#Review - The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix #YA #Fantasy

Series: Left-Handed Booksellers of London (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: March 21, 2023
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

The sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London from Garth Nix. When Merlin vanishes, Susan will battle animated statues of heraldic beasts and use magical maps to rescue him on a hunt that leads to a serial killer who must be stopped before she kills again.

There is often trouble of a mythical sort in Bath. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch there, particularly on the entity that inhabits the ancient hot spring. This time trouble comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger, requiring a desperate rescue attempt from his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, and art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage.

The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery and guarded by monstrous living statues. But this is only the beginning. To unravel the secrets of a murderous Ancient Sovereign, the booksellers must investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal. 

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, by author Garth Nix, is the second installment in the authors Left-Handed Booksellers of London series and picks up a few months after the events of the first book. Once again, this series takes place in an alternative reality 1980's environment where there are both Left and Right Booksellers who protect the world from those who might try to harm the humans who inhabit the world. The main core of characters are Merlin St. Jacques, Vivien St. Jacques, and Susan Arkshaw who was pulled into this world after discovering that her father was an Ancient Sovereign.

This story actually beings in Bath, 1977, where a boy named Travis finds himself in deep trouble after encountering an Ancient, as well as Sulis Minerva who is the Roman Entity of the Roman Baths. She tends to grand boons to people who are seeking revenge or retribution. Whereas the previous story mostly took place in and around London, this story takes place mostly around Bath. Vivien St. Jacques is a Right-Handed Bookseller who has some magic of her own. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch what is happening in Bath, particularly on the entity that inhabits the ancient hot spring. 

This time trouble comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger, requiring a desperate rescue attempt from his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, and art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage of being is a demi-human; her father being the Old Man of Coniston. Susan has cooled on the magical world, wanting to be just a human studying art. Her use of her magic pulls her closer to her father, the Old Man of Coniston, and her power, and the machinations of Old World beings.

The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery and guarded by monstrous living statues, and an ancient who may have been killing since the early 1800's. To unravel the secrets of a murderous Ancient Sovereign, the booksellers must investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal. Her her target is Susan whose last name just happens to begin with A which leads them to believe the entity is back to killing innocents again.

Master of fantasy Garth Nix delivers another perfectly blended blockbuster-style book with secret underground worlds, cults, hilarious banter, gory action, and terrifying monsters. In this book, Susan’s knowledge of art and sculpture is tested when they must face off against a villain who uses evil maps, living statues, and other crafted goons to fight. Being a Demi-Human gives her the power to commune with stone and metal: useful traits in dealing with the serial killer entity from the Old World, the Lady of Stone.  

She has to accept that she is no longer able to just stand outside of the world and not understand that there are dangerous things in the world. The one negative about this book, again, is Merlin. I'm not a huge fan of the crossdressing aspect of him, but that could have just been the way it was presented. Still he is a character with a costume for just about any occasion. The book ends in a curious manner which makes me hope that Nix has plans for a third novel. If not, this, like the first one, wraps things up fairly nicely. 

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#Review - The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Series: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London # 1
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: August 25, 2020
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

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). With the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), he belongs to 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 misspelled 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, a right-handed bookseller named Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find their 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's The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is the first installment in the authors series by the same name. This series takes place in an alternative version of 1983 London. It features Susan Arkshaw, an art student who has never met her father, but hopes to see what spills out after she arrives in London a few weeks before her classes begin. Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelled surnames, a reading-room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

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 Merlin. Merlin is a left handed bookseller, part of an extended (and ancient) family of both right- and left-handed booksellers. Besides running a couple of bookshops in London, they police the border between the New World and the mythic beings of the Old World. After Susan discovers Merlin undoing a villain in his own home, she soon finds that there are people out there who would love to see her dead. 

Fortunately for Susan, Merlin, and his sister Vivian, may have the answers that she is looking for if they can keep her alive long enough until those answers are actually revealed. Merlin is also on the hunt for those who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. Merlin's sister Vivian is a Right-Handed bookseller with some pretty interesting magical abilities that time and time again get the trio out of danger when facing an assortment of villains and even some traitors among the booksellers themselves.  

Just like in the blockbuster comic book–turned-movie Kingsman, this book imagines a coexisting world—with all the hallmarks of classic Garth Nix world building that will have readers hanging on every fascinating detail. While the action sequences are, by turns, hilarious, gory, and terrifying, all characters find moments of humor that keep the tone throughout perfectly balanced and, at moments, laugh out loud. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London captures a popular decade (1980's) for teens (like Stranger Things). Merlin and his booksellers span the centuries, seamlessly bringing together the modern and the mythic.

A perennial hook for readers. Literature, bookstores, and sellers feature prominently. In this world, there are right and left handed booksellers who double as guardians against Old World magic. Nix combines classic faerie lore with the pacing and characters of a thriller. With unexpected twists and turns and magical, mystical characters, Left-Handed Booksellers is definitely one of those stories that has everything you need to enjoy a story. 

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#Review - Terciel and Elinor (The Old Kingdom #6) by Garth Nix #Fantasy

Series: The Old Kingdom # 6, Abhorsen # 6
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

A quarter of a century after the series began, bestselling novelist Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom for the never-before-told love story of Sabriel’s parents, Terciel and Elinor, and the Charter and Free Magic that define their world. A long-awaited prequel to a classic fantasy series.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen-year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, the latest in a long line of people whose task it is to make sure the Dead do not return to Life.

Across the Wall in Ancelstierre, a steam-age country where magic usually does not work, nineteen-year-old Elinor lives a secluded life. Her only friends an old governess and an even older groom who was once a famous circus performer. Her mother is a tyrant who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death . . . but perhaps there is even more to fear from that.

Elinor does not know she is deeply connected to the Old Kingdom, nor that magic can sometimes come across the Wall, until a plot by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsens brings Terciel and Tizanael to Ancelstierre. In a single day of fire and death and loss, Elinor finds herself set on a path that will take her into the Old Kingdom, into Terciel’s life, and will embroil her in the struggle of the Abhorsens against the Dead who will not stay dead.

 

A quarter of a century after the series began, bestselling novelist Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom for the never-before-told love story of Sabriel’s parents, Terciel and Elinor, and the Charter and Free Magic that define their world. A long-awaited prequel to a classic fantasy series. The story actually alternates between Terciel and Elinor so take notes!

Terciel and Elinor is being sold as the Sixth installment in author Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series, as well as the Sixth installment in the authors Abhorsen series. Because this is a prequel to the series, one does not have to have read the rest of the series in order to enjoy this story. As the author said, he couldn't leave well enough alone since Sabriel left many unanswered questions as to what happened to her mother, and the fact that her father also has another daughter.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen-year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. He is not given any choice in the matter, and this comes to define his character. Terciel is a somewhat reluctant Abhorsen-In-Waiting who laments his lack of choice, lack of training, and lack of time before being forced to assume the terrible responsibilities of the Abhorsen. 

His companion is a sort of shifter named Moregrim who appears as a cat. While he accepts his fate and his duty, he is determined to balance his work with the Dead with connections and relationships to the Living. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, the latest in a long line of people whose task it is to make sure the Dead do not return to Life. 

Across the Wall in Ancelstierre, a steam-age country where magic usually does not work, nineteen-year-old Elinor lives a secluded life. Her father died 8 years ago. Her only friends an old governess and an even older groom who was once a famous circus performer. Her mother is a tyrant who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death but perhaps there is even more to fear from that. Elinor grew up not knowing that the scar on her forehead was a Charter mark or even what that would be.  

Elinor knows absolutely nothing about the Old Kingdom, the Charter, or the Dead, or the levels of Death. She was blessed with a Charter mark by her grandmother, Myrien of the Clayr, but her mother wanted nothing to do with magic and kept its true nature from her. In a single day of fire and death and loss, Elinor finds herself set on a path that will take her into the Old Kingdom, into Terciel’s life, and will embroil her in the struggle of the Abhorsens against the Dead who will not stay dead.    

Elinor learns that she's descended from one of the Clayr, who are able to glimpse the future, and goes to Wyverly College to try to learn Charter magic from a teacher there. Elinor is a talented performer, having been taught juggling, knife throwing, and acrobatics by a family servant, and her passion for theater is charming. She is a likeable mix of competent yet naïve. Her employment at Wyverly College is a mixture of one professor hating her, to training with magic students, to being attacked by the villain of the stories puppet, to being rescued by a Clayr and flown by paperwing over the wall to the Abhorsen's home. 

If you've read Sabriel, then you've already met the villain of the story in Kerrigor. The book is not a romance per se, as the two titular characters meet briefly in the beginning, experience a sort of “insta-love” and then interact again much later in the book. The main focus of this story is the development of the two characters separate from one another. It is fair to say that no, I have not read Sabriel but I did read Clariel thanks to the folks at Epic Reads, and I do have Goldenhand on my Kindle that I may get to eventually. Should I go back to the beginning and attempt to read Sabriel? We'll see. 

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