Scan barcode
belladonnashrike's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
so I think reading this sequel has summed up my feelings on how muir writes. she comes off as an amateur writer - whether that’s true or not, I have no idea, but that’s the root of all my critiques. I’m not a fan of the humor in this series, but even more so, all the characters (except for Harrow) have the same sense of humor, even when you would expect them not to, which sort of cheapens the dialogue and their individual characterization. the one (main) character that I feel does not share this quality is Harrowhark, who is written as the inverse of Gideon, so of course she won’t have the Gideon-like humor. I think Harrow is the best written character in the series and she is certainly my favorite which is why I think I enjoyed this book way more than the first. despite that, the fact that she is basically a Gideon foil feels a little lazy especially when you look at the dialogue. I love Harrow but I wish her traits and personality was independent of Gideon. I enjoyed Harrow’s perspective but once it shifted back to Gideon’s (which I KNEW was going to happen… I hated the second person format but then realized very early on that Gideon was most likely not actually dead and she was speaking for Harrow) perspective, I felt mildly annoyed. I don’t dislike Gideon at all, but I’d simply rather not read things from her perspective, especially in first person. she’s fine as a side character! I just really do not like her sense of humor and again, it cheapens the story for me. especially when God - her father - said that very ridiculous, unnecessary dad joke upon meeting her. I legitimately rolled my eyes and sighed. I just can’t escape this sense of humor even when Harrow is leading the book! much more. she is a very interesting character and I do have a lot of love for her. the worldbuilding got SO much better in this book, but it’s not perfect. some things are still left unsaid or as loose threads (which I feel is not a part of the mystery and definitely attributed to what I imagine is inexperienced writing). I am still invested in the story despite my critiques (I just find the concept so fascinating - I desperately wish that the execution was better) so I’ll be continuing on with the series. I hope Harrow is in these next couple books because I do adore her and would certainly miss her if she was absent from the storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Vomit
nonsense's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Body horror, Mental illness, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
lumberelk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
elizmoe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Tamsyn Muir, meet me in the pit. So I can give you a <i>hug</i>. And then sue you for emotional damages.
i'm screaming, i'm crying, i'm throwing up even more than harrow in the first 5 chapters of this book. gideon and harrow have forever altered my brain chemistry. i understand that these books are perhaps not for everyone, but they are definitely for <i>me</i>; every reality-bending, viscerally disgusting, brow-furrowing-inducing moment of this stupid lesbian necromancer and her stupider lesbian cavalier were for me, and i am wretchedly grateful.
too early to say for sure, but this book may have ruined me for other books? we'll see, but i have a bad feeling that anything else i will read that contains any of the following:
necromancy
swordplay
space
nonlinear storytelling
unreliable narrator(s)
enemy lesbians
will just leave me wondering why that book can't be her*.
*the locked tomb series
also the payoff of this book is CRAZY. if you are like 20% through and not seeing the vision and considering DNF, i urge you to carry on even if the 500 pages feel daunting. you won't believe your eyes when shit starts coming together, because so many pieces do. even pieces that don't, i am confident will be explained in the next two books, as there were many many setups from book 1 that made for some incredible reveals in this book.
i have so much more to say about this book but most of it is yelling. even the occasional ill-advised meme inserts couldn't mar this book for me! and that's pretty insane!!
i'm screaming, i'm crying, i'm throwing up even more than harrow in the first 5 chapters of this book. gideon and harrow have forever altered my brain chemistry. i understand that these books are perhaps not for everyone, but they are definitely for <i>me</i>; every reality-bending, viscerally disgusting, brow-furrowing-inducing moment of this stupid lesbian necromancer and her stupider lesbian cavalier were for me, and i am wretchedly grateful.
too early to say for sure, but this book may have ruined me for other books? we'll see, but i have a bad feeling that anything else i will read that contains any of the following:
necromancy
swordplay
space
nonlinear storytelling
unreliable narrator(s)
enemy lesbians
will just leave me wondering why that book can't be her*.
*the locked tomb series
also the payoff of this book is CRAZY. if you are like 20% through and not seeing the vision and considering DNF, i urge you to carry on even if the 500 pages feel daunting. you won't believe your eyes when shit starts coming together, because so many pieces do. even pieces that don't, i am confident will be explained in the next two books, as there were many many setups from book 1 that made for some incredible reveals in this book.
i have so much more to say about this book but most of it is yelling. even the occasional ill-advised meme inserts couldn't mar this book for me! and that's pretty insane!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Violence, Medical trauma, Genocide, Cursing, Child death, Body horror, Death, War, Torture, Gore, Vomit, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
nishidake's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Xenophobia, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
crashjaycintha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Grief, Body horror, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
rlgreen91's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A few days later and I'm still not sure what to think of the wild ride that was Harrow the Ninth. Reviewing this is a bit tricky, because there's so many twists and turns I don't want to give away but I also don't see the point in a review with the majority of the text concealed by a spoiler tag.
One thing I can speak relatively freely about is the worldbuilding in Harrow the Ninth , and how superb it is. I loved the reasoning behind one of the antagonists, because it naturally followed the rules and conventions set during Gideon the Ninth so well - it just made so much sense that that would happen as a result of the initial action set 10,000 years ago! I also loved how Muir is gradually expanding the world and universe that all of this takes place in. We started with a very narrow focus on a few characters at the beginning of Gideon the Ninth and have expanded to other generations and the Nine Houses in general(plus factions outside of the Nine Houses) . And it looks like Nona the Ninth is set to keep expanding our universe even more. This approach can throw things off a bit since so far we've learned off these expanded events when our main characters did. At times things might seem random to us because we - the characters and readers - lack the context to understand why something is significant just yet. But overall Muir has laid this out really, really well and I know I'm gushing over this but it takes a lot of skill and effort to do this type of worldbuilding well in a work that slides between fantasy and science fiction and has more than one mystery at the core of its plot.
Just like in Gideon the Ninth and "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex", there's plenty of gorgeous language in Harrow the Ninth too. A lot of great banter and comedic moments, like someone attempting to explain to Harrow where babies come from, but also a very kind and honest depiction of what it's like to suffer from depression, trauma, and the genuine feeling that you might be insane. Not to mention all of the references, from the ones you only find by lurking Tumblr in the early 2010s to very Biblical/Christian ones that you only come across in advanced Sunday School.
Overall, a fantastic novel - no sophomore slump to be found here. Looking forward to "As Yet Unsent."
One thing I can speak relatively freely about is the worldbuilding in Harrow the Ninth , and how superb it is. I loved the reasoning behind one of the antagonists, because it naturally followed the rules and conventions set during Gideon the Ninth so well - it just made so much sense that that would happen as a result of the initial action set 10,000 years ago! I also loved how Muir is gradually expanding the world and universe that all of this takes place in. We started with a very narrow focus on a few characters at the beginning of Gideon the Ninth and have expanded to other generations and the Nine Houses in general
Just like in Gideon the Ninth and "The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex", there's plenty of gorgeous language in Harrow the Ninth too. A lot of great banter and comedic moments, like someone attempting to explain to Harrow where babies come from, but also a very kind and honest depiction of what it's like to suffer from depression, trauma, and the genuine feeling that you might be insane. Not to mention all of the references, from the ones you only find by lurking Tumblr in the early 2010s to very Biblical/Christian ones that you only come across in advanced Sunday School.
Overall, a fantastic novel - no sophomore slump to be found here. Looking forward to "As Yet Unsent."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, War, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
barrybj's review against another edition
medium-paced
5.0
what. the fuck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Pregnancy, Gore, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, War, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
natdrinkstea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this entire book in twenty four hours and I truly don't think I understood any of it. It was incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Child death, Murder, and Genocide
Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
vaxis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'd heard a lot of talk about how book two is jarring, confusing, and that it takes too long to make sense. Honestly, it's not that bad. Make sure you remember who characters are, and it's fine. It's a mystery, so nothing is supposed to make sense at every step, or even for a while.
The narrative switches between third person limited, usually during a flashback, and second person. Normally I really dislike second person; this is handled as though someone is narrating Harrow's actions and responses to her. It's not a narrative trying to get you to imagine yourself as the character, but someone explaining what is going on to someone who is having some memory difficulties.
The other thing I heard is that this is a book that gaslights you, and that is largely due to a lot of contradictory information that differs from Gideon and is clarified later. Spoiler explainer:Harrow altered her own memories to forget what actually happened in book one, and regains true memories before the end of the book.
The narrative switches between third person limited, usually during a flashback, and second person. Normally I really dislike second person; this is handled as though someone is narrating Harrow's actions and responses to her. It's not a narrative trying to get you to imagine yourself as the character, but someone explaining what is going on to someone who is having some memory difficulties.
The other thing I heard is that this is a book that gaslights you, and that is largely due to a lot of contradictory information that differs from Gideon and is clarified later. Spoiler explainer:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Gaslighting, War, Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Colonisation
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage