Garth Nix

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

GARTH. NIX

A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New. Garth Nix sets the standard for Fantasy (Leigh Bardugo) Garth Nix is one of the best world-builders in fantasy (BRANDON SANDERSON)

Lauren

A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

ghost girl in satin

I liked this book but I didn't love it. 
First of all, I thought the prologue was boring and quite cliché tbh. 
The first few chapters were a lot of fun, action-packed and filled with funny and cute characters. I have a soft spot for Merlin's sense of fashion, and I clearly headcanon him as Genderfluid given the descriptions that feature him + how he defines himself to Susan when they first meet.
 I loved Susan as well. She's kind, and curious, and resilient, but also funny at times and she doesn't get melodramatic or fit the "chosen one" stereotype. And of course, I loved the secondary characters as well such as Vivien, and Audrey, Inspector Greene and Mrs London. ♥ 
The world building was nice, the bookshops descriptions, the concept of the book were great, but the humour was the best thing about this book. 
It read like a whimsical adventure, a comforting book. 
I also loved the bookish references! 
But I thought the plot was not that good, a bit all over the place and the villains were... Huh... Really boring and clichés but not in a funny or lightheaded way. 
Some parts of the plot felt dull. 
Overall, this is a book I recommend in case you're looking for a lightheaded fantasy story with quirky characters. :)

Anna

J’ai pas réussi à plonger dedans étonnement, alors que j’adore les univers comme ça avec des chasseurs de monstres a notre époque etc…
Les relations des personnages vont vachement vite et c’est assez cliché la façon dont le récit avance je trouve.
Fin bref vraiment nul de A à Z.

Stephanie Ridiculous

This was a fun romp! I got a little tired of "we'll explain it all later" seemingly every other incident, with only like 1/3 of things actually getting explained. But I enjoyed the action packed fast paced plot & the ridiculousness of the characters. 

3.5 stars.

Ouarda 

Ben Bastow

Sonja H

Logan Keith

Overall, really enjoyable. It did feel rushed though. Not enough character development for me to deeply care about the characters, and the final fight scene was pretty anti-climatic after the penultimate one.

Lacey Feigl

Susan is searching for her unknown father in London before she starts art school in the fall. But while she is on the hunt she stumbles into a world unknown to her. She meets Merlin a left-handed bookseller who is an assassin of out-of-line magical beings. Susan is swept into this magical world unwillingly but becomes invested in the action-packed lifestyle of Merlin and his family. The more entangled Susan is in the world, she realizes she may not be completely human and she is in very serious danger.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is 393 pages long and took me four days to read.

I absolutely LOVED this book and hope this becomes a series. I’m giving it a 4.5 out of 5! If you need a break from the real world, I highly recommend this funny, heart-warming and action packed book!

Thank you, Katherine Tegen Books, for sending me this copy!!

Here’s to the adventure of finding a novel novel!

Lacey

Kate B-L

I loved this, it was cozy and full of magic and wit

A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix. Now available in paperback. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

Liz Carpenter

Josie McQueen

Reading this book gave me the chance to escape into the types of stories I liked as a kid. I love the way Nix has combined a fiction world with reality. Although, there is some room for development on ideas surrounding the way the two Worlds interact the rest of the story had me grasped. Definitely a good read for a car ride or with a coffee. (Bonus for him being Australian and writing a killer female character that broke stereotypes while not being a misogynist).

Becky

I think I always forget how much I enjoy Garth Nix's writing until I read another book from him. The Old Kingdom series is one of my absolute favourites and this book gave me some of the best things he writes there. You have interesting characters who capture your attention and you like and care for, an intriguing plot which keeps you reading, and enough magic and wonder to let you escape into the story. 

It was strange this being set in an alternate 80s London because the world was familiar enough to feel like now so when they did things like find a payphone I had to remind myself it was the past so they didn't have mobiles. It was still great to read a book set in the UK. I may not have spent much time in London but when they started venturing off in the Uk I got all excited to hear place names I knew. I do now want to have a trip to London to visit bookshops which is probably a little strange but oh well.

I loved Susan and her journey to find her father falling into the world of the booksellers by chance. The world of magic here was brilliant and i really enjoyed it.

Diana

3.5⭐️

I enjoyed this one and while I believe it is a standalone, I would love to read more from this world.

A love letter for book-lovers, who enjoy the magic hidden in nature and our everyday. 

The folklore was something brilliant, introducing a range of mythical beasts as well as an intelligent incorportation of British folklore. Such myths were novel to me, which isn’t something you can often say about folklore interpretations, making for a refreshing take, that serves to interest the reader further. Additionally, the way in which Nix combined with folklore and the ‘Old World’ with our current society as the ‘New World’, and how the two overlapped or interacted, made for some good considerations.

Infact, the ‘magic society’ if you will, was equally as brilliant a concept. The idea of magic-wielding individuals who manage affairs of the magic world (the ‘Old World’) whilst simulataneously living as booksellers speaks to the dreams of many bibliophiles, and explains such a career choice suitingly. For example, the way in which reading helps ground Merlin, a left-handed (fighting) bookseller, in the time following a battle feels relatable and realistic. 

Possibly one of the best things about this, was the way Nix brought magic to the everyday sights we may encounter, allowed us to see the wonder of smaller things- such as an everyday bookshop or an old hill by some rural village. 

I do wish there was a bit more detail about the magical-rules and how one becomes right-, left- or even-handed. It’s such a fascinating concept and one I really loved, so to have more depth about it would have been welcome, instead I always felt a sense of wanting more. More depth, more detail, more character development- it didn’t detract from my interest while reading, but feels somewhat disappointing when looking back.

While there were times where I wish there could have been some more details, which may have added significance to the plot reveals later in the book, overall I enjoyed the concepts and plot! Would certainly recommend to anyone, an easy read, with brilliant characters!

Ben Nathan

I had SO much fun with this. The world is wonderful and I just wanted to stay neck deep in it. Everything about this made me happy. Mr. Nix, please write more in this world :-D

From the bestselling author of Angel Mage, this new fantasy adventure set in 1980s London follows one girl's quest to find her father, leading her to a secret society of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World when it disastrously intrudes into the modern world.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

2.5 stars? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

This book had such an interesting concept, a society of booksellers, left-handed fighters and right-handed intellectuals, who also deal with the supernatural and magical world, including Cauldron-born zombie-like creatures, vampire-like Sippers, goblins and more. At the heart of the story, there’s the mystery of protagonist Susan Arkshaw’s unknown father, and Susan’s own coming-of-age story. 
The romance between Merlin (a left-handed bookseller) and Susan felt kind of heavy-handed, but I did enjoy the banter between them, and the constant exasperation of Merlin’s right-handed sister, Vivien. Plus, I sort of hated Susan and Merlin as people. The only character I liked was Vivien. The rest of the characters were all quite interesting, with bookseller cousins and the ghosts of grandmothers past, and an old god or two. 
All in all, an interesting story, but nothing really stood out to me as being amazing, unfortunately.

Joanna Rosenwink 

Thank you to Gollancz for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

As a bookseller and a long time fan of Garth Nix’ writing, I was so excited when I first heard about this book. And it certainly lived up to my expectations.

There were times when I couldn’t put it down, it was so gripping! Such a great story, and Garth’s writing is as wonderful as ever.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

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