Harrow the Ninth
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4.5 • 547 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Harrow the Ninth, an Amazon pick for Best SFF of 2020 and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling sequel to Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.
The Locked Tomb is a 2023 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Series!
“Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!” —Charles Stross on Gideon the Ninth
“Unlike anything I've ever read.” —V.E. Schwab on Gideon the Ninth
“Deft, tense and atmospheric, compellingly immersive and wildly original.” —The New York Times on Gideon the Ninth
She answered the Emperor's call.
She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.
In victory, her world has turned to ash.
After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath — but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.
Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?
THE LOCKED TOMB SERIES
BOOK 1: Gideon the Ninth
BOOK 2: Harrow the Ninth
BOOK 3: Nona the Ninth
BOOK 4: Alecto the Ninth
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Perhaps New Zealand fantasy author Tamsyn Muir has never been told to stay in her lane. Or, even better, she’s heard the warning but chosen to cheerfully ignore it. Her debut novel, Gideon the Ninth, was a rollicking, snarkily funny adventure about teen lesbians in space. Harrow the Ninth picks up the story right where it left off, but it’s a very different book in mood and structure: darker and more complicated. Muir’s heroine, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, and her fellow necromancers are now in service to a godlike emperor, prepping for a battle against an otherworldly beast who could destroy their entire civilization. In some ways, the novel reads like a mystery, complete with a mid-book twist we wouldn’t dare spoil. Muir’s trademark LGBTQ+ inclusivity and madcap sense of humor are on full display—and her ingenious voice makes the novel an absolute joy to read. Bonus: This novel is so different from Gideon the Ninth that it really doesn’t matter which one you read first. Just jump in and enjoy the ride!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The masterful second genre-bending tale in Muir's Locked Tomb trilogy (after Gideon the Ninth) ratchets up the horror, hijinks, and gallows humor of the series to a fever pitch. Queer necromancer Harrowhark Nonagesimus, heir to the Ninth House, has gotten everything she's ever wanted: as a newly minted Lyctor, she's earned a place by the side of the Necrolord Prime and a chance to revive her dying House. But something went wrong during her transformation, leaving her Lyctorhood incomplete and her health failing, wracked by hallucinations and altered memories. When King Undying summons her to his ancient palace in the far reaches of space, she's trapped both by its strange corridors and by her faltering mind, with only her detestable rival Ianthe, three ancient and unfriendly fellow Lyctors, and the eccentric Emperor himself for company, as she begins to suspect that someone wants her dead. Muir's labyrinthine plot raises the stakes of the series as it pushes the characters to their limits, exploring their trauma and anguish while keeping intact the irreverent comedy, grisly necromantic science, and gothic sensibilities that fans expect. Ending on a heart-stopping cliffhanger sure to have readers clamoring for the next installment, this dark, bloody puzzle box of a sequel is a knockout.
Customer Reviews
Deep and Different Second Volume of the Locked Tomb Trilogy
“Harrow the Ninth” was a harrowing read! It is not an easy book to understand, but I think the effort is worth it. One must just accept what is thrown out there, and make the best sense of it. Some of it will become clear later...
It picks up shortly after the events of the first volume in the Locked Tomb Trilogy, “Gideon the Ninth.” As the title would suggest, our main character this time is Harrow, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House. She’s a Necromancer, and has just become a Lyctor. She is now a Necrosaint, and is in service to the Necrolord Prime. This God Emperor is also known as John, and enjoys having tea and biscuits with his immortal servants. Harrow gets to interact with her fellow Lyctors, one of which regularly tries to kill her as a matter of principle.
There seem to be two narratives at play during most of the book. The first is the actual events occurring in real time, and the other are what appear to be a recollection of past events as Harrow imagines them to have occurred. Herein lies some of the difficultly in comprehending the novel, because Harrow is a most unreliable narrator. Granted, she has been through some severely traumatic events, and events that are pretty objectively horrible continue to happen to her. We later learn why she seems so completely broken, and it explains much but not all. The ending is quite unclear to me, but I assume that more will be explained in the third volume of the Locked Tomb Trilogy: “Alecto the Ninth.”
More of the history and lore of the universe of the Locked Tomb are revealed, but much of it one must just accept and go with. The levels of necromancy involved go exponential, as might be expected from a group of Lyctors working together against a a greater threat. The God Emperor is sometimes amazing, and sometimes makes dad-jokes. It is very different from “Gideon the Ninth” but one thing that is the same is the incredible characters do incredible things that sweep you up in to the tale.
Book is excellent, download is wonky
Loved it-different tone from Gideon, but on the second read through preparing for Nona, appreciated it much more.
Download is quite frustrating. It does not show up in the series grouped with the others, nor does it show in my library at all unless I search for it specifically.
Worth the workout
Harrow the Ninth is a fitting sequel to Gideon the Ninth, upping the ante and filling more of the space of this gothic universe. The first third or so is a bit of a workout to get through as you’re left scratching your head as to what the heck is going on. The eventual payoffs to this challenging setup start coming and when they do they hit over and over culminating in a climactic set of scenes worthy of this series.
In other words, stick with it. It’s worth it.