The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman Published by Penguin on June 14th 2016
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Paranormal
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781101988640
Goodreads
Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author. One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction... Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested--the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something--secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option--because it isn't just Irene's reputation at stake, it's the nature of reality itself...
FEATURING BONUS MATERIAL: including an interview with the author, a legend from the Library, and more!
Are you looking for a cool read that blends magic, spy, steampunk, time travel, mystery, adventure and a dash of Doctor Who? Then do I have a book recommendation for you The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman . There is a Library where copies of all the very important works of literature are held, from across all the known realities, that is a heck of a lot of books to collect. The Library enlist Librarians to go and track down the various tombs. Hmmm…. Irene the protagonist of the story is a Librarian/Thief as she isn’t borrowing these books she is taking them. She has a new apprentice Kai, who unlike her wasn’t born into the job. Irene is given assignments to collect book from senior librarians. So this gave me the reader two varied views of the mission that Irene and Kai take on. Irene being born into the life has a different perspective versus Kai. The Library also has it’s own language that fluctuates and expands, making me feel as The Library, like Tardis in Doctor Who is more than just a time travel construct. The story starts with a theft, and a harrowing escape. Then I as the reader are plonked down with Irene into the Library and her newest assignment and with her new student/apprentice. Neither Irene, Kai or I were allowed to take a breath during this tale. How will you know if you’ll like this series? If you like adventure tales with lots of danger then this book is one to put on your reading list.
There is a lot of world building in the book, but it doesn’t bog down the story. As a reader I was immersed in the adventure rather being told about. So jump aboard and hang on tight, as the Invisible Library is a book not to be missed.
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