A Sense of Doubt blog post #1673 - From Skulls to Swords - dissecting the cover for Gideon the Ninth
This book is my next read. I am thinking in the traditional mode, but I may spring for the audio. I haven't decided.
I learned of it via Warren Ellis.
I was intrigued, so I made an impulse buy in bed via the tablet.
I need to NOT do that very often.
Here's what Warren wrote.
from - Warren Ellis' newsletter
Axxon N - Orbital Operations 8 September 2019
On Tuesday, September 10th, GIDEON THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir is released.
This is the blurb I wrote for it:
"This crackling, inventive and riotous book from an original voice is a genuine pleasure. Also the author is clearly insane."
I stand by it. This book was a lot of fun, and you will want to read it. You're not going to read anything quite like it this year, and that in itself should be recommendation enough.
AND THEN, TOR did an article...
here it is.
https://www.tor.com/2019/09/13/from-skulls-to-swords-dissecting-the-cover-for-gideon-the-ninth/
From Skulls to Swords: Dissecting the Cover for Gideon the Ninth
Tamsyn Muir
Galactic dirtbag Gideon the Ninth is now on bookshelves, trashing up the place and attracting furtive glances from all walks of life (and unlife). With a character like this, any artist would struggle to capture their sweaty immediacy. But not only did artist Tommy Arnold visualize it perfectly, he also included clues and details that perfectly conveys the life of Gideon, which is a terrible one, and need not be duplicated or admired.
Click to enlarge
[1] HAIR is half-pompadour, half-fauxhawk: the type of hair that is intended to say, ‘Ladies, start your engines,’ but in reality says ‘Ladies, there are no styling products on the Ninth that aren’t human run-off, so expect the worst.’
[2] WORRYINGLY FLY SUNGLASSES in the manner of Top Gun or maybe something that once adorned Starsky’s weird, gaunt face. Are something of a mysterious enigma even in the context of the book. Will they somehow prove central to our mystery?? (SPOILER: No.)
[3] SKULL PAINT is pretty much mandatory for a Ninth House tomb cultist. Thousands of variations of the skull exist, each subject to sumptuary regulation and carrying their own specific meaning. Unfortunately, anyone who cared was dead a hundred years ago or is now seriously geriatric. Gideon depicted here as wearing paint appropriate to her role as cavalier primary, which probably has its own specific Ninth name, like The Skull in Ice-Choked Chains or The Skull of the Sharpened Phalanx, or whatever.
As a child, Gideon traditionally wore what I will call The Skull of the Laziest Juggalo.
[4] BLACK is the colour associated with the Ninth House. They are styled Keepers of the Locked Tomb. Their sigil is the jawless skull (above). Their associated symbol is the Hot Goth GF.
[5] THE RAPIER is the weapon of the House cavalier. From the Second House to the Ninth, all swordsmen who serve the lead necromancers of their household wield the rapier, which we will define very broadly here as a slender, long-bladed thrusting sword with a guard hilt. The exact dimensions of the blade can differ from House to House, but no cavalier would be caught dead with a broadsword. Over the latter half of this myriad, a typical Ninth House rapier would be “whatever is not falling apart the most,” as a typical Ninth House cavalier is just somebody with a massive backpack of elbows.
[6] THE KNUCKLES are an unusual offhand for any cavalier, let alone the Ninth House cavalier primary (usual offhand: more bones). Common offhand weapons include short swords, daggers of all kinds, nets and smallshields. The cavalier’s weapons must complement their necromancer’s style of fighting, even if cavaliers and necromancers rarely fight as a duo in the modern era; a Ninth House cavalier must limit any spread damage in case they take out their necromancer’s constructs.
[7] CHECK OUT THIS SKULL because he’s having a good time. This dude would be laughing alone with some salad if he had a lingual muscle.
Hey, don’t you just absolutely adore endless, ceaseless references to skulls and frankly to all other bones in the body? If you don’t, do not read this book. Give it to an enemy.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1909.17 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1536 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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