The Invisible Library
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Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Kristin Atherton
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By:
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Genevieve Cogman
About this listen
One spy. One dangerous book. One deadly mission. Discover the first book in this gripping fantasy mystery series – The Invisible Library is the astounding debut from bestselling author Genevieve Cogman.
Perfect for fans of Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair or Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.
'I absolutely loved this' – N.K. Jemisin, author of The Fifth Season
Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, whose staff are sent to different realities to harvest dangerous and mystical fiction.
Irene has been posted to an alternative steampunk London along with her enigmatic new assistant, Kai. Their mission: to retrieve a dangerous edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales. But it has already been stolen.
In London's underground, the laws of nature have been bent – supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic stalk the land. The city is home to vampires, werewolves – factions that are all prepared to fight to the death for this book.
Irene must face a web of deadly danger, deception and secret societies. Her new assistant is hiding secrets of his own. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake . . .
Continue the journey with the adventurous second title in the Invisible Library series, The Masked City.
Praise for the series:
'I absolutely loved this' – N. K. Jemisin, author of The Fifth Season
'Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one's fool' – The Guardian
'Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!' – Charles Stross, author of the Merchant Princes series
Critic reviews
Now the early books are being re-released using the narrator who took over reading the later books in the series, and the difference is amazing. Truly, having better narration lifts the whole book to a much more enjoyable level.
The book is a mix of emotions, from fun moments, yet it has twists and turns, and leads you into a world that engages you. A great fantasy novel for those days you want something easy to listen to, but with enough meat to the storyline to not be too boring or too cliched.
A new narrator gives the story a huge boost.
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The characterisation was strong. Irene and Kai are a strongly conceived pairing with sexual tension simmering between them from the outset. The mystery and detective elements were also well crafted, as was the moral dynamics surrounding the themes of honour and loyalty, trust and ambition. The world building was original enough for me to remain interested when normally the exposition demanded of the fantasy genre in this regard has me skim reading.
The novel and perhaps the Steampunk genre, as new as I am to it, seem to have the Young Adult market firmly in mind — both the language and content are definitely on the demure side. If I’m honest, it was a little too modest on the Irene and Kai intimacy front, if you ask me. Still, it’s jaunty enough for those longer in the tooth to enjoy too.
Suffice it to say that if you’d asked me a third of the way through the book if I’d read the sequel I’d have replied with a definite negation; ask me now that I’ve finished and the answer is a sincere affirmative.
Narrator was good too.
It grew on me.
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Action filled Victorian steampunk
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Interesting concept but bland young adult novel
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Couldn't finish it
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