Reviews with content warning for Murder - Harrow the Ninth

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Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

183 reviews

ellenwm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Stock up on red string and push pins because this book is wild!!! You will say “what the hell is happening?!” many times. You’ll re-read (or replay the audio book) for many sections. You’ll check character lists. You will be frustrated that the puzzle pieces aren’t coming together and don’t seem to even be from the same puzzle.

But Woaw is it worth it!!! This is not an easy or quick read, though. Two things kept me going: reviews that (correctly) said the final quarter brings it all together in a satisfying way and my absolute adoration for Gideon the Ninth. The majority of the novel alternates between two plot lines, with one written in second person to distinguish it. That choice irked me at first, but the function and the reason were eventually borne out. There’s a glaring difference from Gideon the Ninth for most of the book that will also disappoint many readers (but that you can’t really say without spoiling GtN), but it’ll make sense eventually.

This curious, dark exploration of grief, trauma, ethics, love and mortality asks as many questions as it answers. It is rare that a novel is so carefully plotted, complicated and connected, featuring a world and characters full of surprises.

Same as with GtN though, CONTENT WARNINGS for violence, gore and body horror. I’m still kind of shocked at how well I’m tolerating that content, but somehow the intense plot and beautiful writing make the gross bones and body stuff worth it to me?

Content Warnings

sdskuld's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

What an ambitious sequel full of head games any mystery, but it works.

Content Warnings

skudiklier's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense

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

4.75

Oh my god this book. I have no idea what to say about it. I don't know how else to say this but reading it made me feel like I was going crazy. I'm so glad I was reading this well after it came out and I could look up just enough people talking about it online so that I could know I was actually having the intended experience and not wildly misunderstanding something. For a book that made me feel like I had no idea what was happening, I loved it. I definitely want to read the next one. It made me scream at the people who recommended it to me. It has such a good payoff after all the confusion and disorientation. I wish all books were this devastating and this satisfying and this funny.

mild spoilers

NONE HOUSES LEFT GRIEF???? what the fuck.

Content Warnings

grace_b_3's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

I loved Gideon the Ninth and thus was so excited for the sequel. Harrow ended up being more of a slog than I expected, but it really stuck the landing. About midway through Harrow, I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it, much less read the third book, but the last act pulled right back into this world and these characters.

One of the things I liked the least in this book is that most of the chapters are told in 2nd person.

While this choice is eventually explained when Gideon comes back and starts some 1st person chapters, it was still rather grating to read through. I also heard that the 2nd person narration choice was made to emphasize that Harrow is an unreliable narrator, but there is so much else going on to communicate that so it felt so unnecessary until the last act with the Gideon reveal and then that choice clicked into place for me. Didn’t quite make up for the rest of the book though.

Also,

I didn’t love the Gideon potentially being in love with Harrow thing. I have never read their relationship as being romantic and felt like that romantic angle to their relationship was never really developed? I much preferred the Ianthe/Harrow pairing in this book—in a romantic sense. I love the friendship between Harrow and Gideon and how that builds over the first book.

I’d reccomend this series if you like dense, twisty fiction with a gothic vibe. Just don’t go into Harrow expecting it to be similar to Gideon.

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raybudbury's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

This was crazy. Like tamsyn Muir didn’t have to go so hard but she did. How did she write first/second/third person all in one book and I was eating it up. Amazing.

I read this on audio and made lil notes for myself while I was at work so I’ll put those under this first spoiler tag

- severely gay in a weird way
- soup making turned deadly
- “jaded tones of a fagged-out socialite” harrow describing ianthe talking 😭
- necro ménage 👁️
- coffee shop au but also a lobotomy
- the girls are fighting
- “she wants the D and the D stands for the Dead”
- reading a threatening letter but the other person reading it sees a middle school ‘S’. Had me dead

JSSKSK. Really loving this series actually but I loved this one better because it kind of flips expectations and I also love a good soap opera situation

gideon’s parental situation JAJSKSOSSKDNDNSNDND LMAOOOO

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enyltiak's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

Gideon the Ninth was my first five star read of 2023, so I figured it was about time to continue the series. Where the beginning of the first book is a bit confusing in that classic new sci-fi/fantasy world adjustment sort of way, Harrow the Ninth is confusing in a trippy, clueless sort of way where you as the reader are completely in the dark alongside its titular character, feeling your way to some semblance of explanation. It's a slow burn for certain, and not for everyone, but I was personally a fan of the way POV is used in this book.

Despite the confusing nature, I managed to figure out that

Harrow had willfully replaced/removed Gideon from her memory in her grief (though I hadn't known fully why or how, of course)

. The last act of the book is action-packed and so fun. It really sheds light on everything vague that had occurred thus far, so you get some clarity seeing it through to the end. All in all, solid second book and definitely one that strikes a desire to re-read it and see it in a whole new light.

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drsinoire's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

While it's a little heavy handed on the dialogue explanations of the magic system and world building, I did have an easier time keeping track of the secondary characters. I agree that just accepting that you are going to be confused helps navigate the disjointed timelines. (Some fandom osmosis also helped me keep up, too tbh) I am fascinated by a depiction of god as a flawed and selfish individual who probably shouldn't actually be worshiped. I'm going to need to sit with this one for a while.

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xosirenox's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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notthatkat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is bonkers, but in some really good ways. As I was warned, a large chunk of the book is confusing and doesn’t line up with events that happened in Gideon. Harrow does say several times that she is insane. Readers should take her at her word. In the latter part of the book, things become clear with payoffs for the things that don’t make sense. In addition to continuing the overarching plot started in Gideon, Harrow is a poignant explanation of mental illness and grief. Some questions left hanging in Gideon are answered and even more are raised. Overall I thought it very good and look forward to continuing with Nona.

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