Happy Birthday Nona the Ninth!!!!! Please make sure you've finished reading the book before listening to this episode, as it is entirely made of spoilers. We're celebrating this special day with our very first reactions, recorded within 24 hours of reading Nona and having spoken to no one else about the book yet. This is the first Nona reaction episode we're releasing and we decided to focus on the characters—our favourite moments with them and all the emotions we were bursting with by the end of this book.

We'll be releasing another reaction episode soon that's all about the plot—theories that were right or wrong, questions we still have about the series, and so on. (And thoughts on some characters we couldn't fit into this episode! Sorry, Pyrrha!)

Thank you to Tordotcom Publishing for the Nona ARCs which allowed us to get this episode out on Nona the Ninth's birthday!

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN, HTN, and NTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished all three books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0))

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This episode is about one thing only: THE POOL SCENE. Our best friend Nora joined us to celebrate the iconic Chapter 31 and we had so much fun chatting about everything that goes down in the Canaan House pool—from plot revelations to moments of intimacy we will simply never recover from. (We also have a very important personal agenda to push here and we're trying to convert you all!)  Then a discussion we've been eagerly awaiting: Gideon and Harrow and the ROMANCE of it all. Despite the specific focus, this is our longest episode yet so we hope everyone else feels as unhinged about this chapter and scene as we do!

 * SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

And find Nora on TikTok @noraborrowsbooks!

References:

• mayasaura: The Ninth House and salt water
• thelockedtomb: The three dots
• give-every-lesbian-a-sword: They should kiss
• aeondeug: Necro/Cav relationship taboo
• gothicenjoyer: Lesbian storytelling patterns in TLT
• amonotropauniflora: Gideon & Harrow childhood
• kingfrumpkin: Gideon & Harrow only had each other
• gideonisms: Gideon/Harrow
• appsa: Gideon/Harrow ironic tension
• mayasaura: Gideon/Harrow weaponizing their dynamic 
• ghostmartyr: Gideon/Harrow fitting into their roles
• commander-minkowski: Gideon's denial
• vaguely-concerned: The cavalier doth protest
• voyaging-too: Gideon suppressing attraction to Harrow
• thanergy: Number of times Gideon describes Harrow's mouth
• thunderon: Gideon describing Harrow's expressions
• neornithes: Harrow defending Gideon
• boneempress: Harrow protecting Gideon
• thunderon: Fight scene sets up the pool scene
• appsa: Harrow's girlish vulnerable heart
• mayasaura: Gideon pitying Harrow
• 4themoonneverbeams: Pool scene as baptism

Georgette Heyer kisses

"Norman Spotlights: Tamsyn Muir," In the Margin
"How Gideon the Ninth author Tamsyn Muir queers the space opera," Vox
"Ten Minutes with Tamsyn Muir," Coode Street Podcast

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by A

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Gideon's reeling from discovering the head of Protelisaus the Seventh in Harrow's closet when we start our recap of Chapter 30. A heavy dose of childhood secrets and guilt come to the surface in a conversation with Palamedes that we got very emotional about, and then the mood lightens with some good old inter-House bickering about Dulcinea's use of the beguiling corpse and the very important decision of what to do with the dead guy's head. Then it's time for another round of The Price Is Right: One Flesh, One End edition, aka how much do these bones cost online? And finally, we try to match up all the Houses to the nine planets of our own solar system and discuss a controversial Bone of Week!

 * SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

Recap:

• coronabeth: Gideon and Pal guilt discussion
• gothicenjoyer: Gideon and Pal friendship
• thunderon: Camilla, Harrow, and the handcuffs
• catradora-queen: Harrow's first impression of Pro
• corpsesoldier: Teacher's "Maybe later"

Etsy items: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Discussion:

• lookserratic: Language development in the Houses
• Reddit thread about locations of the Houses (quoted posts by fishsupreme, caeciliusinhorto, and icarus-daedelus)
• lesbrarians: Theories about Houses/planets
• suspishish: Jupiter's magnetic field
• mayasaura: The Houses' orbit
• Ida, nurse of Zeus (Wikipedia)
• Spiliotopoulos, Georgios, "The Redefinition of the Tragic Cycle of hybris-ate-nemesis-tisis in Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides"
• babylyctor: Eighth House joke

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (

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Gideon is NOT having a great time as we recap Chapters 28-29, in which she has a truly awful visit with the Eighth House, is too confused to even appreciate Coronabeth's hotness, and finally makes a horrifying discovery in Harrow's closet. Then it's time for a quiz to see which houses we belong to—not to be confused with the new official Tor quiz, because we love to support our local uQuiz makers (and already tweeted our Tor quiz results). We finish with a discussion on our biggest questions and theories about Commander Wake—everything we want to get into before Nona the Ninth comes out SO soon. Please note the content warnings below.

Discussion content warnings: rape, incest, necrophilia—for the last segment of the discussion starting from 1:24:38. If you'd like to skip to  Bone of the Week, go to 1:39:20.

 * SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

uQuiz: Which Gideon the Ninth house would you be in?

Tamsyn Reddit AMA

Tumblr posts:

• mayasaura and apelyon: John sowing distrust between the Houses
• thefankid: Protesilaus in the Iliad
• koschei: Theory about Wake, John, and Alecto (discussion content warnings apply here): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• babylyctor: The Atomic Age and imperialism in the Pacific
• babylyctor: Alecto/Wake parallels
• abigail-pent: Christabel poem
• thunderon: Wake name analysis

"Ancient Sea Rise Tale Told Accurately for 10,000 Years," Scientific American

"The Sleeper," Edgar Allan Poe

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0))

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We're going on a guilt spiral with Gideon in Chapters 26-27, before a fight with Harrow blows up everything and leaves us on a thrilling cliffhanger. Baily gets quizzed on words for numbers in different languages, as we study up on the etymology of last names in the Nine Houses, and then it's time for a discussion of the King Undying, the Necrolord Prime, the kindly Prince of Death himself... just some guy named John.
 
 * SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!
 
References:
 
Tumblr:

• ghostmartyr: Deaths at Canaan House
• narratomancy: Just Some Guy
• psiionicwolf: John and Cytherea 
• monstrousgourmandizingcats: Canaan House trials
• quekerahkerah: John and religion
• gothicenjoyer: Religion in HTN
• downtroddendeity: John's crown
• exigencelost & aiglamene: John's crown
• carys-the-ninth: Religion
• babylyctor: John's abilities 1, 2, 3
• angualupin: Dam in the River
• swordrogue: Undoing the apocalypse
• abigail-pent: Invading beyond the stoma

mayasaura:

• John's manipulations
• John and Harrow
• John and power
• Resurrection beasts

txttletale:

• Manipulative characters
• John and lyctor names

coronabeth:

• Perfect lyctorhood
• John's goals

theriverybeyond:

• Pairing lyctors and cavs
• Resurrection beasts (1)
• Resurrection beasts (2)

ace-and-ranty:

• Canaan House trials
• Readers' lack of knowledge

Reddit:
thedarkfourth: John and Harrow
SicRedditGloriaMundi: Battery theory
commensally: Fixing Dominicus system
Simsesej: Crossing the River

"Failing to Plan," Verso Books
"Ayn Rand killed Sears," Salon

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - License

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Welcome to suffering hours. In a Chapter 25 that's straight out of a horror movie, poor Isaac Tettares and Jeannemary Chatur meet their tragic deaths and we will absolutely never be okay about it. There's a lot of wailing. But we tried to lift the mood afterwards with a fun vocab quiz, the second part of our discussion about lyctors Augustine and Mercymorn—including a look at the parallels between Harrow the Ninth and No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre—and another very sexy bone!

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

Tumblr posts:

• honorarycassowary: Augustine & Mercymorn as opposites
• vaguely-concerned: Augustine calling Mercymorn "Joy"
• darkveracity: Harrow/Mercymorn and Ianthe/Augustine similarities
• neornithes: Mercymorn and Augustine as "bad timeline" Harrow and Ianthe
• gothicenjoyer: Mercymorn/Cristabel and Harrow/Gideon parallel
• mayasaura: Mercymorn finding Harrow at Canaan House
• coronabeth: Mercymorn and Harrow

Tumblr posts by mercyisms:

• Augustine's repression
• Augustine, trauma, and blame
• Augustine calling Mercymorn "Joy"
• Augustine and Mercymorn as siblings
• Mercymorn and suicide pacts

Tumblr posts by exigencelost:

• Augustine's philosophical stance on sacrifice
• Augustine and suicide pacts

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre

The Good Place (2016)

"I Know What You Think of Me" by Tim Kreider, The New York Times

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0))

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WE'RE BACK!!! And we're making up for our absence by bringing you sexy duels and sexy bones! Canaan House is plunged into chaos in Chapters 23-24, as the houses start fighting for possession of the keys. Camilla gets the chance to show off her duelling skills to a (mostly) unsuspecting audience and we can't possibly scream enough about it. Then it's time for another fun quiz, the first half of a two-part discussion about the horrible saints of Joy and Patience, and a very special bone of the week.

(Aside from the introduction, this episode was recorded on June 16, 2022.)

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

uQuiz: Which minor character or notable object from GIDEON THE NINTH are you?
 
Tumblr posts:

• txttletale: Mercymorn calling Harrow and Ianthe infants
• mayasaura: Mercymorn's anger
• carys-the-ninth: Mercymorn and the banality of tragedy
• corvidcorgi: Mercymorn founding the Eighth House

Tumblr posts by darkveracity:

• Locked Tomb timeline
• Mercymorn sowing and reaping

Tumblr posts by gothicenjoyer:

• Mercymorn as Hamlet (tags)
• Christabel poem as Cristabel's namesake
• Cristabel's eyes
• Alfred
• Lyctors' eyes

Tumblr posts by mercyisms:

• Mercymorn and mentions of Cristabel
• Mercymorn and siphoning

Mercymorn Chapter 36 animatic by sweet morgan

Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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It's getting tense at Canaan House as we recap Chapters 21-22, in which discoveries are made about just how many keys there are for everyone to fight over and some mysterious remains are discovered in the incinerator... Then to lighten the mood, we play a classic game of fuck, marry, kill with the beloved (and not so beloved) characters of the Locked Tomb, before launching into a discussion about the original lyctors and what we actually know about them: the order of their ascensions, the order of their deaths, and the conspiracy theories about who might still be alive. Then we've got a surprisingly morbid Bone of the Week for you!

(This episode was recorded on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.)

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

Tumblr posts:

• voiceoflights: Babs in the pool scene
• thelockedtomb: Fuck, marry, kill
• gothicenjoyer: Vibes at Canaan House
• darkveracity: Locked Tomb timeline
• abigail-pent: Cassiopeia
• exigencelost: Ulysses body and soul
• vaguely-concerned: Hell in the Locked Tomb universe
• gothicenjoyer: Ulysses the First

Reddit posts:

• capital_I: Cassiopeia death order
• Subzero008: Cassiopeia's ceramics

People who theorized about Cassiopeia: ac-ld (now koschei) and darkveracity, abigail-pent, exigencelost, capital_I and altacc2020, udibranch

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0))

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Our tenth episode is finally here! Gideon and Harrow are taking on the avulsion trial in Chapter 20 and we certainly feel like we've been through it too after all the technical delays we had to get through to put this out. We revisit Goodreads to see if we can tell the difference between some wild one- and five-star reviews of Gideon the Ninth, and then it's time to discuss CYTHEREA—her backstory, everything she did in Canaan House, and what exactly she was hoping to achieve. And of course, we'll leave you with a bone of the week (and a whole new category to consider!).

(This episode was recorded on Sunday, May 29, 2022.)

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

Tumblr posts by ghostmartyr:

• Gideon and Harrow
• Harrow recognizing the puppeting of Pro
• Harrow puppeting her parents

Tumblr posts by mercyisms:

• The avulsion trial
• Cytherea's endgame
• Cytherea fetishizing Gideon

Tumblr posts by cristabel-oct (now gothicenjoyer)

• Cytherea in Canaan House
• Essay about cavalierhood functioning as gender
• Loveday and Cytherea
• Cytherea fetishizing cavaliers
• Cytherea-Ophelia essay

More Tumblr posts:

• mayasaura and buddhistmamaduck: Harrow's POV of the avulsion trial
• powerbottomblake: Harrow and Ianthe POV of Cytherea/Dulcinea 
• mayasaura: Cytherea targeting the Fourth House
• theriverbeyond: Cytherea in Canaan House
• gideonpyrrha: The Seventh Lab
• coffinbutch and darlingofdots: Dulcinea and disability
• irrigone: Cytherea and Dulcinea

Goodreads reviews:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
• Honourable mention

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0))

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There are too many mysteries to keep track of in this episode! In Chapters 18-19, no one can agree on what happened to Magnus and Abigail and suspicions are cast wildly. Then Gideon and Harrow explore the very well-preserved rooms of a certain "G" and "P" and Gideon finds a note that happens to have her name on it... So it's time to discuss everything we know (and the many more things we don't know!) about Gideon the First, Pyrrha Dve, and one of the weirdest love triangles we've ever seen. 

* SPOILER ALERT * We reference events from GTN and HTN in this podcast, as it’s intended for readers who’ve already finished both books.

If you like the episode, find us on Twitter, Tumblr, or TikTok @onefleshonepod or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or theories!

References:

Tumblr post by ghostmartyr about death in the Ninth House

Tumblr post by abigail-pent about what the note says

Tumblr post by abigail-pent about who wrote the note

Tumblr post by theriverbeyond about who wrote the note

Tumblr post by solomonara listing all the names Gideon and Harrow call each other

Reddit thread about Gideon the First, the Saint of Duty

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Gideon the First's death

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Gideon the First and John

Tumblr post by compelledduel about Gideon the First and John

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Gideon the First and Pyrrha's compartmentalization

Tumblr post by mayasaura about Gideon the First's ascension

Tumblr post by babylyctor about Pyrrha Dve

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Pyrrha Dve

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about the Pyrrha anagram

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Pyrrha using Gideon the First's body

Tumblr post by jade-ellsworth about Gideon Nav's conception

Tumblr post by cristabel-oct about Gideon the First and Wake

Tumblr post by saltwaterconfessions about the incinerator scene

Intro/Segment Music: "Turismo" by Spaceinvader (Icons8 Music)

Outro Music: "Warm Vacuum Tube" by Admiral Bob (2019 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attributio

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