A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST! The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite 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 … boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, 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 prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
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To appreciate this story of “Alex” Galaxy Stern, readers have to dive into a surprisingly seedy world. Raised by a “New Age” mother in California, Alex not only sees ghosts. She’s assaulted by them. To keep the spirits at bay, Alex imbibes alcohol and drugs. She finds herself in a dangerous situation and wakes in hospital, the sole survivor in a mass murder. While recovering, Alex is offered an astounding opportunity: attend Yale and join a secret society called Lethe. She’ll be something of a policing force for the fraternities that meet in “tombs” on campus. Lethe is the ninth of these magical houses.
Who knew Ivy League would hold such gruesome secrets? Students tell the future in the entrails of the insane. There are drugs that force subservience in pledges, freshman co-eds, and opposition. And then, there’s a murder on campus, a townie girl who reminds Alex of a friend from her previous existence. Actually, Alex discovers, there is a history of murders in the university’s town, and some of them leave their ghosts as witnesses and evidence.
The storyline jumps between timelines to complicate the mysteries. (There are three main mysteries in this tale.) A main character disappears, and enough is left wide open that readers can jump into the anticipated sequel.
So if a dark urban mystery speckled with magic and the supernatural is your jam, this book is for you.
Good storytelling, interesting connections, suspenseful. A real nail biter. Can’t wait to read the next volume.
One of my best reads of the last 6 months. I’m literally holding my breath for her next book!
What can I say about my favorite book I’ve read this year? Definitely look out for Bardugo’s next book in the series.
Best book of the year!
Ninth House moves back and forth from Galaxy “Alex” Stern’s harsh reality as a high school dropout, to her current life as an Ivy leaguer of a different kind. This book is funny, quirky, and dark. The elite secret world created by Leigh Bardugo is the adult equivalent of Hogwarts. Enjoy!
I loved it right from the first page. I want to do a walking tour of New Haven to see all of the book locations. I can’t wait for the sequel!
Magic, corruption and murder amongst the Ivy League elite. I really enjoyed this and what a stunning cover!
Fantasy isn’t normally my favorite genre, but after hearing such amazing things about this book I couldn’t help myself. Leigh Bardugo is amazing at creating world both so real and so magical that you are sucked in, expecting to see greys outside your own window. Highly recommend and can’t wait for the next book in the series.
This book started out very slow. I was almost half way through Ninth House before I was hooked. But, the last half has me looking forward to the next book. Now that the groundwork has been laid hopefully the next one won’t have a slow start.
Fantasy at its finest: a twisty plot, a wild but fully crafted world, and characters that make you rage, weep, and gasp along with them. (Darlington!!) I haven’t read Bardugo’s YA work but her talents shine through on every page of this adult fantasy debut. (A brief update: listened to it several months later and soooo good in that format too!)
Ninth house is the first adult novel by Leigh Bardugo. Can’t say that i didn’t like, i did like it but for most part of the book I was more confused than anything probably because of the chapter was non linear. Kept getting back and forth on the months and at some point I wasn’t following.
Alex, is not your regular Yale student. She was raised in L.A. by her hippie mom and dropped out of school earlier and got into drug, a drug dealer boyfriend. At 20, she is the only survivor of an horrific and unsolved homicide. And was given a second change on her hospital bed.
Now, still looking for answers, she arrived at Yale and his tasked to monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies and those activities revealed to be very, very dark.
Gritty and compelling. If you wanted to like The Magicians, you’ll enjoy this book.
For some reason, I’m struggling to put into words how much I enjoyed this book (I blame my head not really having been in the right space lately). It was a perfect blend of dark fantasy and urban paranormal and murder mystery for me, and even though I feel like I took forever to finish it, I enjoyed every word.
I’ve always loved Bardugo’s epic fantasy more than her urban fantasy (mind you, I’ve only read WonderWoman: Warbringer in that genre by her, and that’s not *really* urban fantasy now, is it?), but this has done it for me. Leigh Bardugo can officially write whatever the hell she wants and I will love it, no matter the genre. Bring it on, ma’am!
A Magical Thriller
The Ninth House is a gritty and dark tale of magic-gone-bad on the campus of Yale University. Secret societies, each with their specialty of magical talents, perform rituals that range from spellbinding, necromancy, predating the future, charms, allures, and a variety of others. The book follows Alex (Galaxy) Sterns, a young girl on the verge of a drug overdose, who can see the dead on this side of the veil. The school seeks young adults like her with magical talents for their societies. The school recruits her into the order of Lethe. It’s Lethe’s responsibility to monitor the other secret organizations to ensure their magic doesn’t get out of control and harm unsuspecting citizens.
A seemingly unconnected murder on the campus of a local young woman by her boyfriend leads Alex on a trail that points to the involvement of several societies. The deeper she digs into the cause of the murder, the more someone wants her dead. She narrowly escapes being killed by assailants unseen by ‘normal’ people. With her life, the life of her mentor, her future at Yale, and an out-of-control magical order all in the balance, she must discover which society is responsible and why.
The book is a series of flashbacks, which at times I found to be somewhat disconcerting. Most of the book is through the eyes of Alex, but not all.
I loved the book, but for my tastes, it was a little too dark and more of a mystery than it was a book about magical realism. At times, I was a bit confused because of the jumps in flashbacks. But with that said, the action moved the story forward, and the element of uncertainty kept me captivated until the end. I recommend Ninth House to everyone who loves a bit of dark magic in their reading.
I would give it a solid “B.” It was not interesting at times.
I’m not even gonna try to act like I enjoyed this book. I could not get into the story at all. Half the time I didn’t know what the hell was happening and I definitely can’t say I really liked any of the characters either. Well maybe except Darlington. I’m just gonna say I didn’t care for this book and its my own fault for making this my first read Leigh Bardugo. I know. Shame on me.
Not my usual type of read, but so glad I stepped out of my standard genres to give this a go. Bardugo is an awesome writer who completely immerses the reader in this real world/magical tale. Some of the best world building I’ve read recently. Very much a recommendation from me.
I am a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo’s writing so was expecting great things with this new series. *spoiler alert: I was NOT disappointed! Other reviews have summarized the story but I was intrigued and sucked in by the seamless integration of fantasy with the real world of the Yale campus and traditions along with New Haven as a city…you know the way you have to go look stuff up after reading a historical novel to find out if plot actions were real or imagined? This blending of real/unreal is fostered by the wonderful characters and the delightful development of Galaxy/Alex. I thoroughly enjoyed her adventures and am suffering the inevitable disappointment of reading a newish book and knowing it will be months before a sequel can be hoped for.
Fabulous debut (adult) fantasy novel from YA author Leigh Bardugo. This engrossing tale of an alternate Yale University where magic is real and needs to be policed by Lethe House is a great cliff-hanger beginning to a new series with unforgettable characters. Alex Stern has had a rough life, to put it mildly, so when she wakes up in a hospital with a strange man in her room who offers her a way out, she grabs it.
I loved Alex. She’s a kick-ass heroine, a survivor, and one whose streetsmarts will carry her through tough situations with dangerous frat boys, preppies, professors and townies who all may have had a hand in a tragic murder. I also liked how Bardugo wove Sephardi culture and life into Alex’s story, something we don’t see enough of in literary portrayals of American Jews. I can’t wait for the next book!