Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

74 reviews

ashyouwish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Vomit, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Cursing, Chronic illness, Confinement, Colonisation, Cannibalism, Cancer, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide

lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

If Gideon the Ninth is "And Then There Were None" with lesbian necromancers, Harrow the Ninth adds in a healthy scoop of Assassins Creed to that mix. Prepare to be lost, deliberately and skillfully. The ride is worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing and Mental illness

Minor: Child death and Sexual content

lkj2018's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

wind_dog's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Cursing

Minor: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Genocide, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

caitsidhe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

HOLY SHIT.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

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. 

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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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying

marioncromb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It being roughly a year since i'd read Gideon, so starting this book had me even more confused and doubting my memories than i think the author intended, but once i got that that /was/ the point i was fully on board, brain racing to try and unpick the mystery before Muir reveals it to us slowly, masterfully, thread by thread. The humour is not quite the same as in Gideon but is still very much there. I think this will be the best book i read this year, its only flaw being perhaps it doesn't end in an as self-contained a way as Gideon - its going to be a tough wait for Alecto, but i definitely want to reread both Gideon and Harrow in that time with new understanding & to spot all the clues i missed first time round!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Genocide, Sexual content, and Suicide

lyderz_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

 

If this is an incoherent mess, blame the fact that I’m trying to tackle the most mind bending book I have ever read, in my first review… so here we go. 

I’ll preface this by saying that I absolutely adored Gideon the Ninth, and so I went into this book with the confident, giddy, ease of someone who thought she was in for a smooth continuation of that story. You could say that I was immediately disoriented. If reading Gideon the Ninth was like trying to piece together a puzzle, Harrow the Ninth was like being dropped into the middle of a pitch dark maze. A maze with lit up exit signs that turn out to be misleading lies, transporting you right back to the start. It’s frustrating in a truly agonizing and addicting type of way that I have never experienced from a book before. Maybe that’s why I loved it. 

As suggested by the title, we delve into all things Harrow. I thoroughly enjoyed wading through the depths of her character. There’s not much I can say without spoiling anything… but I think this book managed to be a nice middle point between being a character study and being plot driven. There’s mystery, extensions of earlier world building, intriguing new characters and high stakes pushing the narrative right alongside the ordeal of being Harrowhark Nonagesimus. 

Let's talk a little about pacing because this book can be a bit daunting. Like I said, the beginning was a shock, we have crazy things going on with timelines and perspectives that might take awhile to get used to but after the initial confusion, it was all intrigue for me. I never lost interest, fueled by the maddening need to make it make sense. I realize that not all readers will enjoy this type of perpetual confusion but I personally think it’s worth it by the end. If you ever do find yourself in a slump with this book I’d recommend at least trying to get to Act 4 because I think that really is when the story hits a turning point. At this point things start to add up and speed up as well. 

To wrap this up I’ll say that I’m typically a pretty emotional reader but this book took it to a new level. I laughed, I gasped, I sniffled and sobbed at 2am. There were lines that stopped me in my tracks and passages that I had to read over again and read aloud. It’s got gore that genuinely freaked me out, and tragedy written all over it. This is one of those books that is going to be a completely new experience upon rereading, which I am definitely looking forward to. Because what else is there to do with my life while I wait for Alecto the Ninth?!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Vomit

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was so confused as to what was happening for like 75% of this book. I suspected, but I was still confuzzled. I didn't laugh out loud as much as I did in Gideon, but I did very much enjoy following Harrowhark's journey. The second person perspective was fascinating, I've very rarely encountered it previously. And then the last 25% happened and WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM so good. I cannot reveal more without spoilers, but everything is wrapped up for the most part, except for one major mystery that I assume will be the lead-in to the next book. Also, the narrator continues to be a superstar in the audio version, and I will certainly listen to Alecto on audio. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence