Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Harrow the Ninth

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Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

35 reviews

lolajh's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

What a curious little book this is! This was my second or third read I can’t quite remember but I have to say that rereading it and doing a deep dive online of other people explaining this book helped a ton with me understanding it lmao. I really love and appreciate the delving of the magic system and world in this book that is necessary to become more familiar with the world of the series, a tiny addition to the book that really helped me with visualising just the setting and how necromancy works.

The conclusion I’ve come to about this book is that the chapters in second person are the real timeline

and in the perspective of Gideon just like…sitting in harrow’s brain I guess lmao

and the chapters in third person are an alternate timeline existing

as a Bubble

in the River

that Harrow (unintentionally?) created when trying to forget Gideon. This timeline overwrites Harrow’s memories, and involves Ortus never dying in the first book and being Harrow’s cavalier when they were invited to Canaan house instead of Gideon, who Harrow doesn’t remember.

In real time, Harrow, alongside Ianthe, struggle to live up to the other Lyctors around them,

due to Harrow’s very incomplete Lyctorhood that’s only half-consumed Gideon’s soul, and Ianthe’s incorrectly reattached arm that makes it hard to fight.

The pair of them are being trained to join the other Lyctors in fighting one specific Resurrection Beast (the collective soul of a planet killed all at once) that hunts down the Emperor and his Lyctors for the sins they committed into turning into Lyctors. Because Resurrection Beasts mostly reside in the River where necromancy can’t be performed, Harrow and Ianthe have to learn how to be physically capable of fighting without their powers, which is why they struggle so much.

On top of this, Harrow has to deal with her strange memories, and murder attempts

performed on her by Gideon the First—or “G1deon” as I will refer to him in this—under John’s orders to “scare her” into consuming her cavalier’s soul properly. Harrow thinks for a lot of this book that G1deon’s name is also Ortus, like the name of the person she thinks was the cavalier she consumed, but because of “the work” (a brain surgery/lobotomy that Harrow did on herself with Ianthe’s help to remove her memories of Gideon so that she wouldn’t consume her soul), Harrow mistook G1deon’s name to also be Ortus.

Whenever the chapters of those “memories” recited in third person come up, it is Harrow in real time revisiting them

i.e. through travelling to that Bubble in the River that she’s not aware she’s in, and as she does she receives signs from the characters within them such as the Body, a servant, Abigail and Magnus, who throughout different parts of her memories tell her “This isn’t how it happens.” The letters about eggs that weave their way into her memories are also alluding her to the fact that her memories aren’t real.

Instead of Cytherea being in the Canaan House of this Bubble, “The Sleeper”, who is the soul of anti-necromancer ex Blood of Eden captain and also Gideon’s mother Awake, is actively invading the Bubble in real time in an attempt to kill all the necromancers there. Eventually all hell breaks loose and it becomes more explicit that this Bubble is a real thing Harrow is in, and not just memories she’s looking back on.

“My soul is under seige, and I overwrote my real memories with a ghost-filled pocket dimension, which has not apparently been co-opted by some kind of poltergeist.”

The Sleeper continues to invade the Bubble with potential to hurt the real-life souls of the people in it, like Abigail, Magnus, Ortus and Dulcinea, who are choosing to stay in the River with Harrow to fight the Sleeper rather than letting their souls move on. I really love how as Harrow starts to remember Gideon again, she starts seeing her everywhere in the Bubble, where in every single alternate timeline she comes across she sees Gideon there in every single one. It becomes really apparent in this book how much Harrow loves Gideon too; it’s not a one-sided thing at all and I really hope Harrow eventually differentiates the love she has for Alecto and the love she has for Gideon and she realises that her love for Gideon is so much more raw and real. She’s practically gone to hell and back for this girl, sacrificing her own life at the end of this to allow Gideon to live in Harrow’s body. She barely even thinks it over; once she realises “the work” worked and some of Gideon’s soul was still intact, she chose to stay in the River in the Locked Tomb there where Gideon’s made up magazines were, trapping herself in Alecto’s body, because she thought it would give Gideon a chance to live. They’ve both sacrificed themselves now; they’re even, so PLEASE Tamsyn, let them BE TOGETHER.

It had bewildered her, back at Canaan House, how the whole of her always seemed to come back to Gideon. For one brief and beautiful space of time, she had welcomed it: that microcosm of eternity between forgiveness and the slow, uncomprehending agony of the fall. Gideon rolling up her shirt sleeves. Gideon dappled in shadow, breaking promises. One idiot with a sword and an asymmetrical smile had proved to be Harrow’s end: her apocalypse swifter than the death of the Emperor and the sun with him.

The process of “the work” is also

how Gideon, or what’s left of her unconsumed soul within Harrow, is able to take control of Harrow’s body later in the book after Mercymorn mercy-kills her so she doesn’t die to the Beast. This is where Gideon learns her father is John and also that her mother Wake, was the captain of anti-necromancer group Blood of Eden and was attempting to open the Locked Tomb with newborn Gideon because she had John’s blood and could undo the blood wards, allowing access into the Tomb and being able to release Alecto, John’s cavalier, who achieved perfect Lyctorhood with John without either of them having to die and now one cannot die without the other also dying. Wake didn’t achieve this of course, as she died before reaching the Ninth with Gideon, but still this fact about John achieving perfect Lyctorhood is found out by the other Lyctors at the same time as Gideon and Ianthe. Gideon has yellow eyes, which are directly hereditary and both Wake and John did not (appear to) have these eyes when the Lyctors knew they were the parents of Gideon. Wake isn’t a necromancer so that rules out her eye colour being able to change to what it is now, and leaves John being the only one Gideon’s eyes could have come from. The Lyctors also thought up until this moment John had never had a cavalier. The Lyctors remember Alecto having yellow eyes before she was locked in the tomb, which means she got John’s yellow eyes when they Lyctor-bonded before the Lyctors were even resurrected yet, and John got her black eyes as he does now. And because they were both alive whilst Lyctor-bonded, that meant John found a way to do this without killing a cavalier yet never told his Lyctors and watched them kill their cavaliers. Whether the Lyctor-bonding John and Alecto did would even be possible to replicate is a whole other thing entirely, but regardless, there’s that explained, so that’s why the Lyctors go apeshit on John and try to kill him in the River. Why Ianthe saves him, I’m still not really sure, even after reading Nona. She’s the one character you can’t truly rely on or predict anything about (I love her)

Overall this probably WILL be the most fucking confusing book you’ve ever read, and unfortunately it does require multiple rereads to truly understand even on top of researching what’s actually going on. Even I am still very much confused about a lot of things, but hopefully with each reread it will get better 😃 Good luck

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pbarrett5275's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

At first I wasn't sure if I'd like where the plot was headed after I finished the Gideon of Ninth. I soon released it didn't matter what I thought because I had no idea what was going on. The beginning of Harrow the Ninth can be tough, but ultimately this sequel lives up to it's predecessor and possible even more. Despite being quite perplexed, I found myself enjoying the new storyline as much as I was confused by it. This book is a bit darker, but still had plenty of good laughs, mystery, and soup. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters added to the mythology as well as those with newly expanded roles from the returning cast. Unlike Gideon, Harrow the Ninth actually takes place in space, and is filled with plenty of new adventure, expanded world building, and easily the best fight scene in the series to date.

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cal_the_queer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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olivia_manes's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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peach_pie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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morevna's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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librarianmage's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m sorry what

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cursedepub's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Completely blew Gideon the Ninth out of the water with atmospheric, experimental storytelling, a powerful point of view, and a breathtaking final confrontation and ending.

Harrow the Ninth reads like a completely different animal from Gideon the Ninth - it's so much more complex, with so much more for the reader to uncover and read between the lines to see, and the depth of Harrow's emotions (grief, fear, pride, shame) painting the whole novel is truly stunning. While I found the mystery aspect of Gideon the Ninth clumsy, the puzzles, revelations, and shifting loyalties of the First House in Harrow the Ninth were very deftly handled and kept me guessing and engaged the whole time. There is a lot of very clever playing with expectations about characters' personalities and values that give a richness to interactions and relationships. The point of view shift gave me whiplash in a really positive and incredible way.

There are some parts I definitely... did not like, and the pacing is not entirely consistent. That being said, this book grew to mean a lot to me personally while I was reading it, and I think many people who have suffered loss or trauma will find catharsis in Harrow's point of view. You will feel for her deeply and cheer for her throughout the whole novel, despite how grisly and violent everything turns.

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danawfaith's review against another edition

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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

5.0

I felt like I was going crazy for like 2/3rds of the book. then in the last act I finally got it and the payoff was incredible. And then in the last chapter, just kidding you don't understand anything. Which is what I've come to expect from the Locked Tomb, so five stars.

Excellent use of the second person. The worldbuilding feels very indepth and detailed, despite the fact we spend so little time out in the world.

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fiveredhens's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I think the main thing I should have said was, You sawed open your skull rather than be beholden to someone. You turned your brain into soup to escape anything less than 100 percent freedom. You put me in a box and buried me rather than give up your own goddamned agenda. Harrowhark, I gave you my whole life and you didn't even want it.

It was only when saw us in the mirror by the dresser—saw me, in you—still not saying anything—that it hit home what you had done. Your face was a mess. It was such a weird goddamn melange of us: your pointy-ass chin, your stubborn-featured, dark-browed face, less battered than the last time l'd seen it, but—wearier than l'd ever known it to be. Your eyes had little smudgy lines next to them, and they were there at the corners of your mouth, marks of this huge, exhausted sadness. You could always leave everything else behind, but you never got rid of being so absolutely fucking goddamn sad.

It was difficult to know what to do with this type of touch. It made her whole soul flinch, but at the same time opened some primeval infant mechanism within her, as though the embrace were a mirror: having someone hold up an image by which you could see yourself, rather than living with an assumption of your face.

When she had first sat by the tomb in shivering awe, she had fancied that the Body's ice-ridden fingers had shifted for hers, minutely. Gideon had touched her in truth; Gideon had floundered toward her in the saltwater with that set, unsheathed expression she wore before a fight, her mouth colourless from the cold.

You remember how the fuck-off great-aunts always used to say, Suffer and learn? If they were right, Nonagesimus, how much more can we take until you and me achieve omniscience?

I remember that I had you on your back—I put you straight on the fucking ground. I was always so much bigger and so much stronger. I got on top of you and choked you till your eyes bugged out. I told you that my mother had probably loved me a lot more than yours loved you. You clawed my face so bad that my blood ran down your hands; my face was under your fucking fingernails. When I let you go you couldn't even stand, you just crawled away and threw up. Were you ten, Harrow? Was I eleven? Was that the day you decided you wanted to die?

"Not even one of the Emperor's fists and gestures could give Harrowhark Nonagesimus a sexy makeover. Sometimes I think you look like a twig's funeral."

"I merely want to put you in a jail," said his Lyctor, now meditative, "and fill up the jail with acid once for every time you made a frivolous remark, or ate peanuts in a Cohort Admiralty meeting, or said, What would I know, I'm only God. Then at the end of a thousand years, you would say, 'Mercy, I have learned not to do any of these things, because I hated the acid you put on me.' And I would say, "That is why I did it, Lord. I did it for you, and for your empire. I often think about this," she finished.

[...] like she'd [...] never imagined there'd ever be a reckoning. There would be a goddamn reckoning. Nonagesimus, I was going to reck her. "Do you want your ass kicked now, or do you want your ass kicked later, or both?"

"Please, let's address this like gentlewomen,' said lanthe, without much hope.

"Hell, no! I'm going to pull your whole ass off," I said. "You want that? You want Harrow to grow you a new bone ass where I pulled off the old one? Let's dance, Tridentarius."

"But that doesn't— Why would she—?"

"Do not fucking ask me for information. I could not be more lost right now."

[...] you told me that if anyone came looking for me you would get your parents to lock me in a closet and say that I had died of "brain malfunction," which I now know isn't a real disease, so I bet you feel stupid now?

this book has a schtick that i hated at first but grew to love but i could understand if someone just hated it

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