However, the key difference is that we know there is a metaphorical axe hanging over our characters’ heads from page one: the emperor will be murdered. We don’t know how the immediate events move the plot forward or where the plot needs to go. My one minor nitpick is that, as with Gideon, there’s a brief period in the middle of the book where it feels like there’s no direction to the plot. Jemisin’s use of the second-person in her Broken Earth series.Īdd to that a serious case of amnesia, extended dream sequences, and an extravagant dinner party at the ends of the universe while a planet-devouring nightmare approaches, and you’ll start to realize just how bizarrely delightful this story is. We also experience Harrow’s story in second-person narration, which Muir pulls off to spectacular effect in a way that rivals N.K. The story follows a nonlinear timeline the one fixed point is a countdown to the Emperor’s murder, which we’re informed of in the very first line of the prologue. If it wasn’t clear from Gideon, Harrow confirms that Tamsyn Muir is a writer who excels at experimenting with structure. But part of me was worried the sequel would live up to my inflated expectations. I loved Gideon the Ninth when I read it last year, and it’s killer ending left me anxious to read Harrow (for reasons that I suspect are obvious if you’ve read Gideon, and if you haven’t… read on at your own risk). Every so often you read a book that boggles your mind so thoroughly that you feel completely and wholly inadequate trying to express your thoughts as a reviewer.

Alecto the ninth release date