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Challenge #14
In your own space, create a promo and/or rec list for someone new to a fandom.

I don't know how to do promotions / convincing, so here are my entirely personal reasons why I love The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. (Currently a trilogy: Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, with the 4th book forthcoming.)

* It's set in a world where high technologies, such as space travel, coexist with magic, specifically necromancy. The necromancy is not an old-fashioned "raising the dead through obscure occult rituals" - there are many different types of necromancy, described in precise technical details, and this magic is actually an essential base for all the scientific progress. And then, there are also sword fights!

* The story is complex, richly detailed and always intriguing, with crazy mind-boggling twists. Curiously, each book is written in a different genre! The 1st one is simultaneously a Locked Room Mystery and a Deadly Game, set in an eerie semi-abandoned space station, which reminds me both on Hogwarts and the Portal game labs. (I'd love to see a computer game based on it!) The 2nd one is a psychological  horror mindfuck thriller which puts everything you know into question and makes you doubt your sanity. The 3rd one is a character drama in a hardcore dystopian world, with a charming child-like protagonist whom I absolutely adore even though I'm usually not into easygoing and optimistic characters.

* The language is sophisticated and witty and sharp, incorporating biblical references and pop culture references and Tumblr memes. From elaborate to silly to morbid to technical to poetic, it covers everything.

* The 9 Houses fall into the Grouped For Your Convenience trope, although it's not Sorting by personality traits, but rather, people's personality traits are largely determined by the House they grew up in, and the kind of necromancy they had learned. But of course the sorting addicts can play with the sorting quizzes ;) I sort myself into the 6th House - the Emperor's Reason, the Master Wardens. Their planet is a big library, which contains most of the Empire's knowledge and research.

* There are numerous characters, and it takes an effort to learn all the names (there is actually a list in the beginning ;) But almost every character is memorable and has their own unique personality and voice, and some of them are extremely relatable. Their relationships are complicated and dynamic, often horribly twisted. I appreciate the lack of explicit romance, though there's enough romantic tension, and fanfic writers have plenty of material to work with ;)

* The common tagline for the series is lesbian necromancers in space. Though I'm not much into any kind of romance, queer or het, one thing I admire about these books is that sex and gender are so completely unimportant and irrelevant for the story. Any character can pursue any profession, job, position, hobby or relationship. Well, of course it depends on their abilities, their House, their affiliations etc, but never sex. There is no concept of men being better warriors or women being better scientists etc, and also, there's no preaching about gender equality, discrimination and such - these issues are just never mentioned! Same for a physically male character hosting a female's conscience and vice versa, it's simply not a problem and not an issue. That's the world I want to live in...

* And on a more personal note, these books are big on the themes of grief and loss, and I found a deep, multifaceted and inspiring concept (Lyctorhood) to provide a powerful metaphor for an actionable approach to coping with grief.

So, if you're unfamiliar with the series and think that they might be your thing, get Gideon the Ninth and dive in! The 9 Houses await.

"Two is for discipline, heedless of trial;
Three for the gleam of a jewel or a smile;
Four for fidelity, facing ahead;
Five for tradition and debts to the dead;
Six for the truth over solace in lies;
Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies;
Eight for salvation no matter the cost;
Nine for the Tomb, and for all that was lost."

~~ Tamsyn Muir, Gideon the Ninth.