Reviews: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (17)

The Left-handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Rating *****
As someone who has been a fan of Garth Nix for about 20 years this year I would like to thank @netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. The book is released on the 24th September in the UK.
‘Books anchor our souls as a readers’ – this quote I feel I am going to have to tattoo somewhere it is so true for people who read, and this book is something that does resonate in the book.
Synopsis:
Eighteen-year-old art student Susan Arkshaw arrives in London in search of her father. But before she can question crime boss Frank Thringley, he's turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is one of the youngest members of a secret society of booksellers with magical powers who police the mythic Old World wherever it impinges on the New World - in addition to running several bookshops, of course! Merlin also has a quest of his own: to find the Old World entity who arranged the murder of his mother. Their investigations attract attention from enemies of the Old and New Worlds. Soon they become involved in an even more urgent task to recover the grail that is the source of the left-handed booksellers' power, before it is used to destroy the booksellers and rouse the hordes of the mythic past. As the search for the grail becomes strangely intertwined with both their quests, they start to wonder... Is Susan's long-lost father a bookseller, or something altogether more mysterious?
Thoughts on the book:
This was very much like stepping back to something familiar while being completely new I first read Sabriel when I was ten years old and from then have been a fan of this authors work and I knew that this book was an auto buy for me when the physical copy comes out. I loved the beginning of the chapters which I wonder if they make a longer poem, I will look more into that. I felt the tension while reading this book something that Nix is really good at writing and I felt that I was going to stop breathing in times of the book. I love how Nix is always able to write a fantasy which is believable as it links to London it is something that many people may believe could happen. In this book there is a strong sense of family and identity whether it be through the intriguing Merlin and his family or Susan who is looking to see where she belongs. I loved the dynamic’s between Merlin and he intrigued me a lot I would love to have a book more about him and the left- handed ideas and how he felt after the book even though I know this is probably a stand-alone. The magic system made me on the edge of my seat and the ability not to be able to guess who the person is they are fighting always makes me come back for more when it comes to Garth Nix.

Overall, I cannot wait to have this book physically in my hand and I will be recommending it to a lot of people if they are looking for a unique idea about booksellers and what they really do. This is a fantasy that will not disappoint people who are fans of Garth Nix and for people who have not read a book by him either. A truly gripping and gasp worthy fantasy.

I am a huge fan of Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series. The new title has Booksellers in it, so being one of these myself I was keen to read the new book.

Susan (maybe a nod to fantasy author Susan Cooper/ Susan in the Narnia books or Susan in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen ) is on a quest to find her Father. Her mother Jassmine is somewhat vague and fey (in a Faerie like way) When Susan goes to London to begin University she is soon swept up into an adventure with Bookseller siblings Merlin and Vivien (nods to Arthurian legends) which involves sinister large beasts, a Mayday fair (Goblin Market?) a cauldron etc on her quest to find her father.

There are different kinds of booksellers who have abilities according to whether they are right or left handed. The Old and New Bookshops have added aspects not seen by the book buying public and are lovingly described.
Merlin is gender fluid in some ways and there is much banter between him , his sister and Susan.

Susan herself finds strength and courage as she continues in the parallel world, taking her to unexpected places (magical forests etc) as she finds out the truth about her father.

There are exciting plot turns , peril and great action sequences that have you on the end of your seat.

However, I am still nostalgic for the Old Kingdom - the Abhorsen's house of Sabriel etc., the Moggett, The Clay's glacier , Lirael's Library and the Disreputable Dog. I know Nix has to write about other people and places but I didn't have such a connection with this book.

I did love Susan's list of Childhood favourite books which are mostly mine too. The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker, Power of Three by Diana Wuynne Jones, Narnia etc. In this lit you will find some of Nix's inspiration.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my ARC

I received an ARC of this book from Gollancz and netgalley in return for an honest review.

Garth Nix is one of my favourite authors. I have read and loved so many of his Middle Grade and YA books (Old Kingdom, Keys to the Kingdom and Seventh Tower series, plus several standalones) that I was intrigued to read one of his books for older readers. Depending on the country, this book is either classed as YA or adult. I would say contentwise, it's fine for older YA, but in terms of setting and the way the narrative is written, I think it will appeal more to adult readers. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is historical fantasy/adventure story with a lot of the features I have come to love and expect in a Nix story. The plot, world building and atmosphere were all excellent. The main reason my rating wasn't higher was due to not really connecting with, or caring that much for any of the characters.

This book is set in the UK in 1983. 18-year-old Susan Arkshaw arrives in London. She plans to spend her summer before starting art school trying to find out more about her father, who she has never met. However, all she has to go on are her mother's hazy memories of the people she met in the 60s, few scraps of paper with potential names and a silver cigarette case. Susan's plans are quickly derailed when she unexpectedly becomes involved with the mysterious and dangerous world of the booksellers and the secrets that they keep.

The best part of this book by far is the setting and the world building. As noted by the author himself, he came to London as an 19-year-old in 1983 and he has clearly used these experiences when describing what Susan sees there. The level of accuracy and attention given to even small details made the setting feel so authentic. Features such as the names of the books on sale, the pubs closing for a few hours in the afternoon, the guest house having just one landline phone for visitors to share and so many more, created a wonderful feeling of nostalgia and immersed me in the 1980s setting. Nix's love of books and booksellers also shines through and for a booklover like myself, this was wonderful to read. As well as the setting being historically accurate, the fantastical elements are also beautifully created. One of Nix's strengths as a writer is way that he can describe a world full of magic and mythical beings and make it feel believable. He manages to weave so much (made up) lore and history into his stories that it's easy to forget I knew nothing about this world before reading the story, as the legends and rules in it start feel like something I have always known about!

This story is fast-paced and relentless. The action pretty much starts in Chapter 1 and doesn't really let up until the end! The sinister atmosphere builds brilliantly and there is a real feeling of peril as the characters are hit by danger after danger, barely escaping one problem before they find themselves knee deep in the next one.

As for parts that I didn't like as much, the biggest one by far was the characters. I didn't dislike the characters, I just didn't really feel anything for them at all. I cared about Susan's search for her father because I wanted to solve the mystery, not because I was invested in her as a character and what she wanted. All the secondary characters were useful in the way that they furthered the plot but they felt very two dimensional with either no individual goals or personality, or just one overwhelming goal or personality trait. I also had a hard time believing in Susan's acceptance of everything that was happening around her. The story seems to take place over the space of a few weeks. Susan goes from knowing nothing about the world of the booksellers to accepting and becoming fully involved in it without much resistance or argument at all.

As I stated earlier, I really do love the attention to detail that went into creating this setting and for the most part, I was totally immersed in the 1980s setting. That is why the slip ups when they did happen were so jarring to me as they took me straight out of the world. The author being Australian explains the use of certain words that are Australian or American slang. However, as the book is set in the UK and written from the point of view of a UK teenager they stuck out clearly. Examples of this were sixth form school (we just call it sixth form or sixth form college), tennis shoes (trainers), pants (trousers), underpants (we just call these pants).

The other issue I had was the way gender was discussed. I don't know this for certain but given the title, I think there is a nod in this book to Ursula K. Le Guin's 'The Left Hand of Darkness'. I have not read this book but I know that part of the plot involves a group of people who don't have a fixed gender and can change their gender. This link seems even more likely as there is a character in this book who is male, though considering changing to female. I'm always pleased to see greater representation in books and I applaud Nix for doing this. However, I do worry when a cis author tries to write about a trans character they may not always represent them correctly (and as a cis person reviewing this book, I might not have perceived this correctly). The character is male and referred to as 'he'. When considering changing to being female and even when wearing a dress and presenting as female, the character is still referred to as 'he'. As there is no discussion about this, I was left feeling unsure if this was because the character still thought of himself as 'he' and wasn't ready to make the transition, or if the narrative was saying that even if the character changed to being female, it was still just a man wearing women's clothing. I don't think the author would have meant to offend anyone by doing this, but I am aware of how important correct pronouns are and would have liked some acknowledgement of this.

Overall, this was an enjoyable standalone fantasy story with a fast-paced adventure and packed with 1980s nostalgia.

I absolutely loved The Left-Handed Booksellers of London! It is a crossover between YA and adult fantasy – I think it’s published as YA in the US whereas Gollancz is an adult imprint. It does work in either category and is suitable for teen readers as well. And oh, how I fell in love with this world where bookish nerds are superhero types. There are right-handed booksellers, who are great at research and know a ton of obscure things, and left-handed booksellers who are great with books AND swords. So, basically, this is my ideal world. And I want to be one of them.

Garth Nix manages to seamlessly blend British folklore with writing the loveliest, nerdiest, funniest book I’ve read. A passage I particularly enjoyed that shows this:

“Children’s writers,” said Merlin. “Dangerous bunch. They cause us a lot of trouble.”

“How?” asked Susan.

“They don’t do it on purpose,” said Merlin. He opened the door. “But quite often they discover the key to raise some ancient myth, or release something that should have stayed imprisoned, and they share that knowledge via their writing. Stories aren’t always merely stories, you know. Come on.”

So, you know, absolutely no reason not to run to the nearest bookshop and try and find a bookseller, though probably not one of the right- or left-handed ones, to sell you a copy of this amazing book. Apart from wit and humour, The Left-Handed Booksellers of London also features a great 1980s setting – which seems to be my October theme after yesterday’s review. There are also fantastic characters: feisty and artistic Susan, trying to figure out who she is, Merlin, who thinks he knows a lot but really doesn’t know half as much as he believes and does a lot of growing up, and his sister Vivien, who is right-handed but surprisingly handy in many real-life situations. And that is not mentioning all the colourful minor characters.

You see, a treat of a book. Really, you do need a copy as soon as you can get your hands on one. Ideally from a bookseller in London. Maybe even a left-handed one if you can find one.

I may be a right-handed bookseller, but there was no way I was going to let a title like this one pass me by. Between that and the description, I knew I was in for something special here. And it met all my expectations and then some, the best way to describe this story is a cross between Harry Potter and Warehouse 13, with a tiny bit of Doctor Who thrown in for good measure.

The writing was really fun and definitely made me chuckle a few times. We jumped into the action right from the get-go, and I was initially worried I was going to get confused, but I didn’t find that at all. It took me very little time to get into the rhythm of the story and I found myself turning pages quite quickly. Maybe it is that I didn’t experience much of the 80s myself, but I really enjoyed Nix’s descriptions of the era and the pop culture references really helped bring everything together. The three main characters had such brilliant personalities, and the relationship dynamics between them really worked.

I loved everything about this with one exception: it is a standalone! Why? Why set up a fantastic world of magic, great characters and brilliant storyline, and not make it a series? This story could easily be made into an excellent series, so many creatures and characters were introduced, I would love for this world to be explored more!

I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is set in an almost realistic England in the early 1980s as a young girl, Susan, searches for her absent father. This leads to her becoming mixed up with the mysterious Booksellers of London - a shadowy organisation whose function is to protect the world we know as reality from a parallel, older, world which is fighting to break through to our own. Susan joins forces with a pair of Bookseller siblings - Merlin, one of the more physical left-handed variety, and his sister Vivien, one of the more analytical right-handed kind - to solve the mystery of her heritage and the death of the siblings' mother. With a supporting cast of goblins, policemen, guest-house landladies and taxi drivers this is a breakneck journey through a world of magic and danger. It is also hugely funny, clever and well-thought out - a vastly satisfying read.

This is an incredibly fun read! Full of action, humour, magic and myth. It takes exsisting ideas and makes them feel fresh and exciting. The characters are vivid and well written. The plot is pacey. Overall? Just fab!

I am a bookseller and I, now, really want to be a left-handed bookseller. I love Waterstones, but I think the Old Bookshop could be the dream place to work. As well as talking books, selling books and generally loving books; imagine being part of a family that guards magic. The proper, old world, ancient powers kind of magic. This was a fast paced, fun filled and a thoroughly entertaining read. There was so much that I enjoyed about it, and I am really hoping that it's the start of a series. PLEASE! It would be amazing if there were references to local myths and legends from all over the UK.

Magical booksellers running around a slightly alternate London fighting mythical creatures and elements...

What’s not to love!!?

And I did LOVE IT. It’s my favourite kind of book. I mean magical booksellers, (obvs I LOVE THAT and will now spend the rest of my days in work looking for secret passageways) adventure, mystery, mythical creatures and a smattering of romance.

I loved the main characters too: Susan, Merlin (great name) and Vivien. All so different but loveable and I cannot wait to see what they get up to next

This a lively, good fun distracting read.
I'm already a huge fan of Garth Nix, the Old Kingdom series is one of my favorite fantasy series. This is not as deep or dark as those books, but his excellent world building has beautifully intertwined magic and lore, curious mythical creatures and powers with real world Britain, set in the 1980s! (I am 'of the age' where I appreciated the 1980s nostalgia references.)
The characters are real, and amusing, the pace of the action is non stop, I felt I read this in no time at all, it sucked me straight in. Perfect for reading if you ever want to totally forget about your surroundings for a day!
I admit, the premise seemed slightly ridiculous at first, but I was intrigued immediately as I love books with books in them. The Left Handed Bookseller thing fits the story perfectly, and gives it a quirkiness I enjoyed.
It's good humoured, energetic, and I would really love to read more about the Booksellers.

A brilliant literary fantasy/thriller & love-letter to bookshops and booksellers. Reminiscient not only of classic fantasy literature (I'm pretty sure it was said that one character's favourite book was a Dianna Wynne Jones title) but also of Nix's Sabriel series (the way the Mythic and modern reality layer upon and interact with each other strongly reminded me of the wall between the Old and New Kingdoms). A slightly dreamy enticing prologue gives way to a story that hits the ground running in chapter 1 and never really stops, with great characters that you will love spending time with (though Merlin inevitably does almost steal every scene he's in XD ). Currently a stand-alone but if Nix were ever to return to the world of the St. Jacques booksellers (I'd love to spend some more time in the Old Bookshop!) I'm there! :D (Also liked spotting all different references, which, as this is set in an alternate 1983, aren't always quite what you know/remember. ;D) The Waterstones exclusive edition - that I read - also has an extra short story.
Also thanks to NetGalley for approving me for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great read for all booksellers (and booklovers)! Set in a slightly alternate 1980's London, we follow Susan on a quest to find her Father. Her mum has always been quite fuzzy on the details, but Susan is determined to find him with the vague glimpses she's been given over the years.

But things take a turn for the adventurous (and absurd) when Susan stumbles into a world of magic, mystery, and books! She meets Merlin, an always well-dressed (and very dashing) Left Handed Bookseller, and his mysterious twin sister Vivien, who has recently switched over to the Right Handed. There's a dark and ancient power rumbling over London, and Susan et al might just be the ones to uncover it...