Tamsyn Muir has a talent for drawing out a story and teasing her readers.

Both Gideon the Ninth and Harrow end on cliffhangers where all you want is more book. You long to pick up the thread of the story and resolve the drama that happened in the closing chapter. But in each new book Muir cheerfully refuses to give you that and instead presents you with something entirely new. Nowhere is this tendency more pronounced than in Nona The Ninth, a book that by the author’s own admission, wasn’t really planned. One could imagine a seed of resentment taking root in the minds of readers after such treatment. One could imagine it, but such feelings of effrontery exists in hypothetical musings only. The story, although it isn’t the conclusion you’d hoped for, is Just. That. Good. While reading, it’s impossible to be anything other than grateful.
This book, while a delightful departure from the first two in terms of plotline, is the most ambitious yet in terms of scale and world building. Not only do we get to finally see the life of ordinary people throughout the empire (spoilers, it’s not great) but we also finally get some backstory about the Emperor Undying. All of this on top of a brand new (kinda?) character and a reprise of some of our old favorites (Ianthe Tridentarius, you will always be one of my favorite evil characters). That is value for money indeed. The humor is, as always, top notch and utterly disarming. These books, brilliant as they are, wouldn’t be the same without the interjection of some levity every now and again.

True to form, the ending of this book left me desperate for the conclusion of the story. Another book won’t be out for some time so I have little choice but to wait and possibly re-read these utterly unique, perfectly bizarre books.