(read this on GR here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4799066126)

<i>(received arc from publisher; THANK YOU!)</i>

I’ll open by saying what I said in my original screaming-with-joy review: I don’t think there’s anything for fans to worry about here; this was a wholly fulfilling third book in the series and I whipped through it at top speed. Nona is a wonderful character to follow, the plot moves, and the entire book felt like a natural, always-planned addition to the series.

To get more into my thoughts on the book, I’m going to have to dissect it. Spoilers follow for <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4600088633"><i>(Gideon</i></a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4730652303"><i>Harrow)</i></a>, but outside of discussion of structure and content available in the Amazon preview, this should be spoiler-free (with a lot of sharp winks) for <i>Nona.</i>

THE PLOT

A lot of the differences in opinion on the plot seem to be down to how interested people are in experimentation. Muir clearly is, and it lost her some fans in <i>Harrow</i> because not everybody was down for the second-person narration. If that was you, you may struggle here, because Muir is once again getting a little wild, in a way that read to me almost as the inverse of <i>Harrow.</i>

Nona makes a wonderful third-person-limited POV character; rather than our experience in <i>Harrow</i>, where we quickly realize what’s going on and are waiting for our protagonist to catch up, Nona always seems to know a little more than us. This is slice-of-life, yes, but it’s in a world that is not familiar to us, and Nona waltzes through it as though there’s nothing to be explained. Furthermore, in questioning Nona’s identity, we join up with Palamedes, Camilla, and Pyrrha in trying to figure it out… but only <i>we</i> have a direct preview of the inside of her brain, and the full contents of the last two books, all of which proves to be vital.

I realized very slowly that a lot of what we’d been freaking out over—who Nona is, mostly, in what body—is relatively obvious, even before page one. After that, the story doesn’t so much give us twists or reveals as it continues nonchalantly with the assumption that we already know what’s going on. I had to wonder: was this Tamsyn Muir being a genius again, or had she legitimately just not anticipated the "Nona is a dog" theories?

My other main reason for comparison between these two books is that, while I enjoyed the interludes in <i>Harrow,</i> I found that the ones included here were not as rewarding to read in the moment. In <i>Harrow</i>’s interludes, things Happen in sequence, and the characters retain goals that they are trying to fulfill. In <i>Nona</i>’s interviews, John talks. It’s true he’s talking about things that once happened to people with motivations, but this isn’t plot—it’s backstory and exposition. I was particularly disappointed about this because having a character <i>tell</i> you what happened is probably the most amateur way to get across information about the past in a book, and I do think Muir could have done better.

And, augh, it stands out more because the rest of the plot is so good! Nona’s identity and the RBs and the ever-nearing conflict between the Nine Houses and BoE on this little planet make for a cacophony of tension throughout the book, which allows for it to always feel high stakes even when characters aren’t actively kicking ass. This is why I had a hard time focusing on any information or backstory about John: I freely admit I’m just not that interested in him, first off, but also it was <i>hard</i> to take breaks from what was happening Right Now to go back and read about what happened A Bazillion Years Ago. To read about someone TALKING about it! The placement of these interludes is, again, reminiscent of <i>Harrow</i>, but that just meant that chapters would end like "Palamedes broke a chair over his own reanimated skull. The Tomb opened and confetti flew out and lesbians began tongue-kissing in the background. [CHAPTER CUT] ‘When I was in the third grade / I thought I was gay / ‘Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight,’ rapped John." This is not ideal.

I definitely skimmed some of the interludes for that reason, and I think this goes back to my only real critique of the past books, which is that Muir sometimes gets too confident about what a rereader will enjoy. I completely understand why this information is relevant <i>generally,</i> and it certainly makes sense even without the context I’m sure we’ll get in the fourth book, and people who blorbotize the old people will be thrilled, but these snippets just don’t have any bearing on the immediate action. In <i>Harrow,</i> I was on the edge of my seat because, again, the Canaan House scenes were obviously <i>taking place</i> in real time alongside the others (not just being told in real time), and Harrow’s decisions there had the ability to affect the “real world”—which, in fact, they finally did explicitly. I personally don’t feel that the information here had the same payoff.

I agree with other reviewers who suggested turning these bits into a ‘Book of Jod’ novella—I get why they’re interesting to some readers, but I don’t agree they should have been executed this way. Though I will grant Muir that <spoiler>having John speak to Harrow in Alecto’s body while Alecto speaks to everyone else in Harrow’s body</spoiler> was pretty genius, and <spoiler>managing to get me with the “turns out it only happens when Harrow/Nona is unconscious!” for the second time</spoiler> was also pretty genius.

But I’ve spent too many paragraphs harping on a minimal part of the plot. The majority is this lovely sci-fi slice-of-life filled with the racing tension of what we know must be happening in the background—much like, again, <i>Harrow!</i>

And that’s <i>also</i> why I think people worrying about Gideon or Harrow not immediately being apparent in this book (trying not to spoil whether Gideon and/or Harrow do or do not appear, excuse my ambiguity) are missing the point. We spent all of <i>Harrow</i> wanting Gideon back, and even though she did eventually turn up, the experience of wanting her back <i>was the point.</i> The entire book was full of Gideon, in ways literal and metaphorical and literary and romantic and whatever else, and that’s exactly how I feel about <i>Nona</i>—that, no matter what’s happening physically or literally on the page, the heart of this story is these two lesbians, and that is always clear. Also, the parallel of <spoiler>Gideon’s mind being present without her body in <i>Harrow</i></spoiler> and <spoiler>Harrow’s body being present without her mind in <i>Nona</i></spoiler> was very clever!

THE CHARACTERS

If you love the named characters, you will be thrilled. That’s all. Seriously. Every time someone from a previous book turned up I was so incredibly happy, and we got so much development while keeping in character and fulfilling natural arcs & themes. Sometimes I would forget briefly how badly I wanted to see someone, and then they would turn up and I would freak out and scream like a child. Sometimes I thought, “well, that’s the end of seeing that character; shame but it was a great scene” and then they would pop back up just when I’d forgotten about them AGAIN. I was repeatedly treated to far beyond my wildest dreams in terms of all the characters’ appearances. I’m reminded just how much Muir loves her own characters, and how well she knows her audience—she already knows how to make you feel exactly the way she wants you to.

And I have to give it to Muir—you’d think at some point she’d run out of nauseating ways to put characters’ souls in other characters’ bodies... and yet!

Speaking of women doing things which nauseate me, I have to give a special shoutout to Ianthe, who completely stole the show in <i>Nona.</i> She is so awful. She is grotesquely lesbian. Muir clarified after the books were split that <a="https://www.vox.com/culture/22901210/nona-the-ninth-cover-reveal-tamsyn-muir-interview-locked-tomb-series">Ianthe rises to new levels of awful in <i>Alecto,</i> and is merely normal Ianthe levels of evil in <i>Nona,</i></a> but let me tell you, normal Ianthe is still absolutely hideously evil Ianthe, and I fucking loved it. Yes, it was all in character, and yet it was exciting and compelling and it contaminated others and AUGH I was just so thrilled. I really have to mention Ianthe specifically because she was perfectly wonderful in her awful way and managed to become my personal star of this book. It’s a shame she doesn’t get her own cover.

ROMANCE

Sorry I’m here for the lesbians and I’ve got to talk about this. This book was <i>horny.</i> Nona does not know what is going on with anyone else and as a result is horny for literally every woman who appears in front of her, often with comedic results because whoever she’s got her eyes on is already involved. We as the reader would never dream of hitting on an attached woman, but Nona has no such qualms, because everyone around her sees her as a harmless baby even as she is clearly just as dangerous as any other woman on-page, and it makes for wonderful sexual tension. Muir has invented a new kind of gal in every single book and it is fantastic.

There was also one very special moment that was <i>exactly</i> what fans have been clamoring for for so long, but <i>wrong,</i> very deliciously so, so that instead of making me happy it made me want to angstily bite a pillow and cry for an hour because it MEANT NOTHING. I WAITED SO LONG AND FOR THIS. I really feel like I was on The Machine from the Princess Bride reading this stupid book. And it was great. It was wonderful. I just… need to not think about how blushy I was .5 seconds before my heart imploded into smithereens. I have spent this whole time scrolling through fan posts thinking “eughoohoo you are going to be SO destroyed by this moment in <i>Nona</i> ♥.” Muir is going to give those little gay bitches everything they want. And most fear! Good for us.

THEMES

I don’t usually do review sections for themes, but I kind of had to for this book, because the Locked Tomb is themes all the way down, baby. In particular I was excited based on our first chapter preview to see how other settings view the Nine Houses, because it was becoming clearer and clearer throughout the series that, outside of John's personal issues, there was also quite a bit of imperialism happening, which maybe even our lesbian protagonists were complicit in. Even as someone who’s not that into worldbuilding, I was very excited to see Muir build this out. And I am pleased with the results!

Firstly, I appreciated Muir’s lack of laziness in her depictions of imperialism. It’s too easy to go “oh one day a bad guy turned up and he did things bad and now there’s imperialism;” it’s very clear that the world of the Locked Tomb is far closer to reality, and far more creative and complex, in that a million things have caused the current political situation and it could only have come to this. There are bad actors, yes, but more than anything else there are absolutely terrible systems, to the point that the people on the ground are just trying to survive at this point. It’s such a breath of fresh air to see this done more interestingly than “So this is how democracy dies” (sorry Padme Amidala). Democracy has not really been alive for some time, and it’s not just because of one incident or one guy. It is <i>easy</i> for a bad person to take advantage, but the “good” people are being quite bad, too, because the system doesn’t allow them to be anything else.

Furthermore, the character-building we get from everybody—BoE fighters, sympathetic civilians, children growing up in homes with different opinions and circumstances, obviously our Lyctors and necromancers, and people who are relatively neutral—was absolutely phenomenal. At the end of the day, as much as these people may ideologically hate each other, we’re all people. It’s hard for us to hate each other face-to-face the way we do in theory. Some of my favorite moments in this book were between characters on opposing sides who just had to deal with the fact that their principles weren’t the most important thing in the world right now.

It was also, admittedly, wonderfully painful. We’ve spent so long watching people suffer in the Nine Houses that we forget it could be 'worse' anywhere else. Harrow and Gideon in particular are stuck on a planet with no resources and no love, Harrow torturing herself to be the best necromancer in a world where only the best necromancers matter, Gideon striving for an imperialist military career so she can make her own difference, neither of them realizing how relatively good they have it compared to the civilians on other planets who can’t even begin to dream about any of that, because those are the people colonizing them. This was really, really incredible writing, and it was unbelievably upsetting to think about all the way through the book, particularly when we’re forced to confront the fact that the people we wish could have it easy, the people who have literally died suffering, may not have had everything right either.

Speaking of which—all the fans who “just hope Gideon is alright” are going to love this book. There are fates worse than death.

CONCLUSION

I loved this book. I’m very happy with it. I was recently asked how I’d rank the three books, and I really couldn’t, because all three of them are perfect for the book they are. <i>Gideon</i> is a showstopping first book, <i>Harrow</i> is a beautiful second book, and <i>Nona</i> is an utterly satisfying third book. I was left with the perfect amount of tension for <i>Alecto,</i> and I’m confident that I’ll enjoy that as well, though I’m sure Muir is going to find some unique way to fucking murder my soul.

I’m not afraid to tell people when they don’t have to read a series continuation, but in this case, I’m more confident than ever: go out and buy <i>Nona.</i> You will want her on your shelf.

<blockquote>***</blockquote>

OG REVIEW:
<spoiler>can't say anything yet, obvs (LIES apparently lmfao look at this review), but i LOVED this one and rest assured a looooooong well-punctuated review is coming :)

the two questions i will answer here, being the ones i was terrified abt going in:

<i>does this book feel painfully like an act one instead of a standalone? does the length feel forced?</i>

NOPE! not at all. i couldn't believe as i was reading that it used to be just act one, bc it works so well as a standalone. i literally can't imagine how it would look as just an act one. didn't have any trouble binge-reading it, either :p

<i>but i'm here for gideon & harrow, not nona! does she still make for a compelling protagonist, for the whole book?</i>

YEP! i had no trouble connecting to nona instantly & i was surprised at my own ability to like a character so... simply... baby. she's so adorable she's such a cinnamon roll. usually i am NOT a cinnamon roll type (hello i read the locked tomb series) so tbh i am the happiest of all abt this. you will love nona and nona loves you :)

honestly, for p much any question, i recommend reading <a href="https://www.tor.com/2022/03/29/excerpts-nona-the-ninth-by-tamsyn-muir/">the first chapter Tor shared on their site.</a> if you like that, you'll like the book. if you're bored by that, you'll be bored by the book. if you like nona there, you'll like her in the book. i think it was really indicative of the whole book! but ofc tazmuir always has wonderful openings.

ofc: i think it is WAY better to spend your next few months anticipating than worrying. (i wouldn't LIE abt this stuff but if i were feeling negatively i'd probably be quiet for now.) i wish i hadn't worried! the #1 thing i'd say for the book is that it was well-crafted in an inentional & kind way, as with all of muir's books. you can't say she's a bad writer, and you can't say she doesn't care about her readers.

& for the longass OFFICIAL review to go with my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4600088633">gideon</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4730652303">harrow</a> reviews... you'll just have to wait :)</spoiler>

I forgot to leave a review for this when I first read it but I tore through this book in a just a few days. While at first it was hard to get my bearings I really loved it.

The key to me enjoying Nona the Ninth and any of the locked tomb books are audio books. Normally I'd get so confused and frustrated at my confusion. To be fair, I'm accepting that reading Muir is always going to be that way. The Locked Tomb just requires so many brain cells and also each one manages to feel unique, but also connected? Don't even ask me how Muir does it. But the audio book narration always pulls me through. Although it was close with Harrow the Ninth.

But what saved me and pulled me through the confusion - and why I liked it - was the found family dynamics. We can see a found family forming around Nona. It was in the way Nona sees the world, loves the ones around her, knows so much and also so little. Yes there's the mystery around it, but it feels so startingly domestic? And I loved it. I loved seeing the routing of Nona's mornings, who picks her up, and what she eats. She felt like someone you want to protect, but has also no problem protecting herself.

Another great addition to the series. Fun energy and uttering confusing, but entirely worth it. A series that does require reading in order if you have a hope of understanding.

Thought I reviewed this, forgot to review this. Really engaging book, super fun, and excellent characters. Well worth a read!

Nona The Ninth is a wonderful surprise addition to the Locked Tomb series and leaves you yearning for the final chapter to the saga. Nona is a child-like character whose whimsicality and ironic comedy clashes against the serious characters from the rest of the familiar cast. As the story unfolds we also get the circumstances that led to the formation of the Houses and the fight against necromancy from "God"'s POV; an intricate war with more moving parts than we originally believed. While I'd argue this is one of the more confusing books in the series, it is not quite as twisting as Harrow was, and Muir once again does the series justice by wrapping it up incredibly by the end.

Such a great addition to this series. Tamsyn Muir does a great job at answering some questions while layering in more and keeping the reader engaged and fascinated with the world she's built. This book does such a great job at expanding the world and reminding readers why these characters are so fascinating.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. Another great novel in this series, very excited for book 4

I loved the first book, made it through the second book (lots of second-person in that book made it harder for me to read but the mystery and the content were good), and very glad I went for this one too! To anyone reading reviews that pan Nona’s voice, I would say read the sample opening chapters and decide from that. I found Nona lovely, and enjoyed this book possibly more than the first, or as much but in a bit of a different way. To any review that claims the first “half” of the book is not relevant to the second half I disagree entirely. All of it is relevant throughout.

Hmm, I'm not sure this series is for me anymore. I'm finding it harder and harder to engage with the text. I do think that I am in the minority because many others have absolutely loved this series, so I'd definitely recommend it for fans of fantasy and dark humor.

I love Nona I love Camilla and Palamedes I love Kiriona Gaia I love Noodle and I'll never be normal again

I love this series and this book is no exception. Every new installment is so completely different from the last yet retains the story arc. I have no idea where this is going and I love it!

Mind-blowingly great series, this book was maybe a little slower than usual, but so good and interesting overall. The characters in this are so fantastic, and the writing is just deeply unique.

The kind of book you need to read 5 times. Muir has ramped up the "what is happening?" a third time. Her work is exciting and fresh. It's also dense and gripping.

I feel like I'm in a perpetual struggle against Tamsyn Muir's books — trying to figure out which parts of them are meant to be opaque and mysterious, and which parts of them I'm just not grasping. Nona the Ninth was at least more manageable than Harrow the Ninth in that there was a more or less linear story to hang onto, and fewer questions about what was actually real and on what plane of reality any of it was taking place. But Nona is so fundamentally built around the mystery of who its central character is — and once that becomes clearer, what it actually means — that it's very hard to emotionally connect with anything that goes on in this story. Much as with Harrow, I kept having to ask, "Are these characters alive or dead? Does it matter? Is death meaningful in this universe? Is any of what's happening on the page right now meaningful in this universe? What am I meant to be asking here, instead of the questions I am asking?"

I wish I could say that made for a challenging and exciting experience, but instead, it kept bumping me out of the story. With Nona I was at least more able to go along for the ride and try to take events at face value until something changed enough to reveal that I shouldn't. Nona is a difficult character to relate to in some ways, because she's so human until she profoundly isn't, and trying to pick up her many unexplained ins and outs (for instance, around food) raises the difficulty level of the experience. So many aspects of her existence are relatable and even sweet, but the way she's surrounded at all times by adults with mysterious agendas who are deliberately hiding major truths from her is frustrating, and feels like a metaphor for reading this book itself — there's the perpetual feeling that the author is withholding everything we need, and saying it's for our own good, to make a better story. But much like Nona chafes against those restrictions, I did too.

Best yet of the series. The author continues to expand her characters in marvelous new ways! All Nona wants is a birthday party. However, everyone around her is trying to figure out exactly who she is. It kept me guessing throughout the story and I already crave the next book!

I mean this series doesn't disappoint! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it gut punched me. I have been on this roller coaster of a series and I don't want to get off. If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, this one will be no different!

Both a sequel and a prequel, Nona was everything I wanted and more. I absolutely adored Nona as a character and finding out who she was, was shocking and a little devastating. This book was so full of love and found family and I'm so happy we got to see some of our beloved characters from previous books. I've seen a few reviews that felt Nona the Ninth was unnecessary for the series, but I disagree. Seeing who Nona was as a person, who Nona *could* have been is simply going to drive in the knife during whatever events take place in Alecto the Ninth.

Just like previous books, the ending of Nona was action packed and had me gripping my book, desperate to know what was going on. I'm eagerly waiting for Alecto.

This is the third book in Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series. While it has its own uniqueness, this book's style is closer to the first in the series, "Gideon the Ninth." I enjoyed seeing familiar characters (although it takes a bit until their identities are revealed) in this new location. The answered mystery of who Nona actually is left me counting down the days until the fourth book is released.

I’ll be honest, I’m still not 100% what happened at the very end of the book, but the vibes continue to be impeccable! Nona was a wonderful POV character. I can’t believe we have to wait all the way until 2024 to find out what happens next 😭