library

An Interview with Genevieve Cogman

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Author of the Invisible Library series
With ‘The Lost Plot‘ out January 9th!

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Last week, I reviewed the thrilling latest installment of the Invisible Library series: The Lost Plot is almost here, and it’s the most exciting book yet! Here’s the short version: dragons, spies, prohibition, Tommy guns, gangsters, wolves, books, schemes… if that’s not enough to get you scrawling on your TBR list (who even are you?) then check out my full review here.

For those not familiar with the series so far, the mechanics of the Invisible Library are straightforward: the library sits in between all worlds, and a Librarian (like our beloved Irene) can use libraries or stockpiles of books to access alternate realities. They exist on a spectrum going from the more chaotic to the more controlled, with Fae in abundance on one end, and Dragons on the other. In The Lost Plot, the heart of the story takes place in an alternate 1920s/1930s America, in between rival gangs – and rival Dragons.

I’ve had some burning questions about the series, the worlds, the key players – and (much to my fangirl delight) the author has answered every single one of them! Without further ado, presenting the author of the Invisible Library series… Genevieve Cogman!

RC: I’m sure you get this question a lot, but how did the idea for The Invisible Library come to be?

119888GC: I know I’m far from the first person to have ideas about interdimensional libraries (Pratchett, the French INS/MV roleplaying game, and others) or alternate worlds with Order and Chaos at different ends (Moorcock, Louise Cooper, etc). But I’ve always loved libraries, and I really liked the idea of a secret library accumulating fiction. It was a private daydream.

RC: It’s fantastic how you integrated all these parallel worlds into your universe, which practically makes any time period and any place your playground. Did you have a favorite one to explore?

GC: Vale’s world is one of my favourites, but I’ve had fun with all of them so far. I’ve been doing some research for the one in which most of book five takes place (no details yet, sorry). I’d like to send Irene all over the place – Japan, India, Canada, Vienna, Budapest – and into time periods which would be fun for the author (if less so for the character). However, I want to keep the locations recognizable, even if I do claim “alternate history/world” and change some details, so I need to do the research.

RC: On the same note, is there a place you’d like to explore, but probably won’t be able to through the books?

GC: Outer space, maybe. I don’t think any of the alternate worlds have reached the point of extraplanetary colonization yet. (And Irene isn’t going to want to get on a spaceship if she’d be stuck without access to a library!)

RC: I would love for this to happen SO. MUCH. 

RC: I was so excited to hear that The Invisible Library was growing from a trilogy to a series of five books. Had you always envisioned writing more? (Does this mean that book 5 is truly the end, or is there a possibility of the series getting extended?)

GC: I’d hoped to write more, and I had ideas for more, but I didn’t want to leave it mid-story, so I’ve tried to tie things off at the ends of books 3 and 5 . . . well, somewhat. (See below.) And yes, there is a possibility of more after book 5.

RC: Will we see more of Alberich?

GC: He was abandoned in a burning library, in a world that was falling to pieces, towards the end of the universe where fictional tropes are likely to occur. How could he possibly have survived that? (Looks innocent.)

RC: If you were working for the library, which post would you want to have? Would you rather be a spy, or a researcher, or something else?

GC: Researcher, definitely. I don’t have the talent or desire to be an active operative. Actually, I’d rather just spend my time sitting round reading, but I don’t think that’d be an option . . .

RC: In the series, worlds can be more chaotic (under fae control) or orderly (under dragon control) – how would the Library rate our world? And will Irene or other librarians pop in for a visit?

GC: Probably they’d consider it fairly neutral. I have no immediate plans for them to drop in – though I reserve the right to steal improbable events and situations from our history and biology.

RC: If you could read any lost book from history, which book would it be?

GC: It’s not exactly a ‘lost’ book, but in the ‘Tale of Genji’, the author (Murasaki) leaves the chapter where Genji dies (or is implied to die) blank. I’d like to know what “really” happened to him. Or maybe the first, lost draft of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.

RC: Who’s been your favorite character to write so far? Are some characters more challenging than others?

GC: The Fae characters like Silver, Zayanna, or Lily tend to be most entertaining to write, because I can have great fun with their style. I find Vale more challenging, because he is a homage to Sherlock Holmes, and it’s difficult to get that “right”.

RC: Coffee, or Tea?

GC: Coffee. Always. (Not that I won’t drink tea, but . . . coffee.)

RC: Planner or Pantster?

GC: A combination. Some outline, and working from there.

RC: Morning Person, or Night Owl?

GC: Night Owl. (As my editors can tell you from the timing of my emails.)

RC: And finally – if you’re allowed to – can you tell us a little clue as to what to expect from book 5?

GC: I can tell you that Vale will get a bigger part than in book four. And that in some ways it’s an extension of events which occur in all the previous books. And that at the current stage of the edit, Irene keeps on missing out on her dinner. (A very nice dinner, too.) But more than that . . . I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.

RC: Thank you so, so much for answering my questions! And of course for writing this series!

GC: Thanks to you and everyone else for reading it.

The Lost Plot will be available January 9th 2018 from Ace Books
Thank you, Ace Books for providing me with the ARC copy!

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Ash and Quill

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The Great Library #3
by Rachel Caine

Great news, everyone! The Great Library series is not a trilogy anymore, but it will have five whole books. So this will not be the last installment! It’s time to throw yourselves once more into an alternate reality where the Great Library of Alexandria never burnt down, and instead grew to control most everything into the world. And for those of you who, like me, maybe didn’t enjoy book 2 as much, DON’T PANIC! Book 3 is exciting and thrilling and everything you want from this series.

Summary30956356

Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny….

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies—and to save the very soul of the Great Library….

Musings

Jess and his band of librarian rebels are now in Philadelphia, base for the Burners who want to see the Library torn down. Even if they share a common enemy, they’re not to happy to see a bunch of librarians on their doorstep, even if they claim to hate what the library stands for.

They have one card to play: Jess and Thomas will build a functioning printing press, in order to make books a commodity and crush the strength of the library. But Philadelphia is under siege, food is lacking as well as resources, and the library is right at their doorstep. Bombs of Greek fire are frequently thrown over their massive wall, and could burn through them at any time. Jess and Thomas must work fast not only to make a functioning press, but also to find a way to save themselves and their friends.

Just like book two, this sequel is split into two distinct parts: Philadelphia, and England. The first half takes place behind the wall of the city, and the second half is a return to the Brightwells, in an estate Jess himself has never even seen. In both, the band of rebels are kept as prisoners, and must prove their worth to survive.

Once again, I found Jess to be a bit of a bland protagonist. He’s fantastic in that way because he’s a stand in for the reader: we can really take his place in the story, and interact with the amazing characters. Khaliah is AMAZING in this book, proving herself to be once again one of my favorite characters in fiction: bold, unashamed by her religion and standing tall against abuse, the smartest person you will ever read. Her relationship with Dario is growing, and I’m starting to like this Spaniard more and more. Thomas is struggling to recover from his time in Rome, but proves once again that engineering is an art. Wolfe and Santi seem a little sidelined, but we get to explore their relationship more, too. And I really, really like how they’re portrayed. It’s great to see this kind of love in YA literature.

While I still find the relationship between Mogan and Jess forced, I adored her character growth in this book. She’s becoming something I wasn’t expecting of her, getting stronger and a little terrifying. I really can’t wait to see what the author does with her.

And then, there’s the ending. The reason I’m sitting here typing in the middle of the night, my heart racing. That. Effing. Ending. It’s INSANE. I couldn’t follow it half the time and had to go back and reread what just happened, not believing the words on the page. This is… this changes EVERYTHING.

My only questions is – WHERE IS BOOK FOUR?

Expected publication: July 11th 2017 by Berkley

The Burning Page

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By Genevieve Cogman

I did not expect this book to hit me as much as it did, but wow. My hands were shaking when I finished it, and I just hugged it against my chest for a bit, trying to process the powerful ending. The Burning Page is the incredible third book in the Invisible Library series, and so far the best yet.

Summary29612879

Due to her involvement in an unfortunate set of mishaps between the dragons and the Fae, Librarian spy Irene is stuck on probation, doing what should be simple fetch-and-retrieve projects for the mysterious Library. But trouble has a tendency of finding both Irene and her apprentice, Kai—a dragon prince—and, before they know it, they are entangled in more danger than they can handle…
 
Irene’s longtime nemesis, Alberich, has once again been making waves across multiple worlds, and, this time, his goals are much larger than obtaining a single book or wreaking vengeance upon a single Librarian. He aims to destroy the entire Library—and make sure Irene goes down with it.
 
With so much at stake, Irene will need every tool at her disposal to stay alive. But even as she draws her allies close around her, the greatest danger might be lurking from somewhere close—someone she never expected to betray her…

I thought this was going to be the last in the series, so I was ready for a final showdown. Or, at least, I told myself I was ready: I didn’t want the fun to end.  But the great news is that there are at least two more books in the works, so we can keep enjoying it! It also means that while there is a brilliant showdown, it will not be the last.

Those of you who have read my reviews of The Invisible Library and The Masked City know the gist of why I love this series so much: the idea of secret-agent-book -lover-librarians is just so brilliant! I love the universe that Cogman has created, with multiple alternate realities all connected by this library, with logic and reason at one end of the spectrum, and chaos at the other. You have Order, or reality, incarnated by the Dragons, and you have Stories and Narrative, embodied by the Fae. The library maintains balance by collecting important books from these worlds, and the Librarians don’t always retrieve them legally.

Irene and Kai are brilliant characters whom I love to follow in their adventures. They’re smart and resourceful, and above all,  they love their books. But since the events of the Masked City, they’ve been getting the worst assignments: punishment for Irene leaving her post to save Kai, and stop a war. But now they’re in for an adventure they never expected: the library is under siege, by the evil traitor Alberich, and it could very well die. Not to mention someone has been trying to kill off Irene and Kai!

The pacing is so much faster in this third installment: it’s as if every book was speeding up. There’s love and betrayal, there’s magical worlds and terrifying words, huge twists and an enormous reveal at the very end. Some of our favorite characters are back, and hinting at a large secretive plot that runs through the novels so far. There’s mystery and intrigue, and magic and danger. And an ending that will leave you clutching your bookshelf and whispering promises of love and devotion to it.

All in all – this is the best book of the series so far. It’s fast paced and breathless, with lives on the line. And I seriously can’t wait for more.

Expected publication: January 10th 2017 by Roc. Thank you Roc for sending me a copy!

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The Masked City

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By Genevieve Cogman

Well this is embarrassing! I read this book on the plane a few months back and completely forgot to review it, even though I loved it. So I reread it yesterday to give it the attention it deserves, right before I read the third book and share it with you. Oops!

Librarian Spies. Alternate realities. Dragons, Fae, and high technology. Heck yes, I absolutely love the universe Cogman has created in the Invisible Library series. We reviewed the first one not too long ago and I admit, I could not shut up about it (and still can’t!).  So, needless to say, I was excited to return to it as fast as I could. She did not disappoint: The Masked City – a direct sequel to The Invisible Library – was fun and exciting, a fast read I could not put down.

Summary28186364

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

Musings

We return to the beloved characters of Irene and Kai, as they continue their work in the slightly Chaotic London. Irene, as Librarian in residence, has a lot of responsibility, but has begun making friends, and continues to train Kai as her apprentice, keeping his Dragon heritage a secret. I was afraid we would be ‘stuck’ in this universe, since Irene was assigned to it, and wondered how the author could make it exciting, but trust me, we do not stay there long. That London has already told its story, and we’re going on a thrill ride threw new and exciting alternates, ramping up the excitement from the last book.

Kai’s been kidnapped, and it’s up to Irene to find him before the Dragons declare war on the chaotic worlds, or the Fae declare war on the dragons – whichever comes first. With the balance of the universe at stake, Irene has very little time, and very little help. While she continues with the support of both Kai’s uncle, Ao Shun, a powerful noble dragon, and of the library, she’s still alone and running head first into a chaotic universe. There’s going to be danger.

It’s so evident this novel was written by a book lover. While in the first novel we were introduced to the Library, an institution that collects and stores the most important works across all alternate universes, the sequel delves into the world of Fae, who feed off the drama they create amongst humans. Their lives revolve around story: how exciting is theirs? Irene is dragged in and out of the stories of so many Fae, making it near impossible to save Kai, though exciting to say the least. The care and importance Cogman gives to the love of Narrative really shows in her own work as well as the lives of the characters she creates. It’s a clever way of putting stories within stories.

And I just adore the locations. The Venice Irene visits is a perfect version of the place, like the stories you hear from friends: it’s always carnival, everyone’s in beautiful masks and riding gondolas around the city from expensive palace to cozy taverns. The High tech home of Kai, and the sudden trip to Marseille (mah home!) made me giddy and excited. And the Train… oh my gosh, the Train deserves its own book.

One thing I still don’t really like (same as in the first book) is just how much talk there is. Just in the sense that Irene has to talk out all of her ideas with others, going through every possible question and answering them. “Why did you do this?” “Why wouldn’t you do that?” etc gets tedious, and you wonder why she won’t just get on with it. As a reader, I can determine a lot for myself, and sometimes, it’s just better to move on. It’s just a stylistic choice I don’t really like, but it doesn’t make the book any less enjoyable.

But gosh, this is a fun series. The ending is a sharp cliffhanger and I’m so excited to read the next one ASAP. I love this universe, and I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about it!

Ink and Bone

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by Rachel Caine
Reviewed by SA

I won a giveaway! I could not believe it when NovelReveries and BerkleyPub told me I won this awesome book I had been dying to read for ages. I mean, it had me at the premise alone: a world where the Library of Alexandria never burned down. What the world looks like, today, when the value of a book exceeds that of a person. And it sure did not disappoint.

Summary20643052

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…

There is just so much going on in this book. Jess is a young book smuggler who joins the latest class of librarians in Alexandria in hopes of one day working for the great library… and of being in the right place when his father needs him.  He lives in a world where no one owns original books, only copies that exist through the codex – a bit like a kindle/internet thing – which exists through the work of Obscurists. The later are able to transfer contents of books from one place to another and keep the library running… but at what cost to real, physical books?

The author wastes no time explaining to us how the world is different: she shows us, right off the bat. There’s no long winded exposition, and the story flows naturally. I loved the fact that we slowly gleamed tidbits of how different history was as the novel goes on, without her saying anything explicitly. The world both feels foreign and yet completely likely… and relatable. Most of the countries we know exist, but England and Wales are at war, and Austria is no longer anywhere.

Jess himself is a great protagonist, as he’s still learning the truth about the library and his place within in. His perspective on things mimics ours: our disgust at the ink-lickers (My jaw was hanging in this very early scene) or oven his shock at the Burners are exactly how the audience would feel. But his views on the value of a book are a little convoluted, a little warped by the world he lives in. Are books really worth more than human lives?

Perfect world building in this novel. And you all know how much I love books about libraries! Plus, alternate histories? Completely my jam. Plus, no weird love triangles! What a fantastic read. Gosh, I loved it.

So I have to thank Berkley Publishing and Novel Reveries for organizing the giveaway and allowing me to read this fantastic book. I can’t wait for the sequel!