Ninth House

Leigh Bardugo

Book 1 of Alex Stern

Language: English

Publisher: Gollancz

Published: Oct 7, 2019

Description:

The instant SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestseller, and Goodreads Choice Award winner, that Stephen King calls 'Impossible to put down' The mesmerising adult debut from Leigh Bardugo. A tale of power, privilege, dark magic and murder set among the Ivy League elite.


****Alex Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime - the last thing she wants is to cause trouble. Not when Yale was supposed to be her fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch. Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies - societies that have yielded some of the most famous and influential people in the world. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder. Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living . . .

' Ninth House is the best fantasy novel I've read in years, because it's about real people. Bardugo's imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story, full of shocks and twists, is impossible to put down' Stephen King ' Ninth House is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in years. This book is brilliant, funny, raw and utterly magnificent - it's a portal to a world you'll never want to leave' Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy ' Ninth House rocked my world. I could not get enough of Alex Stern, a heroine for the ages. With a bruised heart and bleeding knuckles, she risks death and damnation - again and again - for the people she cares about. I was cheering her on the whole way: from the first brilliant sentence of this book to the last' Joe Hill, bestselling author of *N0S4A2 *

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of October 2019: Leigh Bardugo made her mark writing bestselling young adult fantasy, but now she’s doing something a little different with Ninth House , her first adult novel. Bardugo uses Yale’s secret societies—their hidden rituals and the power of membership—to create the perfect setting for a story where elitism and the occult are intertwined. In Ninth House we meet Alex Stern, a young woman with nothing left to lose, who is given a strange second chance at a different life—as a freshman at Yale. Alex has been selected to attend not for her academic achievement, but rather to perform a dangerous task for which she is uniquely qualified: finding out who among the secret societies is resurrecting ancient dark magic. Ninth House is an epic read--sharp, dark, and incredibly atmospheric, with a gutsy protagonist and a conclusion that leaves the reader eager for more. --Seira Wilson, Amazon Book Review

Review

" Ninth House is the best fantasy novel I’ve read in years, because it’s about real people. Bardugo’s imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story―full of shocks and twists―is impossible to put down." - Stephen King " Ninth House is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in years. This book is brilliant, funny, raw and utterly magnificent ― it's a portal to a world you’ll never want to leave." - Lev Grossman , New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians " Ninth House is the best thing I’ve read in a long time. There’s so much magic here that you'll begin to feel it seeping into the room around you as you read, and characters so real you ’ll practically hear their voices in your ear. Leigh Bardugo has written a book so delicious, so twisty, and so immersive I wouldn’t blame you for taking the day off to finish it." - Kelly Link , author of Magic for Beginners and Get in Trouble. "Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House rocked my world. I could not get enough of sinewy, ghost-haunted Alex Stern, a heroine for the ages. With a bruised heart and bleeding knuckles, she risks death and damnation ― again and again ― for the people she cares about. I was cheering her on the whole way: from the first brilliant sentence of this book to the last. More, please, Ms. Bardugo." - Joe Hill , New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 "In this mesmerizing novel, Leigh Bardugo introduces us to Alex, a high-school dropout who gets a free ride to Yale because of a unique talent. Bardugo's New Haven is plausible and frightening, and I was one rapt reader." - Charlaine Harris , bestselling author of the True Blood series "With an aura of both enchantment and authenticity, Bardugo's compulsively readable novel leaves a portal ajar for equally dazzling sequels." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)


*"Atmospheric...Part mystery, part story of a young woman finding purpose in a dark world." - Booklist* (starred review)
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"Genuinely terrific....The worldbuilding is rock solid, the plot is propulsive, and readers will be clamoring for a sequel as soon as they read the last page." -
Library Journal* (starred review)
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"Excellent....Bardugo gives [her protagonist] a thoroughly engaging mix of rough edge, courage and cynicism." -
Publishers Weekly* (starred review)