Lucas Blogs About Harrow the Ninth

Yes, I did buy the sequel in hardcover instead of waiting a few months for the paperback version. Don't judge me.

So, what's this book's de—wait, is this the sequel to the book you blogged about last week?

It is. This is Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I'll try to avoid TEH SPOILARZ for this book, but anything from Gideon the Ninth is fair game.

Okay.

Anyway, so remember how in the last book, Harrowhark and Gideon are at Canaan House to figure out how exactly a necromancer can become a Lyctor?

And by Lyctor you mean one of the saints of the God-Emperor the Necrolord Prime? I do.

It turns out that the secret is to kill your cavalier and absorb their soul. But before we get into that, let's say a little bit about the ending of the first book. So, instead of anyone solving the mystery, the killer reveals herself to be Cytherea the First, one of the Emperor's original Lyctors. See she's not so keen on serving the Emperor any more and has decided to kill all the potential Lyctors. Oh, and also one of the other necromancers, Ianthe Tridentarius from the Third House, figured out how to become a Lyctor and killed Naberius Tern, her cavalier. Anyway, as the survivors at Canaan house make a desperate play to survive, Gideon impales herself on some spikes so that Harrow can absorb her soul in order to have a fighting chance. Long story short, Harrow saves the day, Ianthe loses an arm, the Emperor himself shows up to rescue them and the other survivors disappear.

So, what's the Emperor like?

He's an avuncular fellow named John.

Wait, this series has a literal God-Emperor who resurrected the galaxy ten thousand years ago and is still alive and his name is just John? In a universe where people are named things like Dulcinea, Ortus, and Harrowhark?

Yep, Emperor John Gaius, the Necrolord Prime. In any case, the second book is dramatically different from the first. You may recall that the first book is in the third-person with a focus on Gideon's viewpoint. Well, obviously, what with Gideon being dead and all, the narration in Harrow the Ninth has to be a little different. The book begins, ominously, on the night of the Emperor's murder. And it's being narrated in the second person, with someone telling Harrow about her own actions that night. It then immediately switches to a limited third person narrative from Harrow's perspective nine months earlier, when she's been summoned to Canaan House to learn how to become a Lyctor.

Wait, so part of this novel is just retelling the first novel from another character's perspective?

Yes and no. Everything is wrong. She doesn't take Gideon. She takes Ortus, who has not absconded. Also, everyone dies in a different order, and the killer definitely isn't Cytherea, it's a hazmat-suit-wearing, shotgun-wielding psycho. Anyhow, when Muir switches back to the second person chapters, the narrator tells Harrow about her troubles mastering her new powers as a Lyctor, troubles shared by Ianthe, to a lesser extent. See, whenever she tries to use her powers she can't, and also she has this massive two-hander sword that she refuses to let out of her sight even though touching it makes her physically ill. Also, she has a weird block on her memory, hallucinates Cytherea's corpse moving to random places, and just generally finds she can't trust herself. Oh, and the other Lyctors are total dicks, particularly Ortus, who repeatedly tries to murder her. 

You'd think a literal God-Emperor could put a stop to that.

You'd think. Anyway, I think that's about all I can say without giving away the ending. Oh, one more thing: she's carrying around a series of letters that she wrote to herself to be opened under very specific circumstances or given to specific people.

Anything else?

No, I think that about covers it. Okay, so I guess the main question is whether I had as much fun reading this as I did Gideon the Ninth? And the answer is yes. The changes in narrative technique, the off-kilter retelling of the first book, and Harrow's declining mental state all make for compelling character drama, something which remains a strength for Muir. The Emperor and his saints are all fascinatingly awful people. Maybe that's not fair, they've all lived ten thousand years socializing largely only with each other, so they're all codependent and maladjusted. Admittedly sometimes they're unpleasant to hang out with, but we're meant to experience their awfulness along with Harrow. Still, sometimes they are a bit much,

Gotcha. What about the plot?

As in the first book it remains something of a secondary concern so the novel isn't as tight as it could be. I would hesitate to call it indulgent, but there are places where it drags a little, or it's obvious that Muir didn't want to cut out a particular joke. For example, did this book need to have a reference to the 2003 Evanescence song "Bring Me to Life"? Probably not. Did it make me chuckle? Yes. So, it kind of balances out.

Okay, so did this manage to get you hyped for the rest of the series?

Yes, and that's why I don't like starting series before they finish. For example, when I started this series it was called the Locked Tomb trilogy, now it's going to be four books and I have to wait longer for the next two. Anyway, yes, in addition to getting me hyped for the upcoming volumes, this also did a good job of growing the world, using necromancy in truly bonkers ways, and keeping me guessing even though I made the mistake of reading an interview with Muir that discusses a major spoiler. So, yeah, I recommend this one, but since so much of it is about the previous book, it wouldn't make sense to read it without reading Gideon the Ninth.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, Tordotcom hardcover edition, 2020, 507 pages, pairs well with tainted soup that makes skeletons explode out of your stomach