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rowanbg's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
I spoiled myself for this book and still had no idea what was going on half the time.
Okay but on a more serious note: this book is stylistically experimental, and the fact that it pulls it off most of the time is something that I do have to give it credit for. It would probably pull it off better if every other description wasn't a metaphor and if Muir had put down the thesaurus for half a second, but here we are.
I will say that I'm an outlier in that the things that other people love are the things that I really don't. I think the memes will make the book age like milk-- dad jokes are eternal, but people in 10 years might not know about miette, or none pizza with left beef. I'm also not a fan of the Gideon/Harrow relationship. Spoilers for Gideon the Ninth-I just don't believe that someone who has been abused and imprisoned her entire life would fall in faithful, self-sacrificial love with her jailer after seeing her improve after only a month . And trust me, as a lesbian I am not quick to put down lesbians. There were a number of smaller things that I would like to see someone with more expertise than me talk about, mainly the portrayal of disability and race, because both of those felt weird. In the end, I'll probably read the final book in the trilogy to see how it resolves, but I'm not waiting for it with baited breath.
Okay but on a more serious note: this book is stylistically experimental, and the fact that it pulls it off most of the time is something that I do have to give it credit for. It would probably pull it off better if every other description wasn't a metaphor and if Muir had put down the thesaurus for half a second, but here we are.
I will say that I'm an outlier in that the things that other people love are the things that I really don't. I think the memes will make the book age like milk-- dad jokes are eternal, but people in 10 years might not know about miette, or none pizza with left beef. I'm also not a fan of the Gideon/Harrow relationship. Spoilers for Gideon the Ninth-
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Mental illness, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, and Chronic illness
wlwkara's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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: Gore and Self harm
danawfaith's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Vomit
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical content, Murder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Genocide
saestrah's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm usually on the side of 'don't put memes in literature' on the basis that memes get outdated very quickly and are hard to contextualise for readers unfamiliar with the memes. In Gideon the Ninth the narrative got away with it very well, as they were more like easter eggs that are easily glossed over. In Harrow the Ninth the memes are a little more.... 'obvious'? If you recognise the meme then it's funny, but for anyone unfamiliar with it, it would be hard to understand what it meant and why the character said it.
The POV change to second person is as jarring as it is compelling, and it's justified with the plot as well as making the world-building and unfolding mysteries all the more immersive. As confused as I was for the majority of the book, everything pulls together in the last quarter as mysteries were finally explained and the strings throughout this book and Gideon the Ninth started to come together. Harrow's narration is incredibly unreliable, and it reflects Muir’s ability to create such distinctive characters and their voices.
Despite the narrative differences, Harrow the Ninth still stays true to the rest of the Locked Tomb series, with internet meme references and sword fights, but also textually explores themes of grief, guilt, and trauma, and the intersection between the three. It’s certainly an ambitious sequel, and tests the reader’s patience at times, but it was impressively executed and guarantees several re-reads to fill the time before Alecto the Ninth is released.
The POV change to second person is as jarring as it is compelling, and it's justified with the plot as well as making the world-building and unfolding mysteries all the more immersive. As confused as I was for the majority of the book, everything pulls together in the last quarter as mysteries were finally explained and the strings throughout this book and Gideon the Ninth started to come together. Harrow's narration is incredibly unreliable, and it reflects Muir’s ability to create such distinctive characters and their voices.
Despite the narrative differences, Harrow the Ninth still stays true to the rest of the Locked Tomb series, with internet meme references and sword fights, but also textually explores themes of grief, guilt, and trauma, and the intersection between the three. It’s certainly an ambitious sequel, and tests the reader’s patience at times, but it was impressively executed and guarantees several re-reads to fill the time before Alecto the Ninth is released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying
ha1yan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was such an amazing follow-up to Gideon the Ninth. We've got double the millennial meme references (none House left grief!?), even more terrifying space necromancy, and DRAMA. It has one of the weirdest perspectives and plots I've ever read and I LOVED IT. Harrow the Ninth is the ONLY way bury your gays should be used in media, actually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Ableism and Genocide
Hallucinations, manipulation and gaslighting, unrealityharrownova's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A triumph. I can’t. Incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Blood, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, and Death
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of Gideon the Ninth, I was curious to see where the story would go and what Harrow’s narration would be like. I found Harrow the Ninth to be boring and rather confusing, and ultimately decided not to finish at the 34% mark. Even the shortest chapters felt like they dragged on for ages. I also thought that the usage of second person narration was jarring; I’m not used to reading it, and in this instance, since I was already struggling to get immersed in the book, it certainly didn’t help. I’m kind of sad to ditch this book, but I just don’t have the time or energy for books I’m not liking.
Representation:
Representation:
- lesbian protagonist
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
The content warnings above are only accurate for the portion of the book that I read.kim_kv's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.75
I raced through this book, and loved the mystery and intrigue and complex characters, narrators, timelines, etc. These books, to me, are wonderfully unique and engaging. I just wish we'd had a less time in the build up and more time with all the revelations. If you liked the first book, I would 100% reccomended this one too. I just wish I could start reading the third book to get more answers, which I guess is ultimately a good sign!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, and Vomit
brenticus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
Gideon the Ninth was a crazy ride, I thought. Tone and worldvuilding were a bit off at times, but largely more than good enough to excite me for this one.
Harrow the Ninth has you wading through the grueling psychosis of Harrowhark as you question how much of what she's seeing, experiencing, feeling, remembering is real. Because very quickly you find that something has changed in the brief period between this book and the previous, and while I don't think it was hard to figure out why there were still a lot of questions to work through.
Mostly I want to call out the best case of second-person narration I've ever seen. The reason why is pretty obvious from the get-go, I think, but still, it works so well and I love it.
Really don't know where the third book is going to take this, but definitely excited to see what disturbing monstrosity Muir cooks up next.
Harrow the Ninth has you wading through the grueling psychosis of Harrowhark as you question how much of what she's seeing, experiencing, feeling, remembering is real. Because very quickly you find that something has changed in the brief period between this book and the previous, and while I don't think it was hard to figure out why there were still a lot of questions to work through.
Mostly I want to call out the best case of second-person narration I've ever seen. The reason why is pretty obvious from the get-go, I think, but still, it works so well and I love it.
Really don't know where the third book is going to take this, but definitely excited to see what disturbing monstrosity Muir cooks up next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Self harm
Minor: Sexual content
kelecoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence