There are so many things to like and say about Genvieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series, which continues with the release of the second book, The Masked City.
Regular readers will remember that I wrote a blog post about Librarypunk as a new subgenre. You can read that post here. At the time, I had just read Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine and wrote about Jim Hines’ Magic Ex Libris series. (And Jim, if you are reading, I would die for a Smudge of my own. Can you reach into a book and get one for me? Please?)
Now I’ve read the first two books in this new series and I think it is safe to say that Librarypunk is not an emerging subgenre anymore. It has fully arrived.
Our heroine, the scrappy and intelligent Irene, is a Librarian who can use Language (notice the caps) to shape the world around her. Her job is to go to different alternate universes, often very similar to o
urs, to retrieve books for the Library. The Library hoards the books-(they may object to my language) ahem–collect books that are unique, have some potential to add new words to the Language and which can anchor a world to the Library, creating stability. I said hoards above because while the Library is presented as an institution for the greater good, it is clear to the reader that the Library’s aims may be darker, murkier, or simply way-laid by a few who have selfish aims. Irene is going to reveal that to us, I am sure, by book 3.
I loved the choice of the name Irene from the first because I guessed, rightly, that it was chosen as an homage to Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes. Irene in this world plays with master sleuth Vale, who I honestly would love to have a meal with.
But the thing that has happened here that makes Librarypunk a Thing, is the evolution of the main character. Irene is not just a lover of books, or one of a chosen few that can use books as a portal to somewhere. No…she is a superhero! She’s Jason Bourne crossed with Wonder Woman. She is a super spy, trained in the art of coming and going without being seen, speaks at least 5 languages in addition to the Language, and she fights like a bad-ass. You gotta love her. And smart! This woman is clever folks, as you would expect given her namesake.
It took me a bit to get into these, I will admit. The beginning of the first book had a lot to do and I didn’t feel like the series picked up its pace until further into the book when Irene is on the way to travel to the alternate where the story occurs. So be patient with it, but dive in, give it a try. And if you have girls that love to read, give the books to them too. It’s good for them to see book-worm super women.
