Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (2019)
A dark and mysterious tale of secret societies, magic, and murder.
Laura’s Rating: 4/5 Stars
Plot: After Galaxy (Alex) Stern barely survived a party gone terribly wrong, she was offered an unexpected opportunity: a chance to start over and attend Yale on a full scholarship. The condition of her fresh start being her membership in Lethe House- an organization tasked with keeping Yale’s secret societies and their occult rituals in check.
Analysis: I liked that Ninth House centers on the secret societies at Yale-which do really exist. In the world of the book, however, these secret societies each have a mastery over a particular type of magic such as illusions, word binding, or necromancy. It is a bit difficult to keep track of which society specializes in what magic. It’s loosely explained in narrative and in journal entries, although the entries weren’t exceptionally helpful in my opinion. The side characters are a bit hard to keep track of as well, but I could follow the main plot and key players just fine.
Ninth House is dark academia fantasy, emphasis on dark. It has the eerie institution of higher learning (Yale) as a backdrop and the magic and spells of a fantasy novel, but it’s heavily focused on dark magic and unsettling rituals. Some of the subject matter is heavy and disturbing, so I wouldn’t recommend the book to someone just looking for a spooky college setting or some fun mysticism. However, if you’re looking for a dark and twisted mystery with some paranormal elements, you’d probably enjoy Ninth House.
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