Nona the Ninth (Locked Tomb - 3) by Tamsyn Muir

Nona the Ninth is the third instalment of the Locked Tomb series from Tamsyn Muir. As we have seen before, Tamsyn Muir constructs the Locked Tomb books like an intricate puzzle, with dizzying revelations and mind-fuckery of twists that will blow your mind. So, yes even with the third book in the series, expect nothing different. In a lot of ways, Nona the Ninth is both the easiest book or the most approachable book in the series. And yet, at the same time, the most exquisitely constructed puzzle that Tamsyn throws at us readers. I will be frank, this was actually my least favorite book of the series [ I know! Don't get your knives out, yet. Let me explain!] 

So Nona the Ninth happens a while after the tumultuous events of Harrow the Ninth. Fair warning, if you don't remember anything from that book, then I would suggest you go back and read the last few chapters. Because as usual, Tamsyn doesn't give us any guard-rails to help at all and we are thrown into the deep end of the poo, this time in a far-off planet inside the mind of a young girl named Nona, who hates eating, loves school and her school friend/gang and is loved by her weird family. 

Nona considers herself "six-month old" trapped inside a nineteen-year old's body and lives a relatively uncomplicated life, despite being surrounded by odd-balls and stuck in a conflict-ridden war-zone in a planet that is quickly becoming the target of a civil-strife, with a brewing revolution about to explode. Nona's mind is that of a guileless child, almost pure and simple in her thinking. This was a breath of fresh air after being stuck with protagonists like Harrow and Gideon - and the series of dark mysteries, twists and betrayals that pepper the first two books of the series. So for most parts, the first half of Nona's story is a slow-burn. Where we witness the ordinary life of Nona, who loves her job as Teacher's Assistant in the school, befriends a rag-tag bunch of mis-fits, loves her teacher's dog Noodle and like any 'teenager', has some food issues, insecurities with regard to her looks and her friendships that make up her small world. 

But we know we are stuck in the middle of a countdown to an apocalyptic event - the Opening of the Tomb and there are brief interludes that explain how John Gaius became the God that he is today, Emperor Undying to the Nine Houses built on the skeletons of countless worlds. Including our own, Earth. So with this premise, Tamsyn still makes us readers sweat bullets as we seek out answers, desperately hoping that things will turn. The unreliable narrator with a forgotten or hidden memory trick that she pulled out on us, might seem stale but it works like clockwork, yet again. Chiefly because, she convinces us to care about Nona the child. Her daily struggles, her love for swimming, her innocent pacts of friendship with the kids in school. She's built out to be a very strong independent character of her own ( despite all readers, still knowing that she is, you know who!) and we know that Nona holds the key to saving or destroying the universe. Including unlocking that tomb. And whatever would transpire next. 

And what makes Nona's chapters special is the whole found-family vibe. Camilla Hect and the Warden, Palamedes and Pyrrha are just wonderful wonderful characters. They are a gruff, loving set of local guardians for Nona, hoping that her memories awaken one day and they all get answers. The relationship between Palamedes and Camilla is very well etched out, the stuff of pure fairy-tale love stories, albeit set in these terribly apocalyptic days of death and destruction. What makes the slow-burn day-to-day practical aspects of living in the shadow of an incoming Resurrection Beast attack on this planet, a little more exciting are two aspects: One, Nona can regenerate or quick-heal injuries. And Two, the ability of lyctors to occupy the minds of their swordsmen/companions. Like Palamedes can occupy Camilla's body and the only giveaway are the eyes. This gets confusing really fast but this play of gender-fluidity was a masterstroke that kept us hooked on. 

But cometh the second half of the book, it is like we have been transported into a completely new book. Things unravel really fast and that kaleidoscope of madness, grief and the frantic sense of urgency that had taken over the narratives of Book Two, resurfaces here as we race to the end, where the Tomb is unlocked. The brief interludes are a nice touch, I frankly skimmed through it in the initial sections but soon was drawn to the tragic notes of John's past life. By the end, I was hooked fully. His endless struggles, his cautiously optimistic approach to save a dying Earth from being Nuked and his awakening of the necromantic powers of Thanergy and Thallurgy and more. 

If Books One and Two were an intricate puzzlework, explosive in its revelations and twists, Nona is a much softer version of the earlier books. It's a marked departure in style and pacing and while some argue this to be just a long prelude to Alecto the Ninth, the last book in this quartet, this was a great book by itself. Just not better than the previous books. Personally, I still prefer the styles of books, One and Two. What I missed out here, was the cynical dark humour of Gideon and the intense meditation on grief through Harrow's mind-cave. Like for example, Gideon comes in towards the end of this book but her character never takes front-stage. We get some cute quips but that's it. And Harrow, who makes her appearance in John's biblical confession dreams, we never get to meet her fully. Yes, it was a nice and brief catch up with sweet Nona, but things (like big Payoffs! from that end of Book Two!) are now on an unstoppable roll, all the way to Purgatory Hell and beyond. 

Alecto's here and we can't wait to find out what that means. Let's hope, Tamsyn can stick the landing with Alecto. I am staying invested and cannot wait to know the fates of Gideon, Harrow, The Emperor and the other beloved Necromancers.