The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, by Garth Nix - Colin
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.
Colin
