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Ninth House cover art

Ninth House

Written by: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang, Michael David Axtell
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of Shadow and Bone, now a hit NETFLIX series.

The smash New York Times bestseller from Leigh Bardugo, a mesmerizing tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite. This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

"The best fantasy novel I’ve read in years, because it’s about real people.... Impossible to put down."—Stephen King

"Bardugo’s latest is a must-listen, introducing a haunting, Yale-based occult world populated with gloriously complicated characters.... A win-win-win, honestly."—Paste, best audiobooks of 2019

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 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. 

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2019 Leigh Bardugo (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

What the critics say

2019, Goodreads Choice Awards, Winner

2019, NPR Best Book of the Year, Long-listed

2019, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2019, NYPL Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2020, Locus Awards, Short-listed

"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 best-selling author of NOS4A2)

"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)

What listeners say about Ninth House

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Invested in the characters.

I am always intrigued when a popular YA author decides to leave their comfort zone and expand to a new audience. It is a competitive genre, with a very demanding fan base. How is this author going to adapt? Will they connect with me, someone beyond this YA target market?

As for the second question, Bardugo did a fantastic job! She created a couple of characters: Alex and Darlington, that were exceptionally developed. I felt a connection to both. From my point of view, an author’s ability to create tangible characters is paramount, if I don’t connect with the characters, why should I care? Bardugo’s characters were layered, developed and tangible to me.

As for my first question, I felt that Bardugo played it safe. With a university backdrop and a magical element, hell, the whole story revolves around magic, Bardugo surely will not isolate her existing fan base. She has even given the young girls a heartthrob to swoon over, Darlington. Ninth House really isn’t that much of a step away from YA Fantasy. That being said, the whole thing worked for me, in some ways it brought me back to my own university days, however, mine completely lacked the magic found at Yale.

Ninth House is without a doubt the first in a series. Would I continue on with the series? Hell yeah! Bardugo has me invested in her characters now. Her plot development, with all of its twists and turns, worked well for me.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Good Narration. Story is just a mess of half ideas

Tldr: it can't decide on it's story or tone. nor what it's even trying to say about power and higher education structures. Just messy.
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The performance is decent. But a few random audio level issues in a bunch of chapter transitions.
It started off with promise, the characters and settings are interesting initially. And then somewhere along the lines it just stopped developing anything properly. Information, characters, and absolutely intense events are just thrown at you for shock and then never really go further.
And the entire story happens in the end and it's VERY random and out of left field. Like none of what you were shown before mattered. You could skip from chapter 4 straight to the last 2 chapters and absolutely NOTHING would change about the story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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superb!

I have been a fan of Bardugo and loved this new direction and the fantastic narration. The characters are gritty, imperfect, and real.
If you liked this you will love "Rivers of London" series by Ben Aaronovitch.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Mehh

I took a gamble. I didn’t realise it was just all about ghosts and not really based on science. Even if science-fiction. Wasn’t my jam. I only got two hours in.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good listen

This was one of my first audiobook listens and I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. The story is gripping and the characters are well-written, but I sometimes struggled to care about them in their less-likeable moments. Love the premise and lore of the story, wish I cared a little more about the characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The author is one I will be following now.

Good entertainment. Good entertainment. Good entertainment. Good entertainment. Good entertainment. Good entertainment. Good entertainment. 15 words required with 7 unique words... really

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Loved

I read in it one sitting. Being familiar with the locations added another depth. Thoroughly enjoyed.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

It’s okay

The idea is super interesting, but the main character gives ‘I’m not like other girls, I’m different’ energy. Just another ‘drab brown hair yet somehow doesn’t know she’s beautiful’.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very unique and engrossing story

Ghosts, demons, magical secret societies - what is not to love. I didn’t expect this story to be as dark or as entertaining as it was. Ready to jump into book two!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So good I listened to it twice!

Love this book so much! I listened to it a couple of years ago and was desperate for the sequel when I was finished! The sequel just came out a week ago, so I re-listened to Ninth House to remember the details of the plot and enjoyed it just as much!

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