I never fully understood the plot of one of the books in Tamsyn Muir’s brave, gory, glorious Locked Tomb series. At this point, with the third part Nona the Ninth in my hands and its predecessors Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth on my shelves, I’ve decided not to try. Instead, I peacefully wade into each part knowing I’m going to experience some lesbian necromancers in space, or else I exist in a blissful state of “head blank, just vibes.”
remarkable vibes from Nona the Ninth: Dogs are good. sword fights. A 13 year old named Hot Sauce who is the best cool girl gang leader you can expect on any planet. Necromantic battles. A found family tries to get their sweet problem child to eat. Zombie armies. More Catholicism than you might expect! Two lesbian princes face each other. Nuclear war.
When the Locked Tomb series ended, our protagonists Gideon (sweet jock) and Harrow (goth princess) were in different places, both in ambiguous states of vibrancy. Harrow was deep in the purgatory space known as the river. Gideon, who died at the end of Book One, possessed Harrow’s body. As Harrow the Ninth ended, the body appeared to be in the hands of tough swordsman and certified babe Camilla Hect, and it was unclear who animated it.
Of Nona the Ninth, we meet the entity that currently resides in Harrow’s body. Her name is Nona, she has no memories and it is unclear if she is Harrow, Gideon, a combination of both, or someone else entirely.
(Yes, this really means Muir has written a second Locked Tomb book in a row where the main character’s memories have been altered or erased in some way. Go with it!)
