
Tamsyn Muir has taken a step forward from her debut Gideon the Ninth, which was extremely promising but quickly descended into childishness. Its sequel, Harrow the Ninth, managed to shed some of its growing pains but in return became utterly incomprehensible. With Nona the Ninth, the Australian author continues her utterly unique sci-fi fantasy series that propels necromancy into space. But it feels like a few things in this part aren’t COMPLETELY clear either. For example:
Who, where, and what?
Oh, and why?
Let’s start with the easiest question: “Where?”
Both of the first two parts were set in pretty confined locations. Even though Tamsyn Muir’s universe opens up wide, the author—who exclusively moves necromancers, otherworldly monsters, and skeletons around—shoved them all into one single place. Nona the Ninth finally steps out into the world of humans.
This fixes one of the biggest shortcomings of the first two parts. Sure, it’s fine that the omnipotent emperor of the universe rules everything through necromancy, but wouldn’t it be even more interesting to know how that affects ordinary people? Spoiler: Not well, by the way. Not well at all.
And the answer to “Where?” is: in the city of Who-The-Heck-Knows on the planet God-Knows-Where. Or somewhere like that.