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A review by mikariah
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I feel bad giving this rating, but I can't give it any higher.
I enjoy complicated, mind-bending, incomprehensible mystery stories. Complexity and confusion have never been an issue for me, so long as I can trust the author to deliver a satisfying kick by the end and give us a protagonist we can follow for the ride. Gideon the Ninth mostly accomplished this. I felt that Harrow the Ninth absolutely accomplished this. It doesn't feel as if Nona the Ninth even tried.
Nona had a tough job for sure. There's an expectation by the third book that we finally get some answers, especially if it's the third book out of a planned four, where the fourth was this book plus some more. I didn't assume we'd get many here, but I did expect they'd be tied within a tightly woven narrative.
Unfortunately, Nona is bogged down by an utterly inactive protagonist and an opening 70% that not only refuses to meaningfully connect with the ending in a way that made me look at it any differently (unlike the previous two novels) but is taken up by slice-of-life filler that is just not personally up my alley. And my tolerance was dialled up pretty high for it because I enjoyed the character interactions between Nona and her foster family. I only wish that it felt like it mattered more for anything by the end, rather than feeling tacked on to pad the ending out into a full-length novel. I also wish it hadn't dragged out for hundreds of pages, but here we are.
As a side note:I could not bring myself to care for any of the Blood of Eden members, even when the story desperately wanted me to. I can't even cheer them on. There's an evil part of me that just wants John to win, honestly. At least he's compelling to follow.
I enjoy complicated, mind-bending, incomprehensible mystery stories. Complexity and confusion have never been an issue for me, so long as I can trust the author to deliver a satisfying kick by the end and give us a protagonist we can follow for the ride. Gideon the Ninth mostly accomplished this. I felt that Harrow the Ninth absolutely accomplished this. It doesn't feel as if Nona the Ninth even tried.
Nona had a tough job for sure. There's an expectation by the third book that we finally get some answers, especially if it's the third book out of a planned four, where the fourth was this book plus some more. I didn't assume we'd get many here, but I did expect they'd be tied within a tightly woven narrative.
Unfortunately, Nona is bogged down by an utterly inactive protagonist and an opening 70% that not only refuses to meaningfully connect with the ending in a way that made me look at it any differently (unlike the previous two novels) but is taken up by slice-of-life filler that is just not personally up my alley. And my tolerance was dialled up pretty high for it because I enjoyed the character interactions between Nona and her foster family. I only wish that it felt like it mattered more for anything by the end, rather than feeling tacked on to pad the ending out into a full-length novel. I also wish it hadn't dragged out for hundreds of pages, but here we are.
As a side note:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder