space to 3D.

The end reveals spiralled too far out of the realm of the guessable for my taste, considering the plot is as much murder mystery as tournament anime. They pile on wildly in the last quarter. Often, I was still trying to figure out if I'd understood a twist correctly when the characters were already running on to the next one.

At the risk of sounding boring, I would have toned Gideon down about 15% as well. I appreciate the risk of a protagonist designed to make you cringe at her sense of humour but on a couple occasions, it cut the tension in an annoying rather than relieving way.

Complaints aside, this was an extremely entertaining and worthwhile book. Exactly the kind of fantastical, conversational adventure I want when I dip a nostalgic hand back into the YA genre. And the amount of mileage Muir pumps out of the necromancer aesthetic is inspiring; Halloween costumes for days.

Note: Read the glossary and articles at the back (except the character profiles) if terms and concepts are confusing! Wish I had. There's pronunciations too.