Ratings331
Average rating4.2
I could write essays about how much I love this book. Gideon and Nona are both outstanding books, but Harrow changed me as a person. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I've never felt the things I felt when I finished it for the first time. Muir reminded me of what literature can do and why queer stories matter. Easily in my top five books of all time.
As the novel progresses, determining what is real and what isn???t becomes very important indeed. It???s not only about whether or not Harrow???s story is true, or if the unknown narrator???s story is true; it???s also about not knowing if the people one is supposed to trust wholeheartedly are actually telling the truth.
Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-JE
Tamsyn Muir is a bloody genius.
This book took some time to get going and it is TRIPPY until you figure out what's happening, but it is so worth it. All the characters are so good. This universe is so unique and so interesting. One in particular might be climbing my favorite fictional characters of all time list real fast. I'll wait for the next installment just to be sure. And I CAN'T WAIT.
Also, if you're into audiobooks at all, Moira Quirk does a phenomenal job with these. Highly recommend.
This book was a mess. I finished Gideon the Ninth and went straight into Harrow excited to read more. Then I saw it's in second person and got very worried because I very much dislike second person writing; it's boring, in my modest opinion. Funnily enough I didn't mind it at all.What I did mind (read: hate) was everything else. Erasing Gideon for the most predictable reason is by far the worst decision ever. The confusing, boring, aimless plot is on par.The ending came out of nowhere and included a literal “teleports behind ‘Nothing personnel kid' “ meme. I hated this book. The extra star is for the one twist that I didn't predict which amounted to a “hm, that's cool” reaction from me. Can't wait for [b:Alecto the Ninth 39325106 Alecto the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3) Tamsyn Muir https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 60943284] to be written in future tense and for 3/4 of it pretend like nothing from the first two existed.
4.5 stars. Spent so much of this book going WTF is going on. But excellent and satisfying story. Moved straight on to no.3.
You read this book, confused as hell. You flipped back and forth, trying to figure out just what the hell is going on here.
You were confused and scratching your head until the final third of the book. And then it clicked.
The writing is amazing, the plot is amazing, the ending amazing, everything was so freaking perfect about this book!
The entire beginning I was extremely confused and in like the last 20-30 % it was all clicking and I love when books are written like this because I makes me want to reread everything instantly ><
Low key need fanfic of some character 🫣
The first book Gideon the Ninth was amazing as was this so these are must reads in my opinion!!
Harrow the Ninth trades one annoying lesbian narrator (complimentary) for another, equally but differently annoying lesbian narrator (also complimentary). It trades the mysteries of Canaan House for the mysteries of Lyctorhood and God Himself. It answers exactly none of the questions set forth in the first book and instead opens up a whole new world of what the fuck. It introduces a new cast of characters with absolutely no plot armor and strange unknowable motivations for doing the things they do. It is trippy and wonderful and weird and made me go "WHAT" at least a dozen times.
I read this in tandem with a friend and we had the best time sharing theories and reactions to the absolutely wild series of events that transpires in these pages. Also, the MEMES. Tamsyn Muir is a mad genius. After the first book took me about a month to get through (mostly due to the first few chapters), I absolutely blitzed through this one in a matter of days. We're really cooking at this point in the series, and even though you know you won't be given any answers, you just have to hold on tight and enjoy the ride. It's a fuckin wild one.
Every so often you read a book that boggles your mind so thoroughly that you feel completely and wholly inadequate trying to express your thoughts as a reviewer. Harrow the Ninth is such a book.
I loved Gideon the Ninth when I read it last year, and it's killer ending left me anxious to read Harrow (for reasons that I suspect are obvious if you've read Gideon, and if you haven't... read on at your own risk). But part of me was worried the sequel would live up to my inflated expectations.
It did. It really really really did.
If it wasn't clear from Gideon, Harrow confirms that Tamsyn Muir is a writer who excels at experimenting with structure. The story follows a nonlinear timeline; the one fixed point is a countdown to the Emperor's murder, which we're informed of in the very first line of the prologue. We also experience Harrow's story in second-person narration, which Muir pulls off to spectacular effect in a way that rivals N.K. Jemisin's use of the second-person in her Broken Earth series.
Then you went under to make war on Hell.Hell spat you back out. Fair enough.
Gideon
You were only half a Lyctor, and half a Lyctor was worse than not a Lyctor at all.
Harrow the Ninth
Alecto the Ninth
I received an ARC of this book from Tor.com Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review originally appeared on The Fantasy Inn blog.