Genevieve Cogman’s first novel, The Invisible Library, was released in the US earlier this month. Before turning to the LIBRARY series, Cogman wrote for role-playing games like The Dresden Files and Vorkosigan games. She lives in the north of England and works for the National Health Service. Genevieve chatted with me about The Invisible Library, writing and knitting yarn.

One random commenter with a USA address will win a copy of The Invisible Library.

Marion Deeds: I know from the afterword and a couple of interviews you’ve given that you live in the north of England, you like musicals and that you’re a quilter. What else would you like to tell your American audience about yourself?

Genevieve Cogman: It’s difficult to know what to ... Read More

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

The Invisible Library (2014) by Genevieve Cogman came along just in time for your vacation or summer reading. The book was published in Great Britain last year but the American edition came out this month. This is Cogman’s first novel, and it is a sure-footed, fast-paced romp of alternate history, self-referential book-love, nods to movies and television, magic, mysteries and secrets. And did I mention the dragons?

Libraries have gotten popular in fiction and on television, and not unlike the young team in TNT’s television series The Librarians, Irene, the book’s main character, slips into alternate universes and acquires particular books which are stored and studied at the Invisible Library, which sits at a nexus of the various alternate dimensions. Irene is clear that collecting these books, even if it requires dishonesty or outri... Read More

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

With The Masked City (2015),  Genevieve Cogman delivers a fun, imaginative follow-up to her The Invisible Library (2014) debut. We get to spend time with our favorite characters from the first book: Irene and Kai, Holmesian-detective Vale and the fearsome Coppelia. We meet some new ones as well, including a dragon, a new pair of adversaries and a magical Train, who was my personal favorite.

This review may contain spoilers for the first book.

In The Invisible Library, Cogman introduced the concept of high-chaos and high-order worlds, and the Library, which exists in all dimensions and whose mission is to maintain the neutrality of human w... Read More

The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman

The Burning Page (2016) is the third book in Genevieve Cogman’s THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY series, and it’s safe to say that a lot goes on in this book. I enjoyed it in the moment, but I was left unsatisfied on a couple of points. Even though there is a lot of activity in the book, I have to say that, for me, this was the least successful entry in this fun series so far.

Please note that on Amazon and other sites, my opinion is a minority. Most readers of this series are pleased with this book. So, as we say, your mileage may vary.

After the events in The Masked City, Irene has been busted down to probationary status at the Invisible Library. The Library... Read More

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

The Lost Plot (2017) is the fourth book in Genevieve Cogman’s INVISIBLE LIBRARY series. Committed to the Library’s mission to maintain the balance between chaos and order, Irene Winters and her student, Kai, end up in a world in a Prohibition timeline, as they track down a Librarian who has violated the Library’s neutrality by assisting an agent of Order (a dragon).

To put it simply, if you enjoyed the other INVISIBLE LIBRARY books, you will enjoy this one. It has book humor, lavish use of the magical Library language, dragons, Fae, double-crosses, predicaments, chase scenes and action scenes galore, culminating in a suspenseful interrogation sequence in the royal court of a Dragon Queen.

Most of the many, many realities that ... Read More

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

The Mortal Word (2018) is the fifth book in Genevieve’s Cogman’s INVISIBLE LIBRARY series. Irene Winters is a librarian who works for the Invisible Library, which helps maintain the balance of the worlds between order and chaos. Irene’s former protégée, dragon prince Kai Strongrock, is no longer assigned to the library, but the two of them meet now and then at the home of Vale, a consulting detective in the Victorian-era world where Irene is currently assigned. During her visit, rival librarian Bradamant comes to hire Vale to investigate the murder of a prominent Dragon lord on another neutral world. The murder is particularly important because it happened on the eve of a vital peace conference between the champions of order, the Dragons, and the Fae, who repr... Read More

The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman

The Secret Chapter (2019) is the sixth book in Genevieve Cogman’s THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY series. Librarian Irene and her former apprentice Kai, who is a dragon prince, hop between realities, trying to maintain a balance between order (personified by the dragons) and chaos (exemplified by the Fae). “Maintaining a balance” often involves the judicious theft of books from different realities. In this outing, Irene must barter for a book in order to save a world she spent her childhood in, and the barter takes the form of participating in an art theft. While the plot uses a “heist” structure, large parts of The Secret Chapter involve mocking and giving a critique of the James Bond films.

Readers who really enjoy Read More

The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman

Fans of THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY series will enjoy 2020’s The Dark Archive. Cogman’s intrepid librarian Irene bounds from one adventure to another, armed with her wits, magical knowledge and the power of the Library’s Language. This story adds important information to the conspiracy that is bubbling in the background, while serving up a comfortable, familiar set of adventures for Irene and her team. Along the way, we get to know some secondary characters a bit better.

When Irene’s detective friend Peregrine Vale takes Irene through a suboceanic tunnel to retrieve a vitally important letter, the two realize almost immediately that they’ve been lured into a trap, fighting zombiefied sailors who are being compelled by mechanical cerebral controllers. Escaping them, Irene co... Read More

The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman

Irene and her team face the most dangerous question of all in 2021’s The Untold Story. With this book, the overarching plotline of the INVISIBLE LIBRARY series is resolved, although Genevieve Cogman has tweeted that there may be different stories in the future.

This review may contain spoilers for earlier books in the series.

Like all the INVISIBLE LIBRARY books, this one plunges us straight into danger and action, as librarian Irene and her Great Detective friend Vale enter a secret undersea base in search of a letter. The letter should contain vital information about worlds that have suddenly disappeared. In Irene’s universe, realities range between two poles: Order, represented by the Dragons, and Chaos, represented by the Fae. Both the Fa... Read More