Book Review: Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tamsyn Muir continues with Harrow the Ninth. This takes place shortly after the events of Gideon the Ninth and quickly starts tackling some of the loose ends left from that book, all while introducing new things to be excited about. Combining science fiction, fantasy, horror, and who knows what else, this book will surprise you.

Read on for my spoiler-free review, but bear in mind that, as a sequel, I consider events from the prior novel fair game.

Overall Impression

I don't even know where to start with this review. This was an incredible book, certainly one of the best I've read this year. A continuation of the every exciting Gideon the Ninth, but told in a completely new voice with new mysteries at every turn of the page. Great characters, complex plot, and an setting that almost made me want to take notes. This book was incredible.

Plot

This book continues shortly after the events of the last one, with Harrowhark Nonagesimus, alongside Ianthe Tridentarius, emerging as newly formed Lyctors in service to the Emperor. The plot has several interesting things going for it that work together quite well. First, this is a countdown to a major event- the Emperor's deaths. From the get-go you know this and the chapters start of with how many months/days/hours before or after the Emperor's death. They're also not necessarily in order, though not in any confusing way. Second, there is a second plot going on that is equally as intriguing as the main one. The main one, in my opinion, is Harrow's training in Lyctorhood, but the secondary plot of her memories of Canaan House is just as important. Finally, the plot switches back and forth between a second-person perspective ("you did") and the more traditional third-person perspective ("she did"). It's initially a bit jarring, as second person can be, but quickly grew on me and was pulled off, in my opinion, perfectly.

Characters

Naturally, the main character of this book is Harrow. In Gideon the Ninth, we saw her through her cavalier's eyes, but now we get to see her directly. She is a very different character from Gideon, so don't expect the same witty banter that was so unexpectedly delightful. In addition to Harrow, you also have the other Lyctors, including Ianthe, Augustine, Mercymorn, and the enigmatic Saint of Duty. And of course, there is also God- the King Undying, the Kindly Prince of Death, the Necrolord Prime, the God of the Nine Houses, the Resurrection, etc, etc- basically the Emperor. Who he is, what he is capable of, and how he treats his own divinity are frequent touch points in this novel.

Setting / World Building

We continue exploring Muir's interesting universe. We get a lot more clarification about what it means to be a Lyctor, which was the whole focus of the first book, and we learn how that confers both immortality and incredible power. We also learn a little bit more about thanergy and thalergy, the energy of death and life, respectively, particularly with respect to revenants and ghosts. While we learn a bit more of the Resurrection, I still feel there are many mysteries behind that, though we learn of the incredible cost as we are introduced to Resurrection Beasts. These monsters are what Lyctors are meant to fight, and they sound very interesting indeed. 

In addition to the usual bone, flesh, and blood magic that we saw in Gideon the Ninth, we also see much more of spirit magic. Harrow the Ninth introduces us the the River of souls and how necromancers and Lyctors make use of it. There are some tantalizing tidbits here, particularly with the connection to Hell and the other side of the River. Also, let's not forget this novel has ties to science fiction- we get to travel faster than light, visit other planets, and hang out in a space station.

Final Thoughts

Holy shit this was an incredible book. It has it all: a very intriguing setting that keeps you wondering how things work. A plot that keeps you glued to the story; I had many theories on what was going on- most of them wrong. And characters that are fascinating to read about, whether they are discussing the mysteries of life and death, visiting other planets, or just enjoying some soup. I highly recommend this series and can't wait for the next book!