As a left-handed book lover I was attracted to this book because of the title alone. Luckily, the story itself was a very gripping fantasy, with a great cast of characters, plenty of action and a rich magical world. I can often find myself getting a bit lost in fantasy books if the word building is too vast, but Garth Nix is great at building intricate worlds and taking the reader by the hand to navigate them.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is a whimsical fantasy adventure tale that follows Susan Arkshaw, a young woman who winds up involved with the mysterious booksellers – an extended family that protects the ordinary world from the creatures of the Old World. Susan is in London to start art school and find out who her father is, but her search may take her further into the Old World than anyone thought possible.

I grew up reading Garth Nix books and Sabriel remains one of my all time favourite books to this day. I always find that Nix’s books have really intriguing, clever concepts and this is absolutely no exception. I was completely captivated by the idea of a group of magical booksellers who not only sell books, but fight dangerous creatures, work out puzzles and protect the public from the Old World. The story was well paced and incredibly well executed. I found myself hooked early on and really enjoyed the ride this adventure story takes you on.

The story is set in a slightly alternate London in the 1980s and I loved the way Nix brought the sights and sounds of London to life. The world building felt solid and I was really fascinated by the history of the booksellers and the Ancient Sovereigns they stand against. Like all Garth Nix books the story has a cast of brilliant, compelling characters and I really liked Susan, Merlin and Viven. The three worked as a great team and I can’t wait to read more about these fascinating characters. The story has plenty of action, including a goblin kidnapping, fights against resurrected corpses and shoot outs with criminals. If you’re a fan of Garth Nix or looking for a fun, fantastical tale that will keep you hooked, this one should definitely be on your TBR.

Left-Handed - yes that's me
Set in a Bookshop - Yup loving it
Magic - OK where do I join?

Ok in seriousness, I am a MASSIVE fan of Garth Nix, so the premise of this book honestly had me signing up so quickly my head spun. Honestly this book had everything that I enjoy in a fantasy book, it had magic, a strong heroine, a bit of mystery, tension, turmoil and a fight between good and evil.

It is set in an alternate world, more specifically the 1980s London, but add in a bit of Magic and you have a best seller on your hand. Susan Arkshaw recently turned 18 and she is ready to start her life. She is off to Art School and start doing something with her life, she also wants to find out about her father. Problem is her mother has been keeping it a secret who he is and not forthcoming on who he is either. Susan sets off to London where she becomes embroiled in the magical world, and this is where the adventure begins. She is met by the Special Branch officer Mira Greene and placed in a Safe House but let's be honest it's a magical book it's not going to be safe is it.

Here we meet Merlin who is my favourite character of the book. Merlin is part of the Booksellers, the magical side as well as a fashionista and gender fluid, he finds himself enamoured with Susan and they are beginning their journey of finding out who Susan's father is and who Killed Merlin's mother.

Honestly this book was so much fun to read, as I mentioned earlier, I adore Garth Nix's books and once you start this book you are hooked. Not only with the magical world but with the character themselves. They are fun and witty and what to know everything about them. You become a cheer squad for Susan, Merlin and Vivian and want them to beat the evil opponent and find out the answers that they are looking for.

A thoroughly enjoyable book and I am excited for book two.

I loved this book so much! Great characters and world building. I was surprised often, and that doesn’t happen much these days.

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

Hacía tiempo que tenía pendiente este libro de Garth Nix, así que ha aprovechado las vacaciones de verano para hincarle el diente. Es una novela divertidísima, escrita con mucho oficio y que viene a sumarse al revival de la cultura de los años 80 en el que estamos inmersos, aunque en este caso sean unos 80 un tanto alternativos (cosas de la magia y las criaturas mitológicas).


Susan Arkshaw es la protagonista de la novela, una joven que con sus 18 años recién cumplidos va a irse a estudiar a Londres y de paso a buscar a su padre, del que tiene poquísima información por los constantes despistes de su madre, que abusó de las drogas en su juventud y ahora está pagando la factura. No obstante, su llegada a la capital no será nada tranquila, porque de pronto se ve arrastrada por una conspiración en la que descubrirá que el mundo no es como ella pensaba hasta entonces. Ni como nosotros lo conocemos, porque las criaturas de las fábulas y las fantasías son muy reales y existe un clan de libreros encargados de velar por la seguridad de los humanos. La creación de esta sociedad de libreros, con características peculiares según si son zurdos o diestros y una larguísima tradición es el gran punto fuerte de la novela. En ocasiones el autor utiliza en demasía el desconocimiento de Susan para darle a conocer datos que serán importantes para el desarrollo de la historia. Esto se podría haber realizado quizá de una forma un poco más sutil, pero la verdad es que está bien enjaretado con el resto de la trama y no se hace pesado en ningún momento, dejándonos en ocasiones con ganas de saber más.

La premisa, aunque poco original, es estupenda para lo que tiene planeado Nix, que es diversión a chorros. Seremos testigos de persecuciones sin fin, apariciones de criaturas de todo origen mitológico, enfrentamientos, conspiraciones, traiciones y te, mucho te que para algo estamos en el Reino Unido. Por si faltaba algo, también tendremos un poquito de tensión sexual, dentro de los límites que un entretenimiento ligero como es esta novela puede permitirse.

Me gusta también que Merlín, el primer mago con el que se encuentra Susan, esté explorando la fluidez de su sexualidad y se haga eco de ello con una forma tan natural y creíble, aún estando situada la novela en 1983.

Garth Nix nos ofrece una novela juvenil que ya tiene la continuación titulada The Sinister Booksellers of Bath prevista para marzo del año que viene. Yo al menos no tengo intención de perdérmela, por que promete otro buen rato de diversión.

As always Mr Nix delivered a good quality and original storyline, fast paced and well plotted, I very much enjoyed TLHBSOL.

There were a few similar aspects between it and Sabriel, but with Sabriel being in my top reads ever, this wasn't a bad thing as such, just something I picked up upon.

I really liked Susan, Merlin and Vivien - they were a trio who worked well, and it was also nice to not have a weird love triangle going on aside the 'adventure'. Loved the mythical aspects, all of the bookish references and overall just really enjoyed it.

The premise of this book made me very keen to read it – ‘slightly’ alternative reality, historical setting, myth and legend; that and the fact that I can be partial to quality YA, and Garth Nix certainly gets the name of a quality YA author. Now I know I am not the ‘target’ audience for this novel, but no matter what way you look at it, quality YA is not quite what I got:

"The Left-Handed Booksellers of London" was ordinary where it should have been exceptional and strange; tedious where it should have been exciting and gripping; and contrived where it should have been spontaneous and natural. Add to this the shoehorning of current/topical ‘issues’ and the out of place modern turns of phrase (this is based nearly 40 years ago don’t forget) and the obsessive noting of make and model of modes of transport(!) and I was ready to pack it all in about 20% of the way through. But I stuck with it, and boy, I almost wish I hadn’t!

It did pick up pace a little toward the end but ultimately after spending the vast majority of the book apparently making up the ‘plot’ as the author went along whilst tediously dragging the reader behind, the final section felt rushed and tacked-on. There is the germ of a good idea in this book but it remains underdeveloped and hidden behind the tropes and stereotypes common to YA and fantasy. I know Garth Nix is a phenomenally successful writer and I certainly haven’t given up on him, but I might give the follow-up to this book a miss.

Although this was a slow start once I’d got into it I really enjoyed it. The characters and plot were great and I would recommend this book to my pupils.

-DNF @38%-

Susan Arkshaw is in London trying to find out the identity of her father. She has only a handful of clues as to who he could be and one opportunity is taken away when Susan's 'uncle' Frank is literally turned to dust by a silver hat-pin.
The wielder of the hat-pin is a bookseller called Merlin, who is a left-handed bookseller - someone who polices the creatures of the Old World, alongside the right-handed booksellers (the left-handed booksellers being the fighting ones and the right-handed booksellers being more intellectual). Merlin has been attempting to uncover who killed his mother after a failed investigation by the police.
Could Susan and Merlin's quests be linked?
Who is Susan's father?

I've grown up loving Garth Nix's books and I'm always intrigued to see what he will release next. However, unfortunately, I haven't enjoyed his most recent releases as much.
Susan and Merlin were okay characters but I didn't particularly connect to either of them or any of the other characters.
The plot gets going straight away, and while there were moments that piqued my interest, overall I really struggled to get into what was happening.
The writing style didn't work for me on this occasion and it was a forced effort to continue reading. It got to the point where I'd put the book down and then couldn't bring myself to pick it back up.
I absolutely loved the premise for this book and expected to enjoy it, but it ended up being a book that just wasn't for me. I might try giving this another go at some point in the future, but for now I've decided to stop reading.

Overall, this wasn't for me, unfortunately.

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan goes to London, on the hunt to find her father, a man she has never met. However, her first real lead is Crime boss Frank Thringley. Shame Susan doesn't have time to ask him any questions as Frank turns to dust within a few hours of meeting. He turned to dust due to a silver hatpin in the hands of Merlin, a young left-handed bookseller. Booksellers are beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World (Left-handed booksellers are the fighters, while the right-handed are the more intellectual) and it looks like it's invading the modern world...

And Susan is slap-bang in the middle of it as someone or something wants Susan. Friend or foe? And does Susan's search for her father have any connect to the mysterious death of Merlin's (and his right-handed bookseller sister, Vivien's) mother...

Writing this pains me as Garth Nix is one of my rare auto-buy authors. I adore his Old Kingdom series (as soon as I heard that he was writing a fifth instalment of this series, Terciel and Elinor, I was waiting for the preorder link to appear) and I have read many of his books. And I was hugely excited when it was announced he was writing two adult fantasy novels (I read Angel Mage as soon as I could get my hands on it...)

But Left-Handed Booksellers of London is an odd one. I never felt excited over this and was more hesitant over it, hence why it took me over six months to sit down and audiobook it.

In theory, this book is written for me. I should be singing this book's praises. And yet... and yet, it didn't work for me.

There are main reasons why this didn't work. I didn't connect to any of the characters (they all felt flat and it didn't feel like there was any character development), nor did I connect to the audiobook narrator (I had to put on audiobook speed up to 1.5 - which is something I rarely do!). It felt odd as it felt like the first book in a series, not a standalone. Same feel that this was meant to be an adult fantasy and yet, felt YA or New Adult. Plus, this book at times made me go "I've read before..." and I kept going "Didn't this happen in Sabriel and he's just twisted it slightly?"

But this book's biggest flaw is world building. Stay with me on this one. Now, Garth Nix does world-building brilliantly in all the books I have read from him, and he does the same here. Deep and multi-layered (hence why I always felt like this was the first book in a series, not a standalone). However, at times, it felt like the world-building got in the way of the story and character development. The story, for me, didn't start till around the halfway mark as the first half of the book was world-building and info-dumping and, even the story did move at pace, world-building came in several occasions and slowed the pacing of the book down.

It's sad when an author you love writes a book and you don't click with it, but it's not the author's fault nor is it yours. These things happen. I do think, as I am writing this, that if you are a fan of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, you might want to put this on your radar.

A fast paced fun fantasy adventure.
My only criticism is that I didn’t really feel that it was was set in the 80s and was disappointed with the lack of reference to 80s culture.

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 sibling's 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.

A Garth Nix fantasy that seems like a reasonable introduction to his style, though it took a little longer to get going than I'd have liked.
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London are a group known only to those who need to know. They deal with strange and unusual events, and the right-handed booksellers mop up anything they can't deal with. Few know of their existence, but our main character is plunged into this fantasy world when she comes under threat.
Our main character, Susan Arkshaw, has always wondered who her father is. Unfortunately, the man she thought might be able to tell her is killed by Merlin...and this prompts a bizarre meeting that Susan is woefully underprepared for. Given the strange stories she is told, Susan takes things pretty calmly.
As the story progresses we learn a little of the Old World that the booksellers are trying to manage, and it's obvious that something is threatening their existence. But how does it link to Susan?
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

A beautifully written and entertaining adventure story, great characters and an interesting plot. Probably suited to a YA/teenage audience.

Wonderfully inventive. For younger readers than I originally thought but a wild ride none the same. Slightly trad with the whole steam punk ye olde London vibe.

My thanks to Gollancz and NetGalley for the digital eARC edition of this book.

I love Garth Nix and this book featured very highly on my most anticipated releases of the year list, so I was very excited to get into this read!

This book is an enjoyable fantasy adventure story set in an alternative 1980s London where a group of magic-wielding Booksellers reside and keep an eye on other magical creatures, while still managing to sell a few books!!

This is a well written adventure story, suitable for teens and adults alike, and features plenty of Nix’s usual wit and humour! I must admit that personally I was hoping for slightly more, but that is probably more a reflection on my high expectations than the novel itself. The novel’s plot is very fast-paced and action packed, it flies along at a very quick speed which is excellent, but I do feel that we missed out a bit of character development because of the crazy speed we were whisked along at. The speed also lessened the impact of the twists and turns of the novel for me, as everything seemed to happen so fast without giving the reader any time to actually consider anything that was occurring!

Sadly the novel doesn’t feature much actual bookshop action which I was disappointed with, the title makes reference to book selling, but a bookshop doesn’t play a part really. Despite the title and a few book references during the book itself, I feel that the book is sorely lacking in actual book content!!

Our main character is called Susan, and she is thrown into this world when she witnesses a family acquaintance being vaporised by one of these booksellers. I liked her as a character, and its always fun to discover a new world through the eyes of a character thrown into the world too.

However, overall I did enjoy this fantasy adventure. I think it would be a perfect read for teens as well as adults, and anyone with a love of books is bound to dream of being one of these Booksellers!

A very entertaining tale set in a London that is just a little off true. The characters are detailed so well, you see them and hear them as you read, Garth Nix has pulled you into the story very easily. I love that the heroes are booksellers, all with their own peculiar set of strengths depending on their dominant hand, left handed or right handed. A unique qualifier for heroes. This took a little getting into but once I had the characters and back story set, it flew. Although a stand alone story, this one could easily become a series.

Fantastic book!! I've loved Garth Nix books ever since I was young and this just proves to me that I still love his books! Full of magic, this book blew me away!

I adored the Left Handed Booksellers of London! As a left handed bookseller myself,it represented so much of what I wish was true about bookselling and drew me in until I couldn't stop reading. Susan's bravery and determination made her my favourite character, not least because she reacted in such SENSIBLE ways to magic. The way Garth Nix mixed the old and new worlds was masterful and I adored Vivian and her accurate sisterly treatment of Merlin.