The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
Ratings74
Average rating3.8
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Susan's mother has always been a little off - perhaps the result of overindulgence during the '60s. And her father - well, his name and origin are lost to the '60s as well. But when Susan heads off to London to study, she finds things are a little more complex, and that Ancient Sovereigns may be involved, along with other powers best left alone. Like booksellers.
Review
My knowledge of Garth Nix is limited. I was introduced to the Abhorsen books by my nieces, and enjoyed the first three, but other than that I've only read one book and a handful of stories. He's one of those authors I've meant to explore, but never gotten around to. I figured The Left-Handed Booksellers of London was a good chance.
Booksellers was largely as I expected – smooth prose, engaging characters – yet disappointing all the same. While all the mechanics worked, all the elements were familiar. While the story worked well enough, it felt like an experienced author putting bits together by rote, and just letting the story spin out without much curation. Susan, the protagonist, is appealing, but she falls into an alternate world of goblins, ancient powers, and magic without blinking an eye. The requisite romantic thread is as entirely predictable as the rest. The one unexpected turn is that Nix doesn't end at the first natural stopping place, but carries the plot a little ways further. I found it did more to raise expectations than to fulfill them.
A decent, accomplished, but in no way surprising book. Still, based on Abhorsen, I still have hopes for Mr. Nix, and will likely try again someday.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
On first reading, I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It's a fairly congenial novel that reads quite well as a story, but it's also a wild fantasy in which all kinds of powerful magical effects are deployed casually with minimal explanation. I don't approve of wild fantasy, I prefer magic to operate rather like a branch of science, following laws akin to the laws of science.
The characterization is rather sketchy: I don't feel I get to know any of the characters well.
A bit of a weird one. This starts off feeling very YA, with an extremely tell-don't-show first half, that rushes through a whole bunch of exposition before things finally pick-up, and get much more violent, in the second half. The story is a sub-Rivers of London urban fantasy, which is set, for no clear reason, in 1983. The author has an odd obsession with unnecessary detail, with the make of every car and gun clearly noted, as is the author of every book (of which there are lots). Whenever a gun is mentioned, the main character's ability to clearly identify the make and model is explained away as the result of a specific film or book (given that there is no other reason why the average British woman - or person in general - in 1983 would have such knowledge).
So, the second half makes the book readable, and gains it the 4th star, but otherwise this feel very uneven.
I picked this up cheap at the local discount book store as the premise sounded really interesting. Ultimately I got about 25% of the way through before I got thoroughly bored and picked something else up.
A thoroughly good read interspersed with humour , for me the only letdown was that I worked out who the villains were about 1/2way through. I love the mix of ancient myth/folklore with a modern-period setting.
Secret societies and their formalities still have some relevance today as they did in times past.
24th April 2022:
This was a barely okay read for me. The plot was okay and the action didn't start until the very very end which was still lackluster. The high stakes didn't feel high at all.
Merlin felt very surreal and more like a stereotype than an actual character. Susan didn't feel like a part of the setting and more an anomaly which just took me out of the story.
It also had the worst writing I had ever read with sentences like these littered throughout the book:
“The team of four blinkered Clydesdales drawing the dray could be no more oblivious to the occupants of the frustrated cars behind them than the smock-wearing drivers.”
Which makes no sense whatsoever unless you're a horse person and know what a smock is and whatever the hell a dray is. It wasn't fun having to google every third word in every paragraph. There are too many references without actual descriptions to explain things. For example, saying brand names of clothes than actually explaining what kind of clothes they are.
If it wasn't for the writing I maybe have given it a higher rating.
Final rating - 2/5.
Susan went to London to discover her father and found way more! New friends, magic, new powers, love, and her father. This book had a happy ending and was fun to read through.
A lovely happy read.
If you are a fan of V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series or you really, really enjoyed the TV series “The Librarians,” this may be a good book for you to pick up.
I had waited for a while to get my hands on this book as there is a gigantic wait for it through my local library. I have to admit, it was well worth it. The book is set in 1980's England. It wasn't so heavy-handed on the 80's pop culture references as Ready Player One (and now that I'm thinking back on my reading of it, I could probably only list off a handful of references in general) but knowing the time period really isn't relevant for the story. Perhaps it is a missed opportunity to give us 80's kids some nostalgia.
What I did love was everything that was done well. The gender-fluid Merlin. The fact that the booksellers are the fighting force, keeping malevolent magic at bay. A mysterious father and a forgetful mother. I also loved that the main character was a refreshingly non-conformist person that we so rarely get to enjoy in YA fantasy.
Magic exists in the real world but the two (Old World vs New World) rarely touch. The main character is suddenly thrust into a magical world that very much wants to kill her for reasons she doesn't understand. The mystery and “who is trying to kill me” aspects of the book aren't grossly overdone. While it is somewhat predictable in parts, it isn't annoyingly so.
Overall, a lovely read that I'm somewhat disappointed that I don't own. I'd be interested to see this world continue with our new heroine and her person by her side, battling ancient sovereigns. But, this also is perfeclty lovely as a standalone adventure for those who need a little magic.
Exciting secret societies, mystical encounters in forests, creatures from myth walking our modern (well, 1983) streets, booksellers with a secret history and supernatural powers? If I'd read this when I was thirteen I would have really loved it. Even as a curmudgeonly fortysomething I still enjoyed it a lot. It takes the classic YA / fantasy theme of someone on the edge of adulthood discovering their true self and heritage, but reflects it through a lens of English folklore and landscape. There's a nod to Alan Garner early on that gives you an idea of the territory Nix is working in, and there's a strong Dark Is Rising vibe as well. Very readable, very enjoyable.