Title: The Sinister Booksellers of Bath      
Author: Garth Nix   
Genre: Fantasy, YA    
Rating:  4 out of 5

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.

I think I might have enjoyed the first book in this series a bit more than this one, but it was close. Merlin is, of course, my favorite character again, as he’s so over-the-top and just fun in general. I found the mythology here a bit convoluted and confusing, but the world itself was fascinating. This was a solid adventure to read.

Garth Nix lives in Sidney. The Sinister Booksellers of Bath is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.)

• book review
• books
• reading