Reviews with content warning for Death - Harrow the Ninth

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Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

343 reviews

jreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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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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jenny_d's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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storyofageek's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny slow-paced

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

4.75

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brenticus's review against another edition

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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.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

What to say about 'Harrow the Ninth' by Tamsyn Muir. It's a fascinating second novel in 'The Locked Tomb' trilogy. It's masterfully crafted but in a way that makes it a little challenging until all of the pieces click into place. It demonstrates Muir's prowess with structure and giving hints at what is happening in the world. All of the above and more.
There's not much to say about the plot of 'Harrow the Ninth' without going into spoilers for 'Gideon the Ninth.' What can be said is that it follows both familiar faces from the first book while also expanding on the world and introducing new characters.
This is a gruesome story in many ways, both from the violence that this story has been filled with from the beginning to understanding the choices that our characters have made. We get to learn more about the world that Muir has created while also questioning the characters we thought we knew. It is is so expertly well done and left me with a number of questions but the confidence that Muir will lead us toward some of these answers in 'Alecto the Ninth.' As it was to wait for this installment, it is hard to wait for the next. If you are interested in a fascinating blend of science fiction and fantasy with complicated characters and a world that is every expanding and unravelling, then you should most definitely pick up 'The Locked Tomb' trilogy.

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