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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: violence, self-harm, blood and gore, gruesome deaths, necrophilia?
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is book two in the Locked Tomb series. This book was seriously a let down. The only reason this even got as many stars as it did, is because the action picked up near the end. I think Harrow suffers from second book slump syndrome.
We follow Harrow after what happened last book, except everything is different and nothing makes sense. I figured there was a reason for the memory differences and jumps back and forth in time, but it was a sluggish story. It just took forever for anything to happen, and when things did happen, they didn't really make sense. Harrow isn't nearly as likable as Gideon. I spent most of the book feeling bad for Harrow. You really need Gideon's brand of humor for this dark and gruesome of a story.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go into detail, but things finally start coming together in Act 5 (this is entirely too late in the book for stuff to start making sense), but it threw me through a loop again and it turns out I didn't actually know what was going on. Look, I can appreciate an author playing the long game with the plot, but so much of what happened was unnecessary or repetitive. It was just too dang long for what actually happened.
The other problem is that I didn't find any of the other characters interesting or likable. We spend too much time with Harrow brooding and confused, and not enough time with the other Lyctors. The first book had a haunted space mansion and a murder mystery. This book had a 10,000 year long con that didn't make any sense to me, and a murderous dead planet that is trying to kill everyone.
Still deciding if I want to continue this series. I have been told that Nona the Ninth is much better than this one, but we shall see.
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is book two in the Locked Tomb series. This book was seriously a let down. The only reason this even got as many stars as it did, is because the action picked up near the end. I think Harrow suffers from second book slump syndrome.
We follow Harrow after what happened last book, except everything is different and nothing makes sense. I figured there was a reason for the memory differences and jumps back and forth in time, but it was a sluggish story. It just took forever for anything to happen, and when things did happen, they didn't really make sense. Harrow isn't nearly as likable as Gideon. I spent most of the book feeling bad for Harrow. You really need Gideon's brand of humor for this dark and gruesome of a story.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go into detail, but things finally start coming together in Act 5 (this is entirely too late in the book for stuff to start making sense), but it threw me through a loop again and it turns out I didn't actually know what was going on. Look, I can appreciate an author playing the long game with the plot, but so much of what happened was unnecessary or repetitive. It was just too dang long for what actually happened.
The other problem is that I didn't find any of the other characters interesting or likable. We spend too much time with Harrow brooding and confused, and not enough time with the other Lyctors. The first book had a haunted space mansion and a murder mystery. This book had a 10,000 year long con that didn't make any sense to me, and a murderous dead planet that is trying to kill everyone.
Still deciding if I want to continue this series. I have been told that Nona the Ninth is much better than this one, but we shall see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Death, and Self harm