Genevieve Cogman: The Invisible Library series
Whether you are new to the wonderful world of Genevieve Cogman's fantasy book series The Invisible Library or already a fan, here’s an introduction to the series and all of the books in order.
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Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series is a rollicking series of adventures taking in parallel worlds, magical creatures, trans-dimensional librarian spies and of course the titular library. If you need more convincing after ‘trans-dimensional librarian spies’, then read on. Below is a little more information on The Invisible Library series.
For more inspiration, discover our edit of the top fantasy books here.
What’s cooler than a book? Loads of books, aka a library. And what’s cooler than a library – how about an invisible one, maintained and curated by parallel world and dimension-hopping librarians?
That’s essentially the setup for Genevieve Cogman’s fabulous eclectic urban fantasy series – The Invisible Library. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as the books being donated to the Library. Protagonist Irene is a professional librarian spy, ‘liberating’ unique and priceless versions of books by whatever means necessary. And this is absolutely necessary because the stability of all alternate worlds is at stake. Alternate versions of Earth exist on a spectrum from order to chaos, and books are one of their main stabilizing influences. Sometimes the only way of keeping a world safe is to steal, beg or borrow a unique book from that world, and take it to the Library for safekeeping. This powerful link can stop a world from descending further into chaos. Or prevent order from becoming too rigid.
Irene is often in great danger, performing essential ‘book acquisition’ missions. But, she must also manage her enigmatic and insouciant assistant Kai, and a potentially devastating cross-world rivalry between the fae or fairy forces who root for chaos, and their dragon rivals who strive for order . . .
Alternate earths (and their timelines)
The conceit of The Invisible Library series allows Irene (and others, including a few less savoury types) to hop between different fascinating time periods. These range from prohibition Chicago to revolutionary Paris. And needless to say, each book involves threats such as countering nefarious plots, sinister masterminds and dastardly politicking. Each world in this series is balanced somewhere between Chaos and Order. The worlds affected by chaos feature magic – think werewolves, supernatural elements and stories coming to life. And worlds influenced by order feature technology, science and rules.
The main setting in The Invisible Library books is Victorian London, where technology is starting to become a part of everyday life. When chaos begins to reign this technology starts to behave strangely (here’s looking at you, robotic centipede). Creatures of the fae can manifest. That means vampires, werewolves and the like. But, the kicker here is they’re more likely to be attending masked balls, or to be newspaper magnates, than prowling the city’s alleyways.
There’s a thrill to be had in parsing the bizarre rules or inverted power structures of a new alternative world. And of course, plenty of fun to be had following Irene and Kai’s attempts to navigate them too, usually with a little less discretion than their orders recommend.
Dragons vs. fae
While as neutral as possible, The Invisible Library tends to get wrapped up in the larger, cross-world power struggles between the fae, representing chaos, and the dragons, representing order. When the natural order of things in a timeline has gone awry – due to an over-reliance on technology or some deliberate meddling – fae beings, who thrive on disorder and intrigue, can manifest. The dragons are a more secretive lot in general, preferring not to get involved in things unless strictly necessary. But, their mutual machinations, peace treaties and general meddling in the affairs of mortals provide a constant through-intrigue for Irene and Kai to try and resolve.
Both sides are full of charisma too. The dragons are, without spoiling anything, far more erudite than your regular fantasy thugs. And the fae – comprised of a wide range of elfin cads and less glamorous beings – are delightfully evil.
The Library itself
It delights with its strange transport systems, bizarre filing methodologies and its own form of office politics. The Invisible Library and its denizens are such a fascinating hub, that it’s always slightly sad to depart it for other worlds. This is a sentiment Irene definitely shares with the reader. Whispers also waft through the halls of a malicious and sinister ex-librarian – the mysterious Alberich – whose shadow grows larger as the series goes on.
Irene
Indeed, Irene’s ethical dilemmas are a subtle subtext running through the series. She must consider what responsibility, if any, The Invisible Library has to the worlds whose texts it plunders. And should a Librarian indeed remain neutral, retrieving their assigned texts and leaving without a trace – even when worlds are crumbling around them?
It’s the tension of these dilemmas, that make Irene such a great heroine. Irene’s quick-thinking, her willingness to improvise and her awareness of how her own actions might influence her protege Kai are all wonderfully drawn.
Where do I start – and finish?
The Invisible Library series does benefit from being read in the correct order, however each book is a self-contained story and the author takes pains to introduce the world again in each volume. Nevertheless, the politics between the various factions, the relationship between Irene and Kai and the Library’s backstory do form an overall story arc, too.
The Invisible Library series book in order
The Invisible Library
by Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library is the astouding debut by Genevieve Cogman, and the first novel in The Invisible Library series. Professional spy Irene works for the mysterious Library, along with her enigmatic assistant Kai. Their mission is to steal a dangerous book from an alternative London. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen . . . To make things more complicated, this alternative world is infested with chaos, full of supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic.
The Masked City
by Genevieve Cogman
In the second book in The Invisible Library series, Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when Kai goes missing. When she discovers he's been kidnapped by the fae faction she must travel to a dark, alternative Venice to save him and avert Armegeddon. For Kai's dragon heritage makes him an enemy of the fae people, and they are determined to start a war.
The Burning Page
by Genevieve Cogman
In the third book in The Invisible Library series, Irene is on probation, so she needs to keep up standards, and absconding from a mission definitely won't look good. But with her escape route gone up in flames, what else can she do? Soon she finds that gates back to the Library are malfunctioning across dozens of worlds, and her nemesis Alberich is responsible. Irene and Kai are posted to St. Petersburg to fight this new threat – will they be able to save the Library?
The Lost Plot
by Genevieve Cogman
The fourth book in The Invisible Library series is set in a 1920s-esque America. Prohibition is in full force and Irene and Kai find themselves caught in the middle of a dragon vs dragon contest. A young librarian is involved, and if they can't extricate him the Library will face serious political repercussions which could even trigger a war. To avert a crisis, Irene and Kai find themselves in a race against time to procure a rare book . . .
The Mortal Word
by Genevieve Cogman
When top-secret peace talks between the dragons and the fae are interrupted by the murder of a key diplomat, Irene is summoned to a version of 1890s Paris to investigate. Accusations fly thick and fast in the fifth book in The Invisible Library series. Can the librarian spy and her detective friend Vale track down the killer before it's too late?
The Secret Chapter
by Genevieve Cogman
Irene has a new mission – the world where she grew up is in danger, and there's only one book that can save it. The book belongs to the secretive fae villain Mr Nemo, so Irene and Kai travel to the Caribbean to strike a deal. But in exchange for the book they must steal a painting from Vienna, teaming up with dragons, fae gamblers and thieves to do so. And this isn't just any painting – it hides an extraordinary secret from a past age . . . The sixth book in The Invisible Library series is Ocean's Eleven meets James Bond with just a pinch of magic.
The Dark Archive
by Genevieve Cogman
The Dark Archive is the seventh fantasy book in Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series. It's hard to have a relaxing weekend when you're a Librarian spy, and despite her best hopes, Irene's trip to Guernsey is nothing of the sort. Instead of retrieving a rare book, she's almost assassinated . . . When the attacks continue in London, it's clear someone is trying to destroy the Fae-dragon peace treaty. Irene and her friends know they must save the treaty, but when an old enemy demands vengeance and a shocking secret is revealed, can Irene really succeed?
The Untold Story
by Genevieve Cogman
The eighth book in Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library fantasy series is her most compelling yet. Spy-librarian Irene is hurtling headlong into danger. Her perilous mission is to eliminate an enemy, and secrecy is key. But even as she tries, many worlds are vanishing – and the Library may be to blame. Irene must descend into its dangerous depth in order to uncover the truth . . .
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Scarlet
by Genevieve Cogman
Revolutionary France is no place to be, especially for aristocrat vampires facing the guillotine. But the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel are determined to rescue them. And they have an ace up their sleeve: Eleanor, a lowly maid from an English estate with a striking resemblance to French royalty. For Eleanor, the League and their legendary deeds are little more than rumour – until she’s drawn into their most dangerous plot yet. Revolution's a bloodthirsty business . . . Scarlet is a thrilling reinvention of the tale of The Scarlet Pimpernel with the addition of magic and even more mayhem.