Nona the Ninth
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- Create Date：2022-07-27 00:16:39
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Tamsyn Muir
- ISBN：1250854113
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Summary
Her city is under siege。
The zombies are coming back。
And all Nona wants is a birthday party。
In many ways， Nona is like other people。 She lives with her family， has a job at her local school， and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs。 But Nona's not like other people。 Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body， and she's afraid she might have to give it back。
The whole city is falling to pieces。 A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon， ready to tear the planet apart。 Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling。 Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses。 Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves， with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes， but she also knows that nothing lasts forever。
And each night， Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face。。。
The zombies are coming back。
And all Nona wants is a birthday party。
In many ways， Nona is like other people。 She lives with her family， has a job at her local school， and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs。 But Nona's not like other people。 Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body， and she's afraid she might have to give it back。
The whole city is falling to pieces。 A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon， ready to tear the planet apart。 Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling。 Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses。 Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves， with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes， but she also knows that nothing lasts forever。
And each night， Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face。。。
Reviews
Sarah
，
Nona is a sweet girl skipping blithely through the apocalypse。 Since she woke up six months ago， she has acquired lots of friends at school and met several delightful dogs。 She adores her three guardians， two of whom are dead and in the wrong bodies （that's necromancy for you）。 Apart from the weird dreams， Nona's life is swell。 Unfortunately for her， the revolution would much rather have her body's original inhabitant back intact: Harrowhark Nonagesimus， a Lyctor of terrifying power。 Muir doles Nona is a sweet girl skipping blithely through the apocalypse。 Since she woke up six months ago， she has acquired lots of friends at school and met several delightful dogs。 She adores her three guardians， two of whom are dead and in the wrong bodies （that's necromancy for you）。 Apart from the weird dreams， Nona's life is swell。 Unfortunately for her， the revolution would much rather have her body's original inhabitant back intact: Harrowhark Nonagesimus， a Lyctor of terrifying power。 Muir doles out a few more pieces of the puzzle in this book， which is utterly unlike its predecessors apart from the brutal cliffhanger。 Doesn't much advance the plot， though。 Thanks， Netgalley。 。。。more
Madison
，
Nona！ Nona！！This is one of those series that deserves to be experienced with as little contextual information as possible， so I'm not really going to say anything except that I think this is as worthy a third installment as it could have possibly been and I had a lot of fun reading it。 I think it'll reward rereads as much as the first two， and I'm excited to re-experience it at some point。 I'll also say that it's helpful to read the short stories， As Yet Unsent and The Mysterious Study of Doctor Nona！ Nona！！This is one of those series that deserves to be experienced with as little contextual information as possible， so I'm not really going to say anything except that I think this is as worthy a third installment as it could have possibly been and I had a lot of fun reading it。 I think it'll reward rereads as much as the first two， and I'm excited to re-experience it at some point。 I'll also say that it's helpful to read the short stories， As Yet Unsent and The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex before Nona in order to set yourself up for success。 。。。more
Diana Fraser
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I devoured Nona the Ninth in less than 24 hours。 It is full of childlike wonder， avoidant attachment styles， found family， and Tamsyn Muir's ever-so-clever hidden clues until *bang* the big reveal。 I cannot wait for the final chapter of this series that sank its claws into me so immediately。 That said， some spoiler-y things I'm thinking about having finished the book include: 1） 72 hours later， I'm still mulling over Nona。 This book is also in a totally different voice than the other two， and th I devoured Nona the Ninth in less than 24 hours。 It is full of childlike wonder， avoidant attachment styles， found family， and Tamsyn Muir's ever-so-clever hidden clues until *bang* the big reveal。 I cannot wait for the final chapter of this series that sank its claws into me so immediately。 That said， some spoiler-y things I'm thinking about having finished the book include: 1） 72 hours later， I'm still mulling over Nona。 This book is also in a totally different voice than the other two， and the consistency of each book being in the respective character's head is pleasing。 That said， I deeply missed the other two characters as narrators！ I can't wait to be reunited with Harrow & Griddle properly！2） This book， like Gideon and Harrow， also falls into the trend of not really knowing where the hell it's all going until about page 250， yelling "What is happening？！？！" as more context unravels inch by painstaking inch for the next 200 pages， and then the final 100 pages brings everything together leaving you with more questions than answers。 I love that Tamsyn Muir holds me at a distance making me want the closure of the big reveal like a rabid dog， but I do wonder if 250 pages of pure bafflement is totally necessary at this stage。 Likewise， the reveal at the end of Gideon and Harrow were explosive， so Nona's thoroughly predictable ending/tease was slightly less satisfying， if still tantalizing。 3） Tamsyn Muir is masterful at weaving layers of mystery。 Nona's ending definitely ups the ante for next time: we're in the endgame now。 4） I've always imagined the settings for these books in snapshots and short video clips - it's hard to paint the picture of the whole world， but in some ways it makes the portions of the world's I imagine much more visceral。 5） I honestly did not care at all about John's origin story and while little snippets answered some questions and added intrigue with allusions to Harrow， I don't think I wanted John to be the central focus of any of these plots， even if his actions were the catalyst for their reality。 6） Knowing that Nona was not part of the original plan， I question whether this book was absolutely critical to the series， or whether it could have been condensed to its own 100 pages in Alecto。 That said， we would have missed out on Nona's childlike perceptions of the world and characters we have already met， and that I do think would have been a sadness。 Also， that linguistic masking of the Crown reveal was exquisite and I shrieked。 Tamsyn Muir remains masterful at hiding clues in plain sight。7） Because Nona is an unreliable narrator， being so distanced （and keeping herself so distanced） from the characters we know and love， the characterization of Gideon bothered me in this book; I'm missing something （possibly quite a lot） of what happened between the end of Harrow and this moment with Nona， but it doesn't quite feel like that was truly Gideon。 Alternatively， something was off in the writing。 Crossing my fingers there was a purpose for that because it was disappointing to be reunited with her but with few parts of /her/ truly present。 This book's mystery layers add character actions slightly different from how the reader encountered them in the past， so my question is how they're going to be acting in the future， what the impetus for that change was， and if it all wraps up neatly with a bow。 8） While I'm waffling on the structural need for 480 pages of Nona， I do find her childlike perspective narratively illuminating in the midst of this really complicated Situation with a capital S， and her processing of her reality in a larger war and refugee crisis。 So I can see how all four perspectives in the end are going to complete the quadrangle more thoroughly: Gideon as The Soldier， Harrow as The Priestess， Nona as The Child， and Alecto The Immortal/Fury/Crone。 Ultimately， reading it was maddeningly delightful， but it's true ranking as a book will depend on how neatly Alecto brings it all together - and so for now I will rank it as a 3。5/4。 Nonetheless， I remain a Tamsyn Muir stan and eagerly await Alecto the Ninth with bated breath。 。。。more
Charlotte
，
I-I have no idea what that was， but I sure did love it。 God I love Nona， and Paul。
Jo
，
this book was SUCH a wild ride and i adored every second of it
Em Stevens
，
Fuck， my heart。 and also my head。
Abbi
，
I've only had Nona for a day and a half but if anything happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself。[Digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley] I've only had Nona for a day and a half but if anything happened to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself。[Digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley] 。。。more
Clarissa
，
shhh， head empty， no thoughts， only screaming now（I’ll stop screaming when Alecto is out I promise）
Lindley Valcarcel
，
I'm distraught over how amazing this book was。 It was fantastic to see everything starting to come together and see which theories have been correct and which ones weren't。 The way the world got expanded in this story was so satisfying。 Tamsyn Muir continues to be an absolute master at storytelling and rolling out how the world works in a way that makes me want more without being overwhelmed。 I'm distraught over how amazing this book was。 It was fantastic to see everything starting to come together and see which theories have been correct and which ones weren't。 The way the world got expanded in this story was so satisfying。 Tamsyn Muir continues to be an absolute master at storytelling and rolling out how the world works in a way that makes me want more without being overwhelmed。 。。。more
Rosie
，
I love Nona and Nona loves me。
Joanne Machin
，
I wish I could re-read this book all over again for the first time， particularly the first half， and I truly wish I could live in that tiny world a little bit longer than Tamsyn Muir allowed us （but I understand， narratively， why we can't）。 I want to laugh at all of the jokes， and relish and savor all of the heartbreaking bits， as much as I want to hold all of the love in this book against my chest for the first time again。 This book was such a pure， brain-breaking delight。 I hope othesr enjoy t I wish I could re-read this book all over again for the first time， particularly the first half， and I truly wish I could live in that tiny world a little bit longer than Tamsyn Muir allowed us （but I understand， narratively， why we can't）。 I want to laugh at all of the jokes， and relish and savor all of the heartbreaking bits， as much as I want to hold all of the love in this book against my chest for the first time again。 This book was such a pure， brain-breaking delight。 I hope othesr enjoy this as much as I did， and I can't wait for it to come out so that I can scream about it with other people！ First of all， I loved， loved， loved Nona。 So much。 I WOULD DIE FOR NONA。 Second of all， Muir has a killer sense of humor， and I am in awe， as a reader and a writer， how she balances gore， horror， the wretched， SO MUCH JESUS STUFF （which was TOTALLY lost upon me because I have no religious upbringing at all， but oh well， that's what Google's for）， devotion， love， alongside， like， at least half a dozen ass jokes。 Muir is clearly MUCH smarter than I am， and upon first read， I am absolutely sure I have just skimmed the top of the iceberg。 But！ I still very much enjoyed this book， and I think it is a very fitting installment following the， er， immense trauma of previous book （whew）。 Much like with the last two， the third installment of the Locked Tomb series is completely distinct from the previous books—yet it’s just as spectacular， complex， and WTF， in so many ways， retaining Muir’s exquisite talent for creating deeply absorbing， complex characters， awesome and original worldbuilding， and， of course， great puns。 This book is wildly dense and intricate， balancing a myriad of ethical questions， while also just generally being super entertaining （because who doesn't love shitting on trillionaires and cryptocurrency）。 Like nothing I've read before， Nona mixes Muir’s signature sharp， feral touch and humor in an unexpectedly and delightfully tender premise of domestic bliss （at least for Nona！） set within an post-apocalytpic word， a plot undergirded by the tense high-drama， high-stakes political maneuvering of a space opera， while slowly building anticipation toward an explosive climax。 Muir’s touch in this book is undeniably loving （which I know is a very weird thing to say after reading the last two books， but trust me）， and that was， honestly， my favorite part of the book--her continued exploration of love and devotion in its many complexities。 Like with many readers， I'll suspect， I couldn’t help but love Nona and her little family， and the quiet desperation with which each characters， in their own way， try to hold onto their one chance at hope， their one chance to hold onto a precarious， delicate， complicated love for as long as possible in the face of inevitable cataclysmic events。 I was absolutely fascinated by how we see characters old and new transformed， again and again; we glimpse new facets of each one as they continue to be unveiled in every chapter as the story progresses amidst vast， intergalactic politics。 This book asks big questions and quiet questions—all important—but this book is ultimately about second chances—second chances to start over， to love again， to try life again—and it stole my heart as much as it exhilarated me。 There were equally moments of despair， heartbreak， and loss， as much as there were moments where I sincerely wished I could cut out and tape in a scrapbook so that I could memorialize them， because they made my heart so happy。 I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR FOR THE NEXT BOOK， OMG。 。。。more
Faith Erin Hicks
，
I was kind of mixed on this 。。。 it felt a bit like a filler episode， assembling the Gang before the final showdown。 There's nothing wrong with filler episodes， they are often where the best character development can be found， but at one point I found I had to set Nona aside because I was growing impatient with it。 Anyway， we'll see how things wrap up。 I absolutely loved both Gideon & Harrow the Ninth， hopefully Alecto the Ninth will be more in line with those books。 I was kind of mixed on this 。。。 it felt a bit like a filler episode， assembling the Gang before the final showdown。 There's nothing wrong with filler episodes， they are often where the best character development can be found， but at one point I found I had to set Nona aside because I was growing impatient with it。 Anyway， we'll see how things wrap up。 I absolutely loved both Gideon & Harrow the Ninth， hopefully Alecto the Ninth will be more in line with those books。 。。。more
Susan
，
I received an advance copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。How do I review this book while avoiding the pitfalls of becoming a capslock-smashing fangirl or accidentally ruining someone's experience of reading Nona by dropping spoilers or over-hyping it？ Let's hope I'm up to the challenge。Nona is the third book in a series， and I really cannot overstate how important it is to read both the first and second books before picking up this one。 Muir's narratives are twisty a I received an advance copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。How do I review this book while avoiding the pitfalls of becoming a capslock-smashing fangirl or accidentally ruining someone's experience of reading Nona by dropping spoilers or over-hyping it？ Let's hope I'm up to the challenge。Nona is the third book in a series， and I really cannot overstate how important it is to read both the first and second books before picking up this one。 Muir's narratives are twisty and her narrators are often as caught up in their own bullshit as the reader （honestly， we need a new phrase for this level of unreliable narrator）。This book is full to bursting with background information and worldbuilding。 I liked that Gideon didn't do a lot of info-dumping and just expected the reader to accept certain truths as they were introduced throughout the course of the novel。 This is my preferred way of experiencing a new fantasy or sci-fi setting。 Drop little morsels of information like breadcrumbs to keep me from getting too frustrated with not knowing anything。 Then Harrow came along and made me question many of those truths， while introducing new mysteries to puzzle over。 Nona gives readers a lesson in the history leading up to the formation of the Nine Houses and the Emperor Undying， answers a few significant series questions， and still manages to end on a cliffhanger。While it was an unexpected addition to what was supposed to be a trilogy of novels， I think that Nona the Ninth adds to the overall experience of the Locked Tomb by zooming in on an area of Muir's creation we haven't previously examined。 My only regret is that I devoured this ARC in one sitting and now have to wait patiently for Alecto to hit Netgalley。 。。。more
Morgan Watkins
，
when this book comes out。。。 trust that I will become insane。
Audrey
，
7/17: thanks to Grace the best manager in the world for ARC access <3 this was so good， I think I have to reread several parts of it to figure out exactly what’s happening。 I will absolutely be rereading when this officially releases。 my general status has now changed from “chewing the bars of my cage waiting for Nona” to “chewing the bars of my cage waiting for Alecto”
Arundathi Chandrasekharan
，
i read the sneak peak of this novel。 all i have to say is ， when hozier wrote "if i was born as a blackthorn tree i'd wanna be felled by you held by you fuel the pyre of your enemies" ， i'm pretty sure it was about me and the locked tomb series。 i read the sneak peak of this novel。 all i have to say is ， when hozier wrote "if i was born as a blackthorn tree i'd wanna be felled by you held by you fuel the pyre of your enemies" ， i'm pretty sure it was about me and the locked tomb series。 。。。more
Jennie Artemis
，
TL;DR: The idiosyncracies of this series have all come together in their best （and weirdest） form for an utterly tremendous novel（eARC provided by Netgalley）Nona the Ninth is the Locked Tomb book I have been waiting for， after my pickiness with the previous two。 This book unites the twisty plottiness and creeping suspense of GtN with the reflective elements and emotional depth of HtN， while the series' characteristic quirk and irreverence is used （in moderation） to great effect。 All the twists h TL;DR: The idiosyncracies of this series have all come together in their best （and weirdest） form for an utterly tremendous novel（eARC provided by Netgalley）Nona the Ninth is the Locked Tomb book I have been waiting for， after my pickiness with the previous two。 This book unites the twisty plottiness and creeping suspense of GtN with the reflective elements and emotional depth of HtN， while the series' characteristic quirk and irreverence is used （in moderation） to great effect。 All the twists here have meaning - this is a book as much about empire， the environment， and being human as about necromancers， space， and eldritch abominations。 Above all， Nona is a perfect protagonist: never one-note， she has tons of depth and， even better， also brings out new depths in the secondary cast。 I could revisit this book both as part of the whole series and also as its own thing （a story of a confused girl in a complicated and messed up world）。 After not quite feeling that fifth star with books 1 and 2， I am so delighted to say NtN deserves every star; I can only hope AtN is as good （I certainly can't wait）。Rating breakdown5 stars without rounding10/10 in personal rating system 。。。more
nor
，
thank you netgalley/tordotcom for the ARC！ha ha hahaha HA WHAT JUST HAPPENEDjust finished the book and promptly lost my mind。 why did i think harrow the ninth was the wackest book i’ve ever read。 i was so naive。 i should have known taz muir was going to do this。 take everything you think you know about this series and turn it on its head。 in nona the ninth， nothing is as it seems， and for much of the book， it is going to feel like one strange， beautifully written trip - between the main characte thank you netgalley/tordotcom for the ARC！ha ha hahaha HA WHAT JUST HAPPENEDjust finished the book and promptly lost my mind。 why did i think harrow the ninth was the wackest book i’ve ever read。 i was so naive。 i should have known taz muir was going to do this。 take everything you think you know about this series and turn it on its head。 in nona the ninth， nothing is as it seems， and for much of the book， it is going to feel like one strange， beautifully written trip - between the main characters （who are not who you expect）， the plot （which you will NEVER be able to predict， i’ve tried）， and the setting， nona the ninth takes readers’ expectations and not only subverts them， but laughs in the face of everyone who thought they knew what was going to happen。tamsyn muir is a force of nature， and if she hasn’t been recognized critically for it in the past several years， it better happen soon; nona the ninth was genuinely one of the most original， gorgeous books i’ve ever had the chance to read。 nona is single-handedly the most lovable person out there （and NOODLE OH MY GOD） and the cast of side characters is like an all star group from the locked tomb universe。 the way everyone interacted with each other coupled with the dream sequences had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat。 no one does sci-fi like muir。 she truly ate the genre up with this one。i can’t say much more about the book for fear of spoiling it （you really just have to go in not understanding anything; there’s no way to say more without ruining at least one big part of it）， but i will just say that this series just gets better and better with every book。 the ending of nona is the worst/best/worst thing that has ever happened to me， and i am beyond excited for alecto。 THANK YOU TAMSYN FOR GIVING THE GAYS THESE BOOKS 🤩🤩🤩as a final note: how the hell did she think she was going to be able to fit this AND alecto into one book，，，，，，，， 。。。more
michelle j
，
i have NO idea what just happened
Bronya Robinson
，
I have been broken by this， and I utterly enjoyed every second of itI'm still a bit confused about some things， but that's okay because now I'm even more enthusiastic for the next book， particularly with that fantastical ending。Seeing all of the characters from previous books was actually quite fun， as there were lots of complex character arcs that developed and intertwined， and the mysteries of what was actually going on and who exactly Nona was really kept me excited and eager to keep reading。 I have been broken by this， and I utterly enjoyed every second of itI'm still a bit confused about some things， but that's okay because now I'm even more enthusiastic for the next book， particularly with that fantastical ending。Seeing all of the characters from previous books was actually quite fun， as there were lots of complex character arcs that developed and intertwined， and the mysteries of what was actually going on and who exactly Nona was really kept me excited and eager to keep reading。 （very appreciative of my manager who got this in for me） 。。。more
Alexandra
，
7/14: i ate the preview of this book in a matter of hours and i think i am going to evaporate from the anticipation of the whole thing's release。 pleeeeeeeeease tor give me the netgalley arc 。。。 i will scream about it on every social media platform i have 。。。。。。 7/14: i ate the preview of this book in a matter of hours and i think i am going to evaporate from the anticipation of the whole thing's release。 pleeeeeeeeease tor give me the netgalley arc 。。。 i will scream about it on every social media platform i have 。。。。。。 。。。more
Georg Sperle
，
Nona might be my favorite of the series so far。 As a character， Nona is so sweet and earnest， a welcome difference from both Gideon and Harrow as pov characters。 Tamsyn Muir continues to show a great control over character voice in her writing， with each character feeling entirely distinct to read。 Each perspective makes me feel and think differently， which is one of my greatest sources of enjoyment from these books。 There are moments in Nona that I think are some of the best writing I have read Nona might be my favorite of the series so far。 As a character， Nona is so sweet and earnest， a welcome difference from both Gideon and Harrow as pov characters。 Tamsyn Muir continues to show a great control over character voice in her writing， with each character feeling entirely distinct to read。 Each perspective makes me feel and think differently， which is one of my greatest sources of enjoyment from these books。 There are moments in Nona that I think are some of the best writing I have read from Tamsyn， and one of those moments was the most moving scene in the series for me so far。 I'm glad Tamsyn decided Nona needed her own full-length story。 。。。more
Ida
，
8/10Good。 But not quite it。
Michelle
，
mmhm mmhmWELLCERTAINLY WAS A BOOK！！！！
Aparna Sankararaman
，
I have no idea how I got lucky enough to get an Advanced Readers Copy， but I did。 And this is an amazing book。 When Nona was announced as the third book instead of Alecto， I was extremely confused and very uncertain about how this would turn out。 The authors note that came with the book said that Nona the Ninth is a preview for Alecto and I agree completely。 I am a big fan of how Muir weaves together a complex universe and I cannot wait to read Alecto the ninth。 The bad part of getting an ARC: I I have no idea how I got lucky enough to get an Advanced Readers Copy， but I did。 And this is an amazing book。 When Nona was announced as the third book instead of Alecto， I was extremely confused and very uncertain about how this would turn out。 The authors note that came with the book said that Nona the Ninth is a preview for Alecto and I agree completely。 I am a big fan of how Muir weaves together a complex universe and I cannot wait to read Alecto the ninth。 The bad part of getting an ARC: I have to now wait longer before I get Alecto！ Oh well， I guess that gives me time to re-read Gideon， Harrow， and Nona again！ 。。。more
Minna
，
there’s no possibility i will ever recover from this book 😭
Sara Richards
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 this review is for an ARC。my spoiler-free review: i have absolutely no idea what the fuck i just read。 classic tamsyn， 10/10。pretty sure someone once tried to teach tamsyn muir about the different genres of writing and she just said “yes， thank you” and took them all for herself。 she does not care what you， dear reader， expect her to write。 every。 single。 book。 in this series is a mashup of no less than three seemingly unrelated genres， each one it’s own unique collapsing star system， imploding this review is for an ARC。my spoiler-free review: i have absolutely no idea what the fuck i just read。 classic tamsyn， 10/10。pretty sure someone once tried to teach tamsyn muir about the different genres of writing and she just said “yes， thank you” and took them all for herself。 she does not care what you， dear reader， expect her to write。 every。 single。 book。 in this series is a mashup of no less than three seemingly unrelated genres， each one it’s own unique collapsing star system， imploding upon itself into something entirely new。 every。 fucking。 time。 i do not understand how she keeps doing this。nona might be my favorite of the series so far， absolutely not for content， but for the quality of muir’s writing。 she just keeps outclassing herself。 she’s literally her only competition anymore。 i don’t understand how she answered literally every question i had from the previous books and left me feeling like the hugest fool on the planet for even having those questions。ms。 muir， if you’re reading this: it’s genuinely a privilege to get to read these books。 thank you so much。 i’m not ready for alecto， and i do not trust you。 。。。more
ashes ➷
，
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:does this book feel painfully like an act one instead of a standalone？ does the length feel forced？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 wo 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:does this book feel painfully like an act one instead of a standalone？ does the length feel forced？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 :pbut i'm here for gideon & harrow， not nona！ does she still make for a compelling protagonist， for the whole book？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 the first chapter Tor shared on their site。 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 gideon and harrow reviews。。。 you'll just have to wait :） 。。。more
Bethany Powell
，
A warm yet brutal installment of The Locked Tomb yet again flipping to a new paradigm。 Hearing this book （and protagonist， Nona） came up unexpectedly to the author， I was intrigued by the kind of book it would be。 It’s wonderfully the kind of detour into the point of view of seeming minor players that opens the world up and deepens some of the overall stakes， showing us a city threatened by necromancers while also at war with itself。Nona’s not who anyone wants her to be and is trying to be a per A warm yet brutal installment of The Locked Tomb yet again flipping to a new paradigm。 Hearing this book （and protagonist， Nona） came up unexpectedly to the author， I was intrigued by the kind of book it would be。 It’s wonderfully the kind of detour into the point of view of seeming minor players that opens the world up and deepens some of the overall stakes， showing us a city threatened by necromancers while also at war with itself。Nona’s not who anyone wants her to be and is trying to be a person despite significant challenges in that area， and is charming to tag along with as she navigates life as a sort of ticking bomb。 Falling in love with her is as inevitable as is having that love break our hearts。As with the other Locked Tomb novels， I’m going to have to go back and review the earlier books and reread this to really figure out what’s going on but I’m looking forward to doing so as soon as possible。 。。。more
Emily
，
I am the reason the bookshop where I used to work keeps a copy of Gideon on the shelves （not because I recommend it so highly， but because I stop in roughly every two months to buy another copy for someone I recruited to the skeleton army）。 Me talking exclusively about this series since I read it ca。 2020 made enough of an impression that my former boss saw fit to give me this ARC。 I am writing this review in thanks and because I need to scream at someone about it， even if I have to do so withou I am the reason the bookshop where I used to work keeps a copy of Gideon on the shelves （not because I recommend it so highly， but because I stop in roughly every two months to buy another copy for someone I recruited to the skeleton army）。 Me talking exclusively about this series since I read it ca。 2020 made enough of an impression that my former boss saw fit to give me this ARC。 I am writing this review in thanks and because I need to scream at someone about it， even if I have to do so without spoiling anything。First， Tamsyn Muir is a master of giving you tonal whiplash while still making a series cohesive。 Nona does this again。 I was grateful for less of a "we see but through a glass， darkly" feeling than Harrow; it's more conventionally written while still maintaining Muir's trademark information dropping style。 I am probably going to read this a second time over the next three days to see what silly one-liner was actually just the ending spelled out not even in code。 There is， of course， a central mystery， but you know more immediately what is happening than you did reading the infamous Bubble Chapters and wondering why everything else is in second person。This book's predecessors， structurally， left me frantically trying to cobble together clues until the last third， when everything lit up like a Christmas tree。 I've told friends reading it that it might be good to take notes， but also every sentence would need to be copied down。 Nona is less explosive in this way*。 However， it answers so damn many questions from the previous two installments。 This is one where a lot of lengthy Reddit discussions are going to get closure。*I say this having read it one time。 See previous paragraph。I did cry， twice， also。 What I love the most about the book is the sheer joy on display from Nona。 She is constantly vocal about how much she loves her people， she wants to keep them all close and hold their hands。 She loves her city and her friends and all the dogs she sees， all as her world is ending。 If the world is ending， she is going to save every dog in reach。 Nona is my favorite kind of character， someone who loves loudly。 And this carries through to the other characters。 I'm not always one for Learning A Valuable Lesson From Every Book but like， damn， tell your friends you're better with them and kiss them on the foreheads。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Nona the Ninth
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Nona the Ninth&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Nona the Ninth&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0