The Locked Tomb: Tamsyn Muir's Complete Reading Order
April 6, 2026
Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series — also known as the Gideon the Ninth series — is a genre-defying sequence combining necromantic fantasy, far-future science fiction, gothic horror, and romantic tragedy. It has attracted a devoted cult following and some of the most enthusiastic word-of-mouth in recent fantasy publishing. Here’s the complete reading order.
The Locked Tomb Reading Order
- Gideon the Ninth (2019) — Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus; the First House; necromancers and their cavaliers
- Harrow the Ninth (2020) — Harrow’s perspective; the story of Book 1 retold and recontextualised
- Nona the Ninth (2022) — a new perspective; the war between Houses
- Alecto the Ninth (2024) — the concluding volume
The complete Locked Tomb reading order is on the series page.
Read in order. This is not a series where you can start anywhere. Each book recontextualises what came before in ways that are central to the experience. Book 2 (Harrow the Ninth) is deliberately structured to reward rereading Book 1 after reading Book 2.
What Kind of Book Is This?
The closest description: necromancers in space, with swords. But that undersells it.
The Locked Tomb series is set in a far-future solar system ruled by a God-Emperor who has lived for ten thousand years. Necromancy is the dominant magic system — bone magic, flesh magic, resurrection. The nine Houses of the empire each have a necromancer and a cavalier (sword-fighter/bodyguard). Book 1 begins when the heirs to each House are summoned to a haunted mansion to compete for the honour of becoming a Lyctor (immortal saint) of the Emperor.
It is also: a sapphic love story, a mystery novel, a horror novel, a tragedy, and intermittently very funny.
Tamsyn Muir writes in a voice unlike any other — contemporary, profane, with the emotional register of someone who has read deeply in both classical literature and internet culture. Gideon Nav uses modern slang in a far-future necromantic setting. This is either immediately charming or immediately alienating; you’ll know within 20 pages which camp you’re in.
Book 2 Warning
Harrow the Ninth is notoriously difficult. It is structured around deliberate unreliability — Harrow’s perspective is compromised, and the narrative withholds and distorts information in ways that can be disorienting.
The correct response to finding Harrow confusing is not to give up. Muir is doing something intentional. The second half of the book and Book 3 provide the framework to understand what Book 2 was doing. Many readers find Harrow clicks into place completely on a second read.
Is There a Crossover with Other Series?
No. The Locked Tomb is a standalone universe — no Cosmere connections, no shared world with other fantasy series. Each of the four books is self-contained within the series arc.
Where to Start
Gideon the Ninth — there is no other option. Start at Book 1 and give it 50 pages. If Gideon’s voice has grabbed you by the end of Chapter 3, you will read all four books. If it hasn’t, this series is not for you, and that’s fine — it is genuinely unlike everything else.
The series is complete. All four books exist. There is no waiting.