The Masked City (The Invisible Library Novel)

This hasn't happened to me in a long time, but I'm loving this series. I enjoyed this, and the first book, and I've already got the next one. I'm gonna wait a few days before diving into the next one, but it's on my TBR for the surrounding month or so. All my favorite characters from the first book are back, except one, but she seems to be replaced by a mentor character and I'm cool with that. Though, I do hope I get to see the missing fre-nemy at some point in the series. There were some other female "friendships" introduced and I enjoyed those as well. I'm also glad to see that more world-hopping occurs in this book. I was slightly disappointed in the assignment our Librarian was given at the end of the last book, fearing it would keep the story too centralized to one location in a world designed to take the reader on many intoxicating journeys, but this book did not disappoint. Again, I can't rave enough about the MC of this story. Strong female character is only the beginning. I like her vulnerabilities because she finds reasonably practical ways to overcome them. She doesn't have to pretend to be so tough that nothing bothers her, she lets things bother her before she moves on and forward anyway. Plus, I enjoy any story where a woman gets to rescue a man, especially when it is not done in an emasculating way. She does her part to the get guy "safe" and then has no problem stepping aside to let him do his thing to help them both, but of course, there's more to the story. My original thoughts about the male characters are about the same; however, after this installment is hard not to be a little more in love with Kai. The detective is still nice and all, but his old fashion ways keep him a bit at arm's length, for me. I see him as a father figure constantly, if not reluctantly, willing to learn the ways of the youth. It really does help that he has Batman-like detective skills going for him. Two things I was not expecting to be so delighted by were the train and the description of the different clothes. I could say more, but I think I've done a good job of not giving too many spoilers, so this is where I stop. Highly recommended to fans of high urban fantasy, book lovers, mystery enthusiasts, and fans of intricate worlds with diverse characters.

COGMAN, Genevieve. The Masked City (The Invisible Library Novel). Ace. 2016. 384p. $16 (pb). COGMAN, Genevieve. The Burning Page (The Invisible Library Novel). Ace. 2017. 368p. $16 (pb). Having read and enjoyed novels 1 and 4 in The Invisible Library fantasy series, I ordered numbers 2 and 3: The Masked City and The Burning Page. The Masked City is set in an alt-Venice, despotic Council of Ten and all, in a world so heavy in chaos (vs. order) that it weakens Librarian Irene's apprentice, the (order oriented) dragon man Kai and almost poisons their human associate, the Victorian era Sherlock Holmes act-alike detective Vane, who will be plagued by the chaos taint he picks up in book 2 when he gets to book 3. City is about the kidnapping of Kai by a Fae husband and wife team seeking to use the kidnapping to drag Fae and dragons into a cosmos-rending war. Irene again saves the day but has to pay a penalty (again) for rashly crossing the Library's boundaries of proper (= cautious) behavior. The Burning Page is set, for the most part, in an alt-Napoleonic era Russia. Irene has to cure Vane of his chaos-infection, which is slowly but surely driving him mad. She has again (the first time was in The Invisible Library, 1) to battle against the rogue Librarian Alberich, powerful, dangerous, and vindictive toward Irene for having been foiled by her once before, as Alberich tries to destroy the entire Library. Again, there are Fae and dragons, vampires and werewolves, complicated doings and one after another close shave, but Irene, one of the most attractive and enjoyable heroines in modern fantasy fiction, never ever gives up. There's even romance, Irene's attempts to resist her attraction to not one but two desirable males, Kai and Vale. The better of these two books is The Masked City. For some reason, Irene's continuing battle with Alberich wears thin on me this time around. But the other characters -Kai and Vane, the debauched Fae lord Silver and creepy, scary Alberich-are winners, as is, especially and always, Irene. This is what I wrote in my review of the other two books in the series. It still holds true: "This is one of the best -and best humored-fantasy series I have come across in seventy years of reading them. Cogman can write, she can plot, and does milieu and atmosphere exceedingly well. If she continues this way, and it's clear she intends to write more of her Irene and Kai adventures, she could well become the P. G. Wodehouse of fantasy fiction, than which I have no higher praise."

This has been another great read, absolutely on par with the first book with even more action, world-building that goes deep & lots of fun. The story picks up where it left off at the end of Book #1. Irene works as Librarian-in-Residence in an alternate, steampunk, Victorian London with Zeppelins, Faes, werewolves & most importantly Peregrine Vale (an alternate Sherlock Holmes with better-developed social skills, lots of money and a title). When Irene's assistant, Kai (incognito royal dragon, youngest son of the King of the Eastern Ocean) is kidnapped by some Fae, it has far-reaching political consequences. A threat of war between Fae and Dragons is looming over all alternate worlds and humanity would be the loser, not to mention that Irene's position in The Library=her whole existence may be at risk. So she is willing to make a pact with the "devil" or in this case the notorious Fae of the alternate London, Lord Silver, who has his own agenda in assisting Irene. Thankfully, Irene remains the awesome MC she was in Book #1: still level-headed, sensible, funny & "normal", though there are some hints that activate my special-snow-flake radar, but no cause for red alert yet. It is also delightful to see that both Kai and Vale (and even Lord Silver) respect & value her without her having to prove herself to them or to anyone else. We get a whole lot of information concerning The Library, the Dragons and The Fae, which is intriguing and you end up wanting to learn even more.

Adorando o livro.

I enjoyed this more than the first book. It developed the characters a little more and gave more information about the Fae, Dragons and the Library.

I stumbled upon the Invisible library by chance and immediately continued on to the second novel, as I was looking for a new fantasy series with a different twist, and it's exactly what I found. The characters are developed in few words but well and the plot is interesting although it appears simple in the beginning. I recommend it and am looking forward to the 3rd book.

A good fun read, never a dull moment, all completely improbable and fantastic - perfect for quick escape from reality! The ending left me eager for the next installment but I'm afraid I'll have to wait a while for that...

The whole idea of an Invisible Library that exists in between parallel worlds is fascinating, as is the rescue of rare books from these various worlds. The combination of Fae chaos and more organized worlds makes for very interersting adventures. And the representation of Venice in this book is wonderful. The description of Piranessi's 'Carceri', the way to reach them, what happens in them and how they eventually get out is one of the best parts of the story. The fact that there are dragons that can take on human form, ad the characters themselves make the series very worth reading, and giving as presents. Together with Pedro Urvi's series of The Ranger, the best fantasy fiction I've read in a very long time. Highly recommendable!