A small but intriguing part of the Locked Tomb Series, Tamsyn Muir’s short story As Yet Unsent is available to read for free on the Tor.com website. [SPOILER WARNING: read Harrow the Ninth before reading this review or the short story in question] Fitting in roughly between Harrow the Ninth and Nona the Ninth, it’s written from the perspective of Second House necromancer Judith Deuteros and takes the form of excerpts from a report she wrote while in captivity at the hands of Blood of Eden. As she slowly, begrudgingly recovers from the injuries she sustained at Canaan House, Captain Deuteros documents her observations of her captors, what they seem to want from her and what this means for her continued existence, as well as the changing behaviour and attitude of the other Canaan House survivors – Camilla Hect and Coronabeth Tridentarius.
On the face of it, this is an interesting character study of the starched and self-righteous Captain Deuteros, expanding upon how she was portrayed in Gideon in a way that both doubles down on her stiff pomposity and also softens her character through a disarming degree of honesty. Referencing as it does events from both Gideon and Harrow though, not to mention foreshadowing elements of Nona, it also adds depth to the series’ ongoing narrative with all manner of suggestive hints and details. Judith’s musings on her ever-changing situation, and her fascinating reflections on the character of her companions, provide a considerably different perspective to what we’ve seen before, and while her point of view is understandably different to that of Gideon or Harrow, this is still very much a Tamsyn Muir story.
It’s less obviously funny than Gideon was, for example, but it’s not without humour in its own, very Second House way. It’s also really rather sad, again in a way that Muir always seems to handle sensitively and cleverly. As with every story in this series, this isn’t something that reveals its secrets easily, and indeed will undoubtedly merit multiple readings. While it isn’t absolutely essential to read this in order to enjoy the novels, much like Muir’s previous short story The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex it’s a genuinely worthwhile read for anyone keen to wring every last detail from this complex but compelling series.
You can read As Yet Unsent for free over on the Tor.com website.
Check out all of my reviews for the Locked Tomb Series so far.
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