Nona the Ninth (2022)

Nona the Ninth is a 2022 science fantasy novel by the New Zealand writer Tamsyn Muir. It is the third book in her The Locked Tomb series, after Gideon the Ninth (2019) and Harrow the Ninth (2020), with Alecto the Ninth to follow.

The novel won the 2023 Premio Ignotus for Best Foreign Novel. It was a finalist for the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel, 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novel and 2023 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Plot

Nona, housed in the body of Harrowhark, awakens on an unknown planet. Harrow, along with the cavalier Pyrrha in the Lyctor Gideon's body, was rescued by Camilla and Palamedes (who now share a body) from the River at the end of Harrow the Ninth. Camilla and Palamedes are unable to determine Nona's true identity but believe she is either Gideon or Harrow. Nona displays several magical abilities, including healing faster than a Lyctor and intuitively understanding any language (including body language).

Nona works as a teacher's assistant at a school where she befriends local kids. She, Camilla, Palamedes, Pyrrha, and Coronabeth Tridentarius (now called "Crown") are together working as a cell of the Blood of Eden (BoE) rebel group. The cell reports to We Suffer, who controls a BoE faction seeking to negotiate with the Nine Houses, with the secret objective of gathering the necessary materials to open the Locked Tomb. We Suffer's faction is in conflict with the militant, anti-negotiation "Merv Wing," commanded by Unjust Hope, which publicly immolates anyone suspected of being necromantic.

The Empire's military branch has largely abandoned the planet following the arrival of Resurrection Beast Number 7, Varun. Varun is "periscoping"—it is projecting a spirit-image of itself as a prelude to full materialization. This drives any necromancer insane, except for those protected by being in non-necromantic bodies. For this reason, Judith Deuteros, Heir to the Second House and a BoE captive, is an incoherent vessel for Varun to speak through. Only Nona can understand its screams, and it seems to know her, calling her a "green thing."

Ianthe Tridentarius arrives onworld looking for the Sixth House, which has deserted from the Nine Houses following the testimony of its leader (Palamedes) and instructions left by its Lyctor (Cassiopeia). Ianthe pilots the dead body of her cavalier Naberius to avoid being driven mad by Varun, and demands all House citizens turn themselves in. Crown goes to meet her, pretending to be seeking asylum for Judith, while Pyrrha also appears in the guise of the Lyctor Gideon. Having seen the inside of the barracks, Pyrrha is able to provide BoE key intel via a bug hidden on Judith, using coded words previously arranged with the others.

Camilla and Palamedes arrive at the barracks with Nona pretending to be Harrow. Manipulating Ianthe in order to touch her, Palamedes takes control of Naberius' body. The groups proceeds to find Gideon Nav's body, who initially pretends to be dead, only to reveal that her soul, or part of it (or a version of it) is in fact animating the now-invulnerable corpse. She calls herself Prince Kiriona, Heir to the Nine Houses.

Varun begins to materialize and its insectoid herald warriors fall to the planet's surface. After talking through Judith with Nona atop of a truck, Varun agrees to pull back. Unfortunately, many of its heralds have already arrived. We Suffer's faction takes cover underground, where they find and capture Merv Wing's convoy transporting the Sixth House hostages.

With everyone of import now assembled, they intend to complete the mission of opening the Locked Tomb. This requires travel through the River, something only a powerful Lyctor can achieve. Camilla and Palamedes therefore merge their souls in an advanced form of Lyctorhood, and are able to move a megatruck into the River. Here they find no ravenous ghosts, but instead a mysterious tower.

Nona helps them pilot to the Ninth House. She feels that she is dying; she states she does not have the right soul for the body that she's in, and so is coming untethered and losing her ability to control Harrow's body. She is increasingly aware of other thoughts in her mind: either the residual souls of Harrow and Gideon (the body's previous owners), or the thoughts of Nona's true self who can "remember."

They find that the Ninth House is under attack from unknown entities called devils, the same possessive force that killed Colum in the first book. Ianthe attempts to block their way to the tomb, but she is bested thanks to Gideon's triple cross and Pyrrha's herald bullet. Gideon claims that God wants the tomb open, but the truth of the matter is unclear.

Entering the tomb, Nona remembers having done this before, proving after many increasingly clear hints that she is none other than Alecto, the body in the tomb. Alecto entered Harrow's body when Harrow was ten, when she opened the tomb and kissed the body, providing a conduit for possession. This is why Harrow had visions of the body; Alecto was possessing her the whole time. Alecto finally took control, manifesting as Nona, after Gideon and Harrow's souls were removed at the end of the preceding novel. At that time, Gideon was possibly removed by God, and Harrow intentionally placed her own soul in the Locked Tomb in Alecto's sleeping body.

These events are interspersed with dreamlike memories in which John Gaius reveals the secrets behind the destruction of Earth and his ascent to divinity: he destroyed the already dying Earth, consumed much of her soul to become God, and stuffed the rest of the Earth into a body inspired by his favourite Barbie. Each of these chapters is titled with a reference to a verse from John's Gospel.