Hardcover, 496 pages
Published Sept. 12, 2022
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 …
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...
Nona, the new Ninth character is different and very amusing. The setting is a planet with "regular" humans, and there is more backstory filled in on John/God and the general shape of the Locked Tomb universe.
Content warning Thoughts on Nona the Ninth, spoilers for the Locked Tomb series
I think my final opinion of Nona the Ninth is extremely biased by finding out at the end that it wasn't the end of the trilogy as expected. About halfway through, I was still kinda just enjoying the ride, watching some pieces of info come together, picking up some additional background. I wasn't super into Nona as a character, but whatever. Then I got to the end, and the Big Twist, and suddenly the entire book felt like a waste.
I thoroughly enjoyed both the Gideon and Harrow books. I appreciated how Harrow was just batshit insane and a very unreliable narrator in her book, and how different it was from the first. It was a pretty chaotic ride. I think if Nona had actually wrapped up the storyline, it would have made the meandering and needless code naming of prior characters worth it. Instead, it was just very unsatisfying to me. It felt like filler.
Thoughts on Nona the Ninth, spoilers for the Locked Tomb series
I do still very much enjoy Tamsyn Muir's writing style. I would not call this a "bad" book. As I said, I am likely biased because I expected this book to wrap up the trilogy. All the same, I will likely not read the next book until there are plenty of reviews out so I can find out if there will be yet another bait and switch.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus is still one of the best names I've read anywhere.
