, the second installment in Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series, is a genre-defying odyssey that transforms from a space opera into a psychological puzzle box. Released in 2020, it serves as a radical departure from its predecessor, Gideon the Ninth , by trading that book's snarky, action-heavy tone for a disorienting study of grief and fractured identity. A Narrative Built on Disorientation
The plot of Harrow the Ninth is notoriously difficult to summarize without spoilers. Officially, the story picks up immediately after the bloody massacre on the First House (Canaan House). Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, has achieved her impossible goal: she has become a Lyctor, an immortal necromantic saint serving the King Undying, the God Emperor of the Nine Houses (known colloquially as "Jod").
The first 200 pages can feel like a fever dream. Around the halfway mark, pieces start clicking. By the final act, you’ll be gasping, crying, and rereading chapters immediately. The ending recontextualizes everything that came before.