Nona the Ninth

Nona the Ninth manages to completely shift the tone of the series, while still maintaining the gripping atmosphere and exciting story of the Locked Tomb, expanding the universe in ways that I hadn't expected it to. Despite being the weakest in the series so far, it was a fantastic read, and I was gutted to have to put it down.

Nona originally started as the opening act to the upcoming Alecto the Ninth, the final book in the series, but Tamsyn was unable to make it work in a satisfying manner, so she decided that it needed to be it's own book. This was definitely the right call, as I can't see this book not being it's own thing, especially with the massive tonal shift that it is from the rest of the series. If you showed someone unfamiliar with the Locked Tomb a sequence from this book alongside a sequence from either of the prior ones, they'd likely not realize that they shared a universe, but despite this, the book doesn't feel out of place, quite the opposite actually. However, I think having two major tonal shifts in one book might have made for an unpleasant read, so I definitely feel like it was the right call.

Nona is an almost saccharine sweet protagonist, but it works fantastically against the bleak backdrop of the planet she and her friends are hiding out on. Her voice is incredibly unique, unlike any that I've encountered in my time reading, likely due to the fact that she's only 6 months old (long story). I found myself genuinely very upset that she wouldn't be a PoV anymore, which makes Tamsyn 3 for 3 in making me sad to say goodbye to a PoV. Nona was an absolute treat, and the way that she viewed the world with such hope was genuinely infectious, making the themes of the story hit all the harder as the book went on, since I was fully immersed in her hope for the world. However, I can see Nona the Ninth being frustrating for some people, since it's the third book in the series where a character is completely in the dark, and has to start actively fighting for their agency in the book.

I really enjoyed the mystery of who Nona really was, trying to spot the various different ticks that Harrow and Gideon had. This added a really fun little mystery backdrop to the story, and the conclusion is in my opinion, absolutely perfect.

The other characters surrounding Nona are equally well realized, most being the result of very careful setup in the last two books. The best of the bunch are absolutely Camilla and Palamedes, though John is a close second to them, thanks in large part to the flashback sequences that we get throughout the book.

Camilla and Palamedes have a fantastic dynamic that's continued on from GtN, and the evolution of their relationship throughout the novel is in my opinion some of the best character work on offer in the series, and we're unlikely to see it topped in Alecto.

John however, is a bastard. And he's great. We get his backstory and motivations, and it finally begins to paint a picture for us of the man who became god, and shows us that he's really just a broken man who misses his home, and has a grudge against cows having friends.
The structure of the book is also of note in my opinion, as the book continues the 5 part structure of the series, but instead of parts, they're days. The story takes place over the course of 5 days, and this gives the book an almost time bomb element that builds tension just by its own existence in a manner that's really exciting. Because of this, Nona is honestly the best paced book of the three we've gotten so far.

That being said, Nona can at times feel like filler. It definitely reads like a section of a different book that's been expanded into it's own thing, though thanks to the extremely strong character work, I don't think that this is an issue overall, just something to keep in mind as you're jumping in following Harrow. This definitely feels more like setup than it's own full fledged book. I would liken how I felt after it ended to how I felt after watching Infinity War for the first time. I was definitely satisfied by it, but it didn't feel conclusive in its own right.

That being said, this book has some of the most emotionally charged scenes in the entire series, making me cry multiple times. Reading the series shows Tamsyn's growth as an author, who's primarily learning the best ways to emotionally maim the reader.

Nona made me very excited to see how Tamsyn will manage to close out the series, and I couldn't recommend the book enough. It's the one I enjoyed the least in the series, but that's by no means an insult to the book. It's still a 5 star read, which makes The Locked Tomb the only series I've read to get a 5 star rating on each book. I cannot recommend these books enough.