Harrow the Ninth

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is the second novel in The Locked Tomb series, taking the gothic science fantasy foundation of Gideon the Ninth and twisting it into something far more disorienting, psychological, and emotionally demanding. Where the first book balanced mystery and irreverence, this sequel dives headfirst into grief, obsession, and fractured identity.

The novel follows Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, in the aftermath of events that have reshaped the necromantic empire. Newly elevated and deeply unstable, Harrow struggles with both her power and her mind. Memories are unreliable, reality fractures without warning, and entire truths appear to be missing. From the opening pages, Muir makes it clear that nothing - including the narrative itself - can be taken at face value.

At its core, Harrow the Ninth is an exploration of devotion and self-erasure. Harrow’s relationship to power is inseparable from sacrifice, guilt, and denial. Her necromancy is intimate and invasive, demanding a physical and emotional toll that mirrors her psychological deterioration. The novel examines how faith, loyalty, and love can curdle into obsession when identity is built on martyrdom.

One of the book’s defining features is its bold use of the unreliable narrator. Chapters unfold through second-person perspective, altered memories, and deliberate contradiction, forcing readers to actively interrogate the story. This structural risk pays off, transforming confusion into thematic resonance as the truth slowly reassembles itself. The result is a reading experience that mirrors Harrow’s own mental state - claustrophobic, fragmented, and intensely personal.

Morally grey characters dominate the narrative. Allies are opaque, enemies are ambiguous, and authority figures are revealed as deeply compromised. Power within the necromantic empire remains bound to hierarchy, ritual, and exploitation, reinforcing the series’ ongoing critique of systems built on sacrifice. Even immortality is depicted as hollow and corrosive.

Relationships remain central, though often defined by absence rather than presence. Bonds formed in Gideon the Ninth echo through silence, memory, and repression, reinforcing themes of love through loss and devotion beyond selfhood. Found family exists here in its most painful form - connection shaped by grief rather than comfort.

Harrow the Ninth is ideal for readers who enjoy Fantasy and Science Fiction that challenge form as much as content. Dense, unsettling, and emotionally devastating, the novel rewards patience and trust, offering a powerful meditation on identity, grief, and the terrible things people do in the name of love.