The Locked Tomb is a series that never fails to surprise me, and each book is even better written and characterized than the last. Tamsyn Muir's writing style is witty, unique, and cuts straight to the heart of a scene, even when there are layers of unspoken secrets and convoluted worldbuilding to unpack. Unfailingly, Nona the Ninth has more than lived up to the expectations set by previous books. Nona the Ninth effortlessly picks up from Harrow the Ninth, combining beloved, familiar characters with a strange new world, and continuing to unfold the gnawing mysteries established in the first two novels. Muir is a master of unreliable narration, and through the eyes of a new character, Nona, the reader experiences the rich world and characters of The Locked Tomb in a completely different light. Nona's innocence and open love for everything and everyone she meets stands in stark contrast to the repressed, secretive emotions shown in the first two books; in some ways, Nona is instrumental to teaching the other characters how to love. This installment provides the illusion of domesticity and comfort missing from previous books, and still the climaxes and emotional gut punches are as raw and sharp as ever, with plot twists that have me itching to reread the first two books and find all the clues I missed, all of the details that make the tragedies hurt more, and the happy endings more satisfying. I cannot recommend this entire series enough, and this book only reaffirms my faith in it. Nona the Ninth questions what it means to be human, what it means to love, and what it means to be stripped of all of these things. At which point do we die--must we lose the soul or the body? At which point do we stop being just ourselves, and become an amalgamation of everyone we have ever loved? What does it mean to lose someone? Is love finite? And why do dogs have six legs in The Locked Tomb sometimes? Nona will ponder these questions with you--she will hold your hand through the confusing parts and ask the right people until the two of you can read between the lines and draw your own conclusions. Or maybe you can just take the six-legged dog for a walk.
About This Book
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...
