Harrow the Ninth
Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to the sensational Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor's haunted space station.
"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!" - Charles Stross on Gideon the Ninth
"Unlike anything I've ever read." - V.E. Schwab on Gideon the Ninth
"Warm and cold; goofy and gleaming; campy and epic; a profane Daria in space." - Robin Sloan on Gideon the Ninth
She answered the Emperor's call.
She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.
In victory, her world has turned to ash.
After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman's shoulders.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath -- but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.
Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor's Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?
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Tamsyn Muir
Tamsyn Muir's voice stands out in the speculative fiction landscape as something uniquely dark, inventive, and emotionally charged. Born in 1985 in New Zealand, Muir’s writing career is an unexpected yet thrilling journey from the quiet beauty of her homeland to the high stakes of intergalactic necromancy. Now residing in Oxford, Muir continues to weave complex, multifaceted stories that defy easy categorization.
Her breakout series, The Locked Tomb, burst onto the scene with Gideon the Ninth in 2019, capturing readers with its sharp wit, twisted necromantic world, and a set of characters that are anything but ordinary. The series blends genres with fearless abandon—mixing dark humor, science fiction, and gothic horror into a potent brew that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Muir’s exploration of death, identity, and loyalty within this universe has garnered her critical acclaim, earning the 2020 Locus Award for Best First Novel and nominations for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
The Locked Tomb
The Locked Tomb series invites readers into a universe where necromancy is not just an art, but a means of survival. At the heart of this tale is a cast of outcasts, anti-heroes, and reluctant warriors who are bound by secrets far darker than they could ever imagine. Starting with Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir creates a world where death isn’t the end—it’s only the beginning of a terrifying, witty, and utterly unpredictable journey.
The Locked Tomb consists of three primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
