Publishers Weekly
★ 02/24/2020
The masterful second genre-bending tale in Muir’s Locked Tomb trilogy (after Gideon the Ninth) ratchets up the horror, hijinks, and gallows humor of the series to a fever pitch. Queer necromancer Harrowhark Nonagesimus, heir to the Ninth House, has gotten everything she’s ever wanted: as a newly minted Lyctor, she’s earned a place by the side of the Necrolord Prime and a chance to revive her dying House. But something went wrong during her transformation, leaving her Lyctorhood incomplete and her health failing, wracked by hallucinations and altered memories. When King Undying summons her to his ancient palace in the far reaches of space, she’s trapped both by its strange corridors and by her faltering mind, with only her detestable rival Ianthe, three ancient and unfriendly fellow Lyctors, and the eccentric Emperor himself for company, as she begins to suspect that someone wants her dead. Muir’s labyrinthine plot raises the stakes of the series as it pushes the characters to their limits, exploring their trauma and anguish while keeping intact the irreverent comedy, grisly necromantic science, and gothic sensibilities that fans expect. Ending on a heart-stopping cliffhanger sure to have readers clamoring for the next installment, this dark, bloody puzzle box of a sequel is a knockout. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
To read Harrow the Ninth is to enter a labyrinth haunted by loss and sacrifice and a truly top-tier selection of memes. But don't bother with breadcrumbs or red threads—you won't ever want to leave.” —Alix E. Harrow
“Harrow the Ninth is a psychological rollercoaster covering forty billion light-years. It’s wonderful to see the universe of Gideon expand, while staying as twisted and full of bones as ever.” —Django Wexler
“Maddeningly brilliant.” —Kiersten White
“The patient reader will be rewarded tenfold with brilliant original characters and magic, heartbreaking intimacy, laugh out loud humor and the best damn soup in the galaxy.” —Rebecca Roanhorse
“Deliciously bonkers, achingly, heartbreakingly twisted and purposefully broken... So beautifully, wildly and precariously weird that I couldn't help sliding through page after page, rolling around blood-drunk in the mess of it all, and waiting, waiting, WAITING to see how Muir would bring it all home.” —NPR
“An incredible journey into the chaos of the mind, Muir’s latest (after Gideon the Ninth) doubles down on all the wonderfully queer and pulpy moments, body horror, and macabre humor of her debut—and exceeds it.” —Library Journal starred review
“This dark, bloody puzzle box of a sequel is a knockout.” —Publishers Weekly starred review
“Muir presents a series of enigmas and revels in gory detail before bringing everything to a riveting, no-holds-barred conclusion that will leave readers both satisfied and gnashing their teeth for a finale.” —Booklist starred review
PRAISE FOR GIDEON THE NINTH
“Deft, tense and atmospheric, compellingly immersive and wildly original.” —The New York Times
“Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through.” —NPR
“You’ve never read anything like... Gideon The Ninth.” —Forbes
“Unlike anything I’ve ever read.” —V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“From Gideon the Ninth's peerless first line, Gideon Nav is one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met. I would walk through the bowels of hell with her, and basically have.” —Melissa Albert, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Hazel Wood
Library Journal
★ 03/01/2020
The Reverend Daughter Harrowhawk Nonagesimus was the last necromancer of the Ninth House. Now she is Harrowhawk the First, a Lyctor in service to the Emperor, the Undying King. But those in service hold both sword and power, and Harrow seems to be able to do neither. Her sword makes her physically ill, her body is failing, and her mind seems not far behind. Trapped in space with three seasoned Lyctors who seem to hate Harrow, training alongside a woman she detests, Harrow comes to realize that the war she drills for is as undying as her God—and cannot be won. Amidst the chaos, Harrow discovers that someone wants her dead, and worse, she is unsure if that may not be the best thing that can happen to her. Multiple jaunts into memories and a few familiar faces bring forth delightful, bloody action and character building. VERDICT An incredible journey into the chaos of the mind, Muir's latest (after Gideon the Ninth) doubles down on all the wonderfully queer and pulpy moments, body horror, and macabre humor of her debut—and exceeds it.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
