The Invisible Library / Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library
by Genevieve Cogman

fantasy, chicklit

copyright 2015
read in May 2016

rated 8/10: really quite good

18nov24:... And more thoughts...

Yes. A very enjoyable series.

And this book one:

On this re-read a couple of things stand out.

In book one, the plot is complex and well explained.

There are, for example, timings which must work. They do... and are

 well explained.

I don't remember this level of "required" complexity in later books. 

Book one introduces the world and its key characters, no easy task.

And then there is humour.

Try this:

The Ball proceeded smoothly. The band played a slow waltz. Several couples tasted the buffet, others danced slowly. Then the alligators entered the room and began to attack.

Sudden, surprising humour with surprise rather than shock value. The humour is a vital part of this book one.

As far as I remember

...subsequent books have less complex plots.

And the humour disappears entirely.

Subsequent books are adventure.

Still enjoyable but now I think of it -- I miss the humour.

A great effort, in book one, by a first-rime author. But it's very hard to maintain humour. The books are great fun. I miss the clever and catchy humour,

09mar24: I've now read -- and re-read -- four or five books in the series: I enjoy them all. And yet... on this latest re-reading of book one -- I believe that this book is the best so far. The world is new, the characters are still untried and developing. And there is a distinct "freshness" to the book. Even on a multiple re-reading, it still feels fresh and new. "Fresh" as a quality separate from the excitement and enjoyment of the entire series.

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I like the characters. I really like the heroine. I enjoy the story as it rattles along at a reasonable pace. I am really impressed by the background to this fantasy universe.

The "invisible library" is run by people who collect books. Why do they collect them? Simply because the Librarians (capital L) believe that books are worth collecting... Though there is some doubt as to the hidden agendas of some of the senior staff.

The heroine is a book lover. She has just enough skills to be given the more challenging tasks. She is just beginning to suspect the ulterior motives of her superiors. An excellent balance of powerful mage and ingenue :-) With motives -- and a genuine love of books -- which make me admire her all the more.

There are also several asides which indicate that the author shares her character's love of books and language. The usual literary references. Plus occasional grammatical asides, done lightly and with humour.

Add an excellent collection of support characters and this book is really quite good. Each character has their own skill set. Each character is interesting -- and, to me, uniquely defined in this book.

Okay, many of the character "types" are standard. They are simply put together and presented in a uniquely interesting way.

The end is satisfactorily conclusive. But -- be warned -- this is intended to be the first of a series. The villain is banished rather than defeated. The heroes are planning to meet again. The secondary characters are left with many unresolved issues. (That's good, I like the characters. On the other hand, I hope that the next book does not constrain itself to the one world.)

The story itself is complex and solid. Nothing that is absolutely gripping, plenty that is enjoyable, entertaining and which makes me want to read more. With plenty of hints of where the next books will take us...

I hope that there are other books on the way :-) I enjoyed this first book by the author. I look forward to reading another.

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11jun2016:

I read and enjoyed this book. Then I read another book, The Librarian. That book was... not very good at all. To cheer myself up, I re-read The Invisible Library.

On second reading, The Invisible Library is even better :-) I took the time to follow the logic, to remember the names. I discovered points that I had missed on my first reading. I enjoyed the book even more, on this second reading.

The Invisible Library is a most enjoyable book. It gives me faith in the excellent quality of fantasy authors.
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09jan18:

After some very disappointing books I wanted to read something that I knew that I would enjoy.

And I did enjoy this book. Again :-)

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05mar21: And yet again! I do enjoy reading books. And I enjoy re-reading good books. This is a good book.

I just read a website that says that this book has the "trope" of an ambivalently-sexual heroine. (Or some phrase like that.) True.

The heroine is attracted to the handsome man and she has a history with a beautiful woman. The handsome man is attracted to the heroine and to the older man. The older man seems to be attracted to the younger man but is too polite to be more than polite to the heroine. All for one and one for all !

Which reference adds a further dimension: Older books can have friendship, support, teamwork -- with no sex. This book has the same friendship, etc -- with the added awareness of the possibility of sex. The sexual attraction is there, the characters are satisfied with more platonic relationships.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Today is your day ! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."    — Dr. Seuss