digital audiobook
Published Aug. 3, 2020 by Recorded Books, Inc..
What if you and I shared a body while we learn about betrayal, grief, emotions, and a lot of body goop jk jk unless
Bewildering yet sucks you in and won't let you stop reading.
It’s like if David Lynch wrote lesbian sci-fi fan fiction and I love it.
To me, this book feels like Muir wrote 3 books in-between Gideon and this, that's how much more confident this one's structure and writing feels. Whereas Gideon felt experimental and somewhat messy (in the most generous reading of those words possible), requiring me to commit more effort than I'm used to to pull me through it at times, this one had me hooked from the start, excellently paced, spinning threads that felt convoluted without requiring me to re-read fragments to make sure I'd understood what had just happened, and with a explosive last third or so that made me stay up at night reading through to the end. Loved it and can't wait to see where the series goes next.
Sep 2022 reread: yep still great. Onto Nona!
i read shakespeare for fun and this book was so confusing it took me six weeks to read. worth it tho… i think.
The first two thirds slightly annoyed me, in the last third it finally made some sense. Would have given this 3 stars if not for the very unexpected dad joke. 😄
I spent the first third of the book confused about what was going on, the second third putting some of the clues together and the third getting a whole other bunch of questions to ponder. This is not a complacent sequel or rehash, it builds on Gideon while telling it's own story, with some glorious soap opera moments and dad jokes throughout. So good I'm probably going to reread Gideon now to see what I missed.
I don't even know where to begin. But damn.
I found this rather less impelling than the first volume, but it's still a very good read. Harrow is revealed even more unpleasant than the first volume might have lead you to think. In fact, most of the characters, other than Gideon, are pretty awful. God is clearly evil, pressing unwanted cups of tea on everyone. Will there be cucumber sandwiches?
Update: having run out of books, I reread this one. Apparently, Muir holds that the narrating voice who second persons Harrow is Gideon. This seems very unlikely, as the voice is very different from that of the narrator of the first volume, and we later discover that Gideon, although she's in there somewhere, was only semi-aware of what was going on, and therefore unlikely to be able to give the fairly detailed report which we read here.
Muir offers Harrow redemption, and although she seizes it, slobbering pitifully over …
I found this rather less impelling than the first volume, but it's still a very good read. Harrow is revealed even more unpleasant than the first volume might have lead you to think. In fact, most of the characters, other than Gideon, are pretty awful. God is clearly evil, pressing unwanted cups of tea on everyone. Will there be cucumber sandwiches?
Update: having run out of books, I reread this one. Apparently, Muir holds that the narrating voice who second persons Harrow is Gideon. This seems very unlikely, as the voice is very different from that of the narrator of the first volume, and we later discover that Gideon, although she's in there somewhere, was only semi-aware of what was going on, and therefore unlikely to be able to give the fairly detailed report which we read here.
Muir offers Harrow redemption, and although she seizes it, slobbering pitifully over her cavalier's shoulder, this reader isn't buying it. I also don't buy Gideon's avowal of undying loyalty to the Ninth in general and Harrow in particular.
It now seems that the story is to balloon out into four volumes. This is unlikely to be warranted.
Kill us twice, shame on God.
Wow. This book was a trip.
As I try to gather my thoughts and emotions into something coherent, I realize that whatever rambling attempt at coherence is possible will inevitably come at the expense of spoilers. So. Many. Spoilers. I find it impossible to talk about my impressions without mentioning all the big twists and bigger reveals. So I guess I'll just say: this was a wild ride, Harrow's mind is about as dark a place as I expected, the worldbuilding and mystery plots here are even better than in book one, and the storytelling techniques the author applies are devious.
If you start reading Harrow the Ninth and wonder if you're reading a sequel to the wrong novel, please just keep reading.
Also, can I please have book three right about now? No? Damn.
Kill us twice, shame on God.
This managed to be one of the most confusing books I ever read while being absolutely excellent. I'm very confused :D
This book did not make a single lick of sense. It's 500+ pages of various employs of "wtf?!". I don't understand anything that happened. I didn't care about Harrow. I cared a little bit about John. Literally no one is likeable. By the time things start to "make sense" you're 2/3 through and so freaking confused that the ending feels rushed and answers literally no questions. The whole book ends on a series of giant question marks in an utterly unsatisfying way.
That said, I still had fun. The prose is good and hilarious. The plot and world are just so needlessly complex that it pretty much ruins the experience.
I'll be back for the third simply to find out what the hell actually happened in this book, but I don't have high expectations.
I enjoyed Gideon but I liked this one better. Totally different tone and problem: it’s all about wrestling with loss and culpability, so check your mood before jumping in. Especially if you’ve struggled with dealing with someone dying, it can resonate more than you’re expecting.
Reminds me of Machineries of Empire series by [a:Yoon Ha Lee|3001246|Yoon Ha Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1603220064p2/3001246.jpg].
Good:
Harrow as self inflicted unreliable narrator trick was enjoyable; writing style fits perfectly with mystery plot
lore about the Emperor & his Lyctors fits well with established universe & was satisfying to uncover
Bad:
I miss Gideon's point of view
characterization at times feels self-indulgent, characters are caricatures of what fans expect them to be
