Leigh Bardugo, the well known young-adult author of the “Six of Crows,” “Shadow and Bone,” and “King of Scars” series, explodes onto the adult-fiction scene with “Ninth House,” a novel about Yale’s nine secret societies.
The book centers around Galaxy “Alex” Stern, a first-year student recruited into the Lethe secret society because of her ability to see the “Grays,” basically ghosts, that lurk about the New Haven area. Stern is just beginning to find her footing, aided by the charming Darlington and the determined Dawes, when a mysterious homicide unravels the second chance she’s been given at Yale. As Darlington has also suddenly disappeared, Stern follows her gut to discover the reason behind the murder and Darlington’s unrelated exit.
If the suspenseful mystery isn’t enough, the societies use magic in a system both intriguing and well-explained. Sometimes, magical realism can feel stuffy or a little too fantastical – not so with “Ninth House.” I was fascinated by the various societies and how they all interact with each other and the deposits of magical energy around them, expertly witnessed by newcomer Stern.
Stern makes a compelling protagonist, if a bit unrelatable. I found myself struggling to connect with her initially because of her circumstances, but the more I learned about her, the more I understood her frustrations and disillusionment. She was intriguing and easy to root for, especially once I understood enough of the societies to follow what was going on.
Because there was so much going on – so much to explain about the societies, their inhabitants, and their complicated histories – the actual heart of the story felt initially inaccessible. In other words, it was a slow start. But once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down. There are so many layers to everything that Stern discovers, from the complicated motivations of those in the present to the crumbling foundations of the recent and distant past.
Building a layered tale spanning the past and the present can be difficult, but Bardugo’s system of alternating chapters (for the most part, regularly past and present, every-other) was effective and held my interest: both Alex’s perspectives, previous and current, kept me interested, so I wasn’t racing through one timeline to reach the action in the other.
Both timelines relied on the vibrant cast, most prominently Daniel “Darlington” Arlington and Pamela Dawes. The colorful duo are heavily involved in Lethe, the latter a glorified researcher and the former a “Virgil,” guide to Stern’s “Dante.” Bardugo’s selected cultural references, from the code names to the deliberate New Haven scenery, grounded the fantastical in the gripping, ‘dark-academia’ adult debut.
Students can find copies at local libraries such as the Massanutten Regional Library, online library apps such as Libby, or affordable online shopping websites like Amazon or Thriftbooks.
Readers should be advised of the dark and difficult topics covered in the book. Booktriggerwarnings.com has published an extensive list, including abuse, substance abuse and overdose, racism, rape, self-harm, and sexual assault. In recommending this book, I don’t mean to review these topics or how they are addressed; I only offer that the story outside of these elements was enjoyable. As a reader, I felt comfortable reading, skimming, or skipping sections as needed, but concerned parties should research and decide for themselves.
Looking for more information? Readers might appreciate Bardugo’s interview with Bustle regarding trigger warnings in books and stigmatization.