May 30, 2023sarahylockwood

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Rate: 4/5

Medium: Audiobook

Overview (No Spoilers): 

Nona is at her core a sweet child, albeit in a teenager’s body, who you can’t help but love, though her past and present is a mystery for both her and her caretakers, Pyrrha and Camilla. Adding to the unknown are her highly irregular healing abilities and her destructive tantrums that are alluded to until we witness their potential in action. Pyrrha and Camilla impose a very structured life until Nona is allowed to go to school where she meets and befriends a group of kids gang led by Hot Sauce. Nona’s interactions with these kids feels like a total deviation from the foundation established by the Locked Tomb series thus far, but its unique banter will stoke curiosity in the reader as to where the story is headed. With the arrival of the Lyctors, Nona’s ordered existence starts to fall apart, which simultaneously unravels the tightly woven secrets that surround her. Will Nona find out who she is before it is too late and can she keep her friends safe in the process? 

Interspersed throughout the novel are John Gaius’ memories of how this layered literary world came to be, mainly how he became a God. It was a fascinating history lesson as the world John inhabited initially is a quite familiar setting. 

Nona the Ninth is the third book in the Locked Tomb series and was it ever confusing, though not to the extent of its predecessor, Harrow the Ninth. If you would have told me previous to these two reads that I could be this befuddled in a series and still thoroughly enjoy the story as a whole I would never have believed you. Muir’s writing style effortlessly draws out details and brings to life insanely complex characters whose shifting motivations present a general enigma that keeps the reader guessing right up until the end. 

I loved Nona’s sweet and naive demeanor that is a shining light in this cruel and harsh world. Camilla and Pyrrha treat Nona like a precious, fragile antique, which serves to only further deepen Nona’s mystery. Muir adds delightfully mind-bending details like the temporary pairing of Camilla and Pamedes, where despite occupying the same body, each personality and their quirks are clearly evident, making it obvious who was presently speaking. I can’t begin to process how challenging these nuances would have been  to incorporate from a writing perspective to achieve this level of effortless transition. 

Overall, Nona the Ninth is a puzzle whose pieces seem misaligned until the final pages reveal unforeseen portions that allow the complex landscape to come finally into focus. 

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

  • So John killed all of his friends when he killed the earth, but brought them back to life as his Lyctors? I feel like I need to go back and reread about these Lyctors.
  • What powers will Camilla and Pamedes have now that they’re an advanced Lyctor?
  • So I still struggle to wrap my head around this circle of connectivity. Nona was Alecto in Harrow’s body. Harrow was in Alecto’s body in the locked tomb. And Gideon was in Gideon’s dead body? How did John get Gideon’s body when it was missing post book one?
  • Is Ianthe permanently killed? What will Crown do?
  • Where did the devils come from that attacked the Ninth House?
  • Nona is earth’s soul?
  • What will John do now that Alecto is alive?
  • What happened to the people John sent to the Ninth House?
  • How did Ianthe collect the body of Naberius?
  • Can Nona talk to the other resurrection beasts?
  • What is with the tower in the river?
  • Can Judith Deuteros be saved?

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