4.5 stars rounded up to 5 here. A little late on this one as it's recently been released, but I was super happy to be able to read this latest book by one of my all time favourite authors! Following on from The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, it brings back some of the wonderful characters within a whole new story.

I still adore Merlin the most, and enjoyed seeing how him and Susan developed individually as well as together, especially with Susan's exploration of her discoveries from the first book (no spoilers here, just in case!). The cast of right- and left-handed booksellers were all brilliant, some more likeable than others, and I love the magic system.

There were a few pacing issues, and I did find the focus on the specific road choices or the time spent on various motorways rather jarring next to the exciting fantasy moments, alongside a lot of descriptions of specific vehicles or weapons. I'm not much of a geography or history buff, so I wasn't really captured by these details. Thankfully, the mystery and mythology was more than enough to make up for it!

Overall, it was a wonderful follow on from the first novel (possible to read on its own but I'd definitely recommend reading the first one beforehand), and I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of the bookseller family, even if perhaps it's from a different POV.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC - all opinions here are my own, honest and freely given

My thanks to Orion Publishing Group Gollancz for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Sinister Booksellers of Bath’ by Garth Nix.

This is the sequel to ‘The Left-Handed Booksellers of London’, Nix’s 2020 fantasy set in a slightly alternative early 1980s Britain. I would suggest that it is best to read the first book before embarking on this one in order to appreciate the characters’ development along with role fulfilled by the booksellers who police the Old World and keep a careful watch on various entities.

In this second novel the focus moves from London to the spa city of Bath where the booksellers monitor human interactions with the entity that the Romans called Sulis Minerva, who inhabits Bath’s ancient hot spring. Yet she is not the source of trouble, rather it comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map that leads left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger.

A rescue is undertaken by his sister Vivien, a right-handed bookseller, and their friend Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to come to terms with her recently discovered magical heritage. They end up in another world that is maintained by deadly sorcery and guarded by monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble. They end up investigating a mystery that goes back centuries linked to the murderous Lady of Stone, a serial killer of awesome powers.

This was an amazing fantasy adventure that was a delightful read. It is brimming with magic, mythology, and folklore including Arthurian themes. I also loved the alternative 1983 setting as Nix included references to historical figures and events.

Nix partially dedicates this volume to five writers who he had first read when young: Joan Aiken, Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, and John Masefield. I definitely could relate as the imaginative writings of these authors had also encouraged my love of fantasy from an early age.

Garth Nix demonstrates his mastery of the fantasy genre. I so hope that there will be more adventures for Susan, Vivien, and Merlin along with the booksellers.

Highly recommended.

“The Sinister Booksellers of Bath” by Garth Nix is the continuation of “The Left-Handed Booksellers of London”. I loved the first book in the series primarily because of its originality, light-heartedness and excellent worldbuilding blending our modern world with a slightly magical alternative.
The story continues not long after the first book’s ending, with Susan Arkshaw trying (and failing) to live as a regular art student despite her mythical heritage. But even though she tries to keep dates with her boyfriend Merlin to a minimum, she still gets pulled into yet another supernatural case of Booksellers.
What I like about this series the most is that it’s a humorous and light read, but at the same time, it has some harsh and chilly elements. This time we have a mysterious ancient entity who kills innocent people in a ritual mass murder through the ages to fulfil their agenda. On the other hand, we have quirky booksellers that squabble over the last pieces of cake. Supporting them are special police consultants who try not to succumb to madness in the surrounding chaos and keep innocent, unaware people out of the way.
I’m also a fan of the characters in this story. Susan is a down-to-earth and no-nonsense character who tries her best to fit into the regular world. But at the same time, she’s not blind to what happens around her and understands that, eventually, she will have accepted her own magical heritage. Reading about her journey from downright refusal to slow and reluctant acceptance and finding loopholes in the ancient world rules was highly entertaining.
I also adored Merlin in both books. He’s a very colourful character, who might also be called downright weird, but he wears his quirkiness with pride and can charm even the most sceptical people. He is also very aware of his own shortcomings and is not afraid to admit his mistakes. But first and foremost he is very warm and caring and always thinks about others, before himself.
Returning to the world of Booksellers and meeting more eccentric characters was a true joy. I will always recommend this series for fans of modern fantasy and original and captivating worldbuilding.

The second book in a fun series. Best to read in order.
Set in 1983 in a slightly alternate England, the Left (and Right!) handed booksellers are the defence against the….unusual. The books will appeal to those who like the madcap antics of Jodi Taylor’s St Mary’s stories and the blend of history and fantasy delivered by Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London books.
When Merlin (bookseller, not wizard) is trapped in a magical map, his friends follow him in to help him out and trigger something very ancient and dangerous.
Set mainly around Bath and the West Country, this is fun and packed with entertaining characters. The Booksellers remain a degree of mystery, they too are not quite human and can take a very brutal stance in the protection of the status quo between the normal and the….not.
I enjoyed this more than the first book, it felt the author had established his characters and enjoyed having fun with them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Left-Handed Booksellers book, and was excited to get to read the sequel.

The second is equally intriguing, getting to see more of the magic of the world the booksellers inhabit was exciting.

I won’t summarise the plot since it’s a sequel and there will inevitably be spoilers, but I found the characterisation and plot equally as compelling as the first book.

I hope that there will be further books in the Left-Handed Booksellers series for us to enjoy, because I will certainly read them.

maybe because i have a soft spot for bath but i liked this one more than the first one i found it very charming and warm you may need to have read the first one too though otherwise it may not make any sense

Thank-you to NetGalleyUK and the Orion Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rarely have I been so excited to get a @NetGalley_UK eARC. I devoured this. I love the whole cast and I love their little idiosyncrasies and witty asides. They just make me joyful.
"I think it is the cake," said Zoe diplomatically. "So delicious, so redolent with citrus, it's making everyone feel zesty."

Truthfully, I am less enamoured with this book than 'The Left-Handed Booksellers of London' but I'm still giving it 5 stars, because I would have given that six. The pacing of this didn't feel as consistent (particularly the ending - I was fully expecting a massive cliff-hanger with 30 pages to go, and then it just ENDS?!) and the story was, in a way, just a bit too tidy. But I still love the characters and I enjoyed the journey, and it's just good fantasy writing. So 5 stars it is!

I read an eARC of this so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for allowing this.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath is actually a sequel and I hadn’t realised that. I hadn’t read the first book but at no point did I find that I couldn’t follow this book for not having read the previous. At times, characters referenced things from the first book and that made me feel like I would have enjoyed to read the first book beforehand because it sounds interesting, but this book strongly stands on its own.

I really enjoyed the magic and mythology in this book and that particularly made me want to go back and read the first book. There’s lot of richness and imagination in this, and I enjoyed the ancient powers.

This book is quite whimsical and quirky. One of the central characters is in real danger and yet there’s lots of descriptions of fashion choices and characters stopping for snacks and meals. This added a lightness to the novel that balanced out the darker themes. There is darkness in this book including murder and kidnapping.

I liked the way some of the side characters were presented and they felt like they had strong personalities that made them impactful even though they only appeared briefly, for example the housekeeper and the police.

Enjoyed this and I think I will go back and read the first book!

4.5 stars
When I saw that Garth Nix had written a further adventure with the Booksellers, I knew this was going to be another brilliant read.
This book completely transports you to another world - a Bath that sounds familiar but isn’t really. It’s so clever with its links to reality.
Wizards, sorcery, Ancients and living statues - what more could you ask for in this fabulous mythical story.
I’ve loved being back with Merlin, Vivien and Susan again - their friendship and support of eachother runs strong through the whole story. The stories of the Ancients were once again filled with magic, mystery and intrigue.

I read this directly after finishing the first book and I thoroughly enjoyed them both. I do like the world in which it's set and the world building is really good, very solid and plausible. The main three characters are great but Merlin kind of steals every scene he's in. I feel like I didn't know as much about Vivien, she is definitely overshadowed by Merlin. I also think it's interesting that Susan, having being given Special status, is actively trying to avoid it and wants to continue her ordinary life. That is a bit of a change, most times when a character is revealed to be Special in some way, they jump straight into their new world and revel in it. I also enjoy the fact that the booksellers are just a huge extended family with various races and cultures, and they're all referred to as Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I would really like to know some of the history of the booksellers and how it all started.

I was a little concerned that the sequel would be a rehashing of the first which happens sometimes but I was pleased that that wasn't the case at all. It's a completely different, a sort of fantasy murder-mystery which is intriguing. I particularly liked the fact that the booksellers were not familiar with the entity that's created it so there's lots of investigation and enquires made of several other deity-types in Bath and London. I loved finding out about all the different deities and beings that exist, the connections and relationships between them and the booksellers.

I think my only complaint would be the pacing - it's a little slow in the middle and the investigation took a bit too long before being wrapped up in a matter of pages. Also that this book has the air of a finished story but I want more! Without giving any spoilers, I was hoping that things would be left hanging and carried on into a third book.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy to review.

If you like the first in the series, then you will love this follow up. We return to the magical world of the Booksellers, an order of soldiers and librarians who fight to keep malign mythic forces from overwhelming the modern world. It has all the characters you loved from the first book, including my favourite, Merlin, and we explore Susan's magical heritage in more detail while they battle stone giants. A real flavour of Alan Garner in this novel and I cannot wait for the next one!

I was so pleased to be given an eArc of this book after loving The Lefthanded Booksellers of London. We are dropped into the action right at the start and it continues throughout. It was a nice read but I was a bit dissapointed after loving the first one so much. The characters felt different, and the pacing was a bit chaotic.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London #2
Fantasy
Garth Nix
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬: 21st March 2023

The world building in this book is just brilliant. It's vibrant, full of life and well developed.

From the very first chapter there's danger and action which kept me so curious that I couldn't put this book down. The pacing was great and steady throughout the whole book too.

Although this is the second book in the series, I haven’t read the first one. This book is so well written though that I had no problems keeping up with the plot, especially because certain things from the first book were referenced to and included.

The characters were great. They were developed well and relatable. I really liked the growing relationship between Merlin and Susan, the witty banter between the characters and seeing the type of magic used in this world.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I'll probably go back and read the first one too.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

So Garth Nix has returned to the world of the Lefthanded Booksellers. The first of these books The Left Handed Booksellers of London was a real pleasure to read. The world he created was kind of funky, a sort of alternative 80's in which the aforementioned Booksellers try to stop the mystical world colliding with the mortal.

We're once more treated to the return of the two main protagonists from the last book. Susan, the product of the Old Man of Coniston and a mortal woman, and Merlin, a left-handed bookseller. This time we travel to one of the other bookshops in Bath for the opening scenes. Then its straight into the story.

I love this world. There's a familiarity to it that's comforting. In my opinion, fantasy works best when there's a root that we can cling to. Then you can add the fantastical side without having to consult a map, (although I do like a map) or reread where on earth we are. Susan is a good character who in this book grows in statue. Merlin is still the wonderful oddball he was in the first installment. The old mystical world is still as enchanting. The humour is still there in spadefuls.

The pace of the story is relentless. After plunging Merlin into mortal danger in the first few chapters, there is no let up, apart from the eating of many slabs of cake. The world building is excellent. The storyline not too convoluted and yet enough to keep you guessing. I've seen this described as YA fiction. The original book I bought was from the fantasy section. I'd label it a crossover book, can be read by all ages. Unless you have a nervous disposition 😉

I look forward to reading further books in this series. Hopefully, we'll visit some of the other bookshops that are mentioned in the story. Garth Nix is back and it's a great book.

When offered The Sinister Booksellers of Bath to review by those nice people at Gollancz, I decided to try an experiment: I had not read the first in Garth Nix’s series, The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, even though my wife loved it and told me I should really, really read it. I decided I would read the second book first, to see if it still made sense to readers in the same position as me. I’m delighted to report that I completely followed the plot and understood who the characters were. I do think I would have enjoyed the book even more if I had read the two books in the correct sequence, but it was no big deal. I have to confess, though, that as soon as I finished the Bath book, I immediately started the earlier, London, one.

Merlin, one of the eponymous left-handed booksellers is in trouble. His sister, Vivien, and his girlfriend, Susan, have to rescue him. Throughout the book, we are conscious of deadlines and Nix does a very good job of sustaining the tension, relaxing it enough at times for some banter between the characters, but often tightening it again by making them face some new jeopardy. The booksellers defeat magical opponents with a satisfying combination of conventional weaponry (think swords and hand-held bazookas!) and magic. I quite like the non-stereotypical characters that Nix uses: Merlin likes clothes: men’s, women’s – he really doesn’t care, as long as they look good. Susan’s hair is short stubble. This usurping of our expectations makes us more receptive to the magical aspects of the book – it’s all good stuff!

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath is in the same vein as The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. If you enjoyed the latter, I can pretty much guarantee you will enjoy the new book just as much.
#TheSinisterBooksellersofBath #NetGalley

Oh, I just LOVED this book and raced through it far too quickly. The second in what I hope will be a series, it certainly didn’t disappoint. We return to the world of the left, right and evenhanded booksellers and their battle to maintain peace with the Old Ancients. All the characters from the first novel return and I would recommend that you read The Left-Handed Booksellers of London to get the most out of this book. I really don’t want to give any of the plot away as you just need to dive in and immerse yourself in this wonderful world that Garth Nix has created. I see that it has been described as a YA novel, but as I’m definitely not in that category, I think it would appeal to any age and I’m keeping everything crossed for another instalment. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this wonderful novel in return for an honest review.

Just as good as the first book. The first book was gifted to me by a student and I devoured it, so seeing this pop up I couldn't resist. I really enjoy Susan and Merlin and I knew to expect excitement from this second installment. The action starts straight back up and I was immediately swept away again. If you enjoyed the first book then you will surely love this one as well.

An enthralling sequel, beautiful prose and great character / plot development, Nix maintains the intrigue and excitement in this next instalment of the Booksellers. The story builds well and the narrative pacing is effective, The ending allows space for a further instalment— here’s hoping we’re not waiting too long :)

As a Librarian - I was bound to enjoy this book and its' predecessor, and I was not wrong. In this superior sequel, Garth Nix's craft comes alive in this captivating adventure.

It should really go without saying that for a voracious book reader (like myself!) books about books, or libraries, or bibliophiles should be an automatic win.

Well, for me, it certainly scores points.

But, with that in mind, I must admit that I was a little disappointed by The Left Handed Booksellers of London, Garth’s first book in this series. (review HERE.) Although there was a lot I liked, I should say that there were also elements that I was a little less happy with. There was a great pace and style in this alternate 1980’s story, one that reminded me of The Avengers (that’s 60’s TV series, not Marvel) or even Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, but at the same time the odd clunky plot coincidence and a couple of characters that seemed to be trying just too hard.

I know that Garth can write. And I did say that I would want to read the next book in the series. And here it is!

The good news is that I enjoyed this one more than I did the first.

From the publisher: 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 who inhabits the ancient hot spring. Yet this time it is not from Sulis Minerva that trouble starts. It comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger. A desperate rescue is attempted by his sister the right-handed bookseller Vivien and their friend, 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 performed by an Ancient Sovereign and guarded by monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble. But this is only the beginning, as the booksellers investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths and try to unravel the secrets of the murderous Lady of Stone, a serial killer of awesome powers.

If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.”

A quick reminder: the main premise of the series is that in this Britain, booksellers* act as guardians between this world and gods known as the Ancient Ones who sometimes intrude upon this modern world. In the first book, much of the plot was about Susan Arkshaw finding out about this secret society of booksellers, then discovering what her father’s real identity was and that she had a connection with the gods.

Now that (slight spoiler from the first book here) Susan knows that her father is a High King and that she is therefore a Child of an Ancient Sovereign, in this novel it is about how Susan deals with that knowledge and how it will affect her life. One of the plot points through the novel is that her talents seem to be growing, but the issue is that as much as Susan is drawn to the Ancient World, she wishes to lead her own comparatively ordinary mortal life - to carry on going to the Slade School of Art on her Painting course, and be as normal as possible – whatever that is.

The complication is that she is regularly called upon by the booksellers to help them -  this time after an incident in Bath. (This one is actually less ‘bookshop’ and more Roman Baths.) It also doesn’t help that Susan is attracted to the mercurial Merlin, the young left-handed bookseller with whom she began a relationship with in The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. With Vivien, his sister, they are Susan’s minders, although their professional relationship is complicated. Early on in this book an incident means that Merlin is in need of Susan’s assistance.

It's not long though before the three of them are embroiled in a situation, as Susan’s connection to the Old World puts her in danger. With her new but growing powers, she is seen by some as a valuable asset needed to fulfil an ancient prophesy and bring back to health a demi-mortal currently being held in suspended animation, something that others mean to make happen at all costs, even at the cost of Susan’s life. As we approach the Winter Solstice, her friends are determined to protect her, but the situation could lead to a clash between the mythological world and this.

First of all, it does pay to have read The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, although not essential. There’s enough reminders of what has gone before to mean that you can read this one on its own fairly easily, although previous readers will understand some of the plot-points more, I think.

And talking of plot-points, I’m pleased that, this time around, I found the plot to be better. With less of a need to set things up, I felt that there’s more internal logic and less plot coincidence. I was struck by the thought that being set in the 1980’s, of course, means that the plot can’t be just solved with a quick look at Google or a quick call on your mobile phone!

As this is the second book in a series, we are able to look at some of the characters in a little more depth after setting things up in the first book. The relationship between Merlin and Susan continues to develop and there’s the reappearance of some we have met before. I’m still not entirely convinced by the actions of some of the characters, but interestingly Merlin seemed to be more James Bond and less Eddie Izzard this time around, although he does remind me a lot of Michael Moorcock’s Jerry Cornelius. (This may be deliberate.)

I also liked the situation created by Susan’s dilemma of wanting to help whilst at the same time determined not to be totally allied to the booksellers. There’s even a little suspicion on the part of Susan that the booksellers outside her own friends may not be entirely trustworthy. I think that this will be a plot development in future novels.

In comparison, whilst generally still quirky, the secondary characters are still a little nondescript, however, although the point is the need to focus on events around Susan.

In terms of the bigger picture, I liked that we discover more about the how the Ancient Ones operate – often in a different realm and usually on a different timescale to that of mortals. We meet new gods and their associates, with the focus being on events around the ancient city of Bath and its ancient Roman Baths. I can see this idea of different gods being in different parts of Britain being a continuing feature of future novels, combining Ancient History and bookshops. It made me think “Where to next?” Can we expect to see visits to cities such as Manchester, Lincoln, York and Nottingham in the future? And how many more titles can we come up with that use the idea of left and right? How about the next being “The Ambidextrous Booksellers of York”?

In my review of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London I said that I felt that it reminded me of 1960’s TV series The Avengers. Reading this book, although there are fewer 1980’s cultural references than in the last, I now realise that I need to reappraise my view and say that Garth is clearly channelling another 70’s & 80’s television series, The Professionals, which was a British crime-action drama show. (It’s even referenced by Garth in the book.) There’s a lot of car-chasing, gun-shooting and gallivanting going on, which is a lot of fun but also means that there’s fewer literary references and less time (sadly) in bookshops.

Nevertheless, in short, The Sinister Booksellers is a lot of fun. I am still amused by the idea that booksellers are action-heroes and scholarly intellectuals, and this unusual combination of action-drama and ancient mythologies is an interesting one. As Garth settles into this series, I find that I’m liking it more and more. There are still odd issues for me, but there’s enough for me to want to keep reading. I think that the series has legs. I’m hoping the next one builds on the successes of this one.




*(Just to explain further, ‘left-handed booksellers’ are the action-hero booksellers, the physical fighting booksellers, whilst the ‘right-handed’ agents are more intellectual. There are also a few select even-handed bookseller leaders, who do both.)