Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

5 reviews

helfire124's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gripping story that had me laugh out loud at parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Kidnapping, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, Confinement, and Death

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This started so well, but in the end, The Left-Handed Booksellers of London just left (pardon the pun) me a little cold.

Objectively, it is extremely well-written, and the world-building is (for the most part), very well done. I initially reveled in the world that Garth Nix created, the descriptions were so vivid it felt like I could visit the places described (particularly the

New Bookshop

). Nix's love for books and stories is also evident on every page, and I enjoyed all the sly in-jokes and authors that were oh-so-casually name-dropped. The action scenes were nicely paced.

The problem was with the characters - they were mildly amusing and witty, but that was about it  (although I did like the fact that Susan is an art student). I couldn't connect with any of them, or care too much about what happened to them. The

romance between Merlin and Susan also felt as if it were an afterthought because it was so barely there at all

. And while I initially enjoyed the descriptive details, it ended up slowing the narrative right down. And did I mention things just felt a little too Deus Ex Machina-ey at the climax?

This was an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying read, and I will probably not read the sequel. Sorry Mr Nix!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

amazelan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

j'ai ADORÉ
ça faisait longtemps qu'un roman fantastique ne m'avait pas autant transporté, si j'en avais eu l'occasion je l'aurais lu d'une traite !

l'histoire est vraiment originale, + qu'un premier tome qui pose le décor, on part directement dans des péripéties pour percer des mystères et en découvrir d'autres.
les personnages sont réalistes, je les ai trouvé vraiment attachants (Merlin purée MERLIN).
la fin est peut-être un peu trop rapide, mais en même temps elle se clôt très bien, et j'ai hâte de pouvoir lire la suite !

le seul point négatif que je peux trouver à cette histoire c'est la place beaucoup trop importante/essentielle accordée à la police, franchement on aurait pu s'en passer et faire même mieux sans...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Susan’s mom has always been a bit forgetful and has never been able to tell Susan about her father, so Susan decides to take matters into her own hands. When she visits her mom’s old friend (and mob boss) in hopes of help, she instead witnesses his death by hatpin and is whisked away from the scene by the handsome Merlin. With Merlin, Susan is plunged into the Old World, the layer beneath or New World, where all manner of creatures live and where she suddenly has many would-be murderers. She is protected by Merlin and the other booksellers: left-handed fighters and fieldworkers and right-handed scholars who protect humans from the Old World and its monsters.

As always, I love the mixture of folktales and mythology with modern life. I am particularly interested in the ancient sovereigns: beings that are like the personification of the places they rule over. I like the idea of the land as sentient and alive in that way, and I would love to read more stories that use this trope. The plot did feel a bit rushed, and I would have liked a bit more explanation and worldbuilding, especially about the booksellers. The story also occasionally felt like an advertisement for Penguin books; like, I get it, I like Penguin books too, but it really was a bit much, and don’t booksellers generally sell books from more than one publishing house?

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe):

Happy! And definitely left room for a sequel...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Drug use and Self harm