Chris he/they reviewed Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Tired of Necromancers? See the rest of the world in this edition!
4 stars
Content warning Spoilers: for world-building backstory, no plot or action is spoiled.
If you enjoyed either of the previous books, you should read this one too. It has slightly less of the confusing start that Harrow the Ninth had, but there are still significant questions raised in early chapters. The narrative follows everyday life in a city of resistance to the necromancers, giving us important perspective and adding much needed nuance to the series.
One of my favorite aspects of this book is the world-building around the development of necromancy. The Emperor Undying was a simple geneticist trying to help save Earth from the ravages of anthropogenic climate change when he stumbled upon the secrets to death itself. This is also the first book that makes clear that the Necrolord Prime is Māori, a detail that isn't too relevant to the plot but adds lovely details to this cryptic world.
This book has the strongest cliffhanger of all so far, and I'm ecstatic to read Alecto the Ninth when it releases.
