Post by Kypriotha on Apr 11, 2022 11:58:28 GMT 10
This thread is to discuss The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Currently there are two books out (Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth) and a couple of short stories. This thread contains spoilers for both books (and possibly the short stories - noting that even the blurb of short story 2.5 As Yet Unsent contains possible spoilers for the books). The third book, Nona the Ninth, comes out later this year.
So...I really liked Gideon (the character) in the first book. The book was interesting and engaging, though it's not my favourite of the books I've read recently (Scholomance has that honour). I picked it from recs from fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree. I had been warned that Harrow the Ninth was a very different book, both by wordy here and through Goodreads reviews. I knew there would be second person POV. I tried to go in with zero expectations (I failed a little bit). That said...
What in Mithros' name did I just read???
[Spoilers below]
I can't remember the last time I was this frustrated at a book, whilst still liking the book and feeling compelled to keep reading. I was completely adrift at the start. The second person took me a little bit to get into, but was actually really well done and worked for the story. But the other chapters, the non-second person chapters...I had no idea what was happening. Everything was different and I couldn't tell if it was Harrow or Muir doing the retconning for book 1. I already had issues with the ending of book 1 - it's only happened to me twice now, but apparently I have strong feelings about the concept of "female character sacrifices self/is absorbed into some other consciousness in which they will lose themself" as a narrative device, especially an ending for a main female character I really like. So although I tried to go into book 2 with no expectations, I did have an expectation that part of the book would be Harrow dealing with the loss of Gideon, and I was really confused at the start. I worked out (reasonably quickly, I think) that it was Harrow repressing her memories, that there was a connection with the Saint of Duty, but the longer it took to be confirmed, the more frustrating it was, and the more I started to doubt that I was right (but I had to be!).
Muir is a great writer who includes so much world building, especially for the way the necromantic magic works, without over explaining it, and I felt that she did pull it off and bring everything together at the end. But it was also intense and messy (intentionally) and took so long to explain that one point that I became increasingly frustrated, especially in the middle where everything made no sense.
And of course, now I'm done, I'm already planning on how to get the next book, because what was that ending Muir??? I still have things I need to know! But I predict I'll be equally frustrated in book 3 *cries*
Anyway just needed a place to vent and this is the only place I know where at least one other person has read the books!
So...I really liked Gideon (the character) in the first book. The book was interesting and engaging, though it's not my favourite of the books I've read recently (Scholomance has that honour). I picked it from recs from fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree. I had been warned that Harrow the Ninth was a very different book, both by wordy here and through Goodreads reviews. I knew there would be second person POV. I tried to go in with zero expectations (I failed a little bit). That said...
What in Mithros' name did I just read???
[Spoilers below]
I can't remember the last time I was this frustrated at a book, whilst still liking the book and feeling compelled to keep reading. I was completely adrift at the start. The second person took me a little bit to get into, but was actually really well done and worked for the story. But the other chapters, the non-second person chapters...I had no idea what was happening. Everything was different and I couldn't tell if it was Harrow or Muir doing the retconning for book 1. I already had issues with the ending of book 1 - it's only happened to me twice now, but apparently I have strong feelings about the concept of "female character sacrifices self/is absorbed into some other consciousness in which they will lose themself" as a narrative device, especially an ending for a main female character I really like. So although I tried to go into book 2 with no expectations, I did have an expectation that part of the book would be Harrow dealing with the loss of Gideon, and I was really confused at the start. I worked out (reasonably quickly, I think) that it was Harrow repressing her memories, that there was a connection with the Saint of Duty, but the longer it took to be confirmed, the more frustrating it was, and the more I started to doubt that I was right (but I had to be!).
Muir is a great writer who includes so much world building, especially for the way the necromantic magic works, without over explaining it, and I felt that she did pull it off and bring everything together at the end. But it was also intense and messy (intentionally) and took so long to explain that one point that I became increasingly frustrated, especially in the middle where everything made no sense.
And of course, now I'm done, I'm already planning on how to get the next book, because what was that ending Muir??? I still have things I need to know! But I predict I'll be equally frustrated in book 3 *cries*
Anyway just needed a place to vent and this is the only place I know where at least one other person has read the books!