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The Invisible Library

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The Invisible Library

By: Genevieve Cogman
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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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

 Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Historical Science Fiction Magic Paranormal Emotionally Gripping England

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Critic reviews

I absolutely loved this ... flavored with truly unique mythology and a dash of the eldritch. Such clever, creepy, elaborate worldbuilding and snarky, sexy-smart characters (N.K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth series, including The Fifth Season)
A dazzling bibliophilic debut (Charles Stross, author of the Laundry Files, including The Atrocity Archives)
It's a breath of fresh air ... with a companionable heroine in Irene, and a satisfyingly complex plot, The Invisible Library - the first of a series - is a book in which to wallow
Written in a similar vein to Deborah Harkness's All Souls trilogy ... Contemporary meets fairy-take in this novel
Cogman writes with a vivacity and wittiness that breathes new life into the genre . . . Reminiscent of the works of Diana Wynne Jones and Neil Gaiman, Cogman's novel is a true treat to read
Surrender to the sheer volume of fun that appears on every page...thoroughly entertaining
Fantasy doesn't get much better ... If you're looking for a swift, clever and witty read, look no further
This witty and spirited adventure sets up a potential gold mine of lore for the writer to plunder in future sequels ... a fun and original page-turner
Highly entertaining ... It reminded me a lot of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series
The Invisible Library is everything I could ever want out of a book . . . a stunning work of art that has me absolutely begging for more
Hits the spot straight from the opening page ... one of the most pleasurable debuts of the year
An adventure story to delight the heart . . . The characters of Irene, her companion and those they encounter are vividly drawn, and the story moves along at breakneck speed to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion
A book that was a sheer joy to spend time with ... solid prose alongside great pace
Cogman's dialogue is clever and funny, and her characters delightfully flawed. With this book she has crafted an exciting, fast-paced introduction to a world you will yearn to revisit ... Books such as The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games series are paving the way for stories like this
A mix of Doctor Who, Fringe and The Librarians . . . Genevieve Cogman has crafted a well-paced, smart and fun novel that will certainly be a quick read for most people
The Invisible Library is currently at the top of my list of favourite books read this year . . . so much fun
Cogman's debut is a tremendously fun, rip-roaring adventure with protagonists that are easy to love and a setting that couldn't have suited my tastes better ... I can't wait for the second instalment
I've seen it compared to Doctor Who, I'm sure it'll be compared to Harry Potter, and it'll probably get compared to every Anglophile novel full of vim and fun that's ever been written. These comparisons will all be well-earned
All stars
Most relevant
I have long enjoyed this series of books, but sadly, like many others, was put off buying many of the first Audible versions thanks to a poor narrator. I hate being so negative about a person who will have done their best, but it was a shame the narration let down the overall audio version.

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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This book did not quite take me out of my comfort zone but it certainly took me down an unfamiliar cul-de-sac. I’ve read stories of the supernatural, magic, magical realism, historical crime…you get the idea, but I’d never read anything in the Steampunk line. And, all in all, it wasn’t unappealing. I will admit that it took me a while to warm to the style, simply because I found some of the narrative a bit consciously ‘ironic’. I didn’t understand why points of high tension were undercut with what seemed to me mistimed levity. It didn’t seem funny, merely facetious. Having said that, I totally acknowledge how subjective humour is — one man’s meat is another man’s poison, and all that… What I did discover was that the action and adventurous elements of the novel more than made up for my slight annoyance with the off-kilter tonal shifts.

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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Fun, exciting and kind of sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lovely to find new fantasy books to listen to while renovating my home.

Action filled Victorian steampunk

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Listens like this make me wish audible had a 'Young Adult' warning label as this one felt disappointingly teeny... It isn't terrible, but it isn't very gripping either. It has some interesting points which would make it fun for some readers I am sure, but not for me. A fairly original premise but plot and characters just fell short for me. I'm sorry to say I just couldn't be bothered to finish and have given up with a couple of hours left. Narrator is fine. Maybe I just need some time away from gentle fantasy...

Interesting concept but bland young adult novel

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Halfway through I decided I had enough. Lots of people are raving about the narrator, but it really didn't work for me. She was so over-dramatic and her Kai-voice annoyed me from the start. I don't like not finishing a book, but I was not enjoying it at all, so I admitted defeat.

Couldn't finish it

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