Oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to start. After Gideon the Ninth, I thought I would eventually give this sequel a try, but I wasn’t super interested. Except then I kept thinking about it and decided not to wait, and that was the best decision ever. This book is just so good. All I want to do is gush.
Harrow is now a Lyctor but a “broken” one with no memories of Gideon. She and Ianthe are training with the other remaining OG Lyctors and the Emperor/God and preparing to face one of the several Resurrection Beasts that hunt Lyctors and the Emperor. She feels like she’s going insane, and one of the Lyctors keeps trying to kill her. The novel answers a lot of questions and then raises a whole lot more.
I accidentally spoiled part of this book for myself and thought it might reduce how confusing it is (it did not) or spoil the book too much (it definitely did not). It is confusing, and Muir doles out information so slowly that I was constantly almost anxious with waiting to learn more. It’s masterfully paced. And speaking of master craftsmanship, the quality of Muir’s insults could rival Shakespeare: “Did you really think I entertained any delusions that you could be mistaken, in the dark, by a dementia-ridden dog raised with no knowledge of bladed objects, for a swordsman?”
Muir’s language and descriptions in general are just so good. Here are a couple more passages that stood out to me:
- regarding Ortus’s epic poem about Matthias Nonius: “. . . was already on its eighteenth book and showed no signs of slowing down. If anything it seemed to be gaining momentum, like a very boring avalanche.”
- “Harrowhark fell in love. ‘Falling’ was not the right term, precisely. It was a long process. She more correctly climbed down into love, picked its locks, opened its gates, and breached its inner chamber.”
Also, there’s a dad joke that just about killed me.
I am so glad I read this, and I’m suspecting that I may end up liking Gideon the Ninth more on re-read, which I might eventually get to. The next book is on hold at the library, and I can’t wait to have it my hands in hopefully the next couple of weeks.