The Lost Plot: Genevieve Cogman (The Invisible Library series Book 4)

Be warned - start the Invisible Library series and you could find yourself addicted. There was me, a boring sensible thirty something professional, who innocently read Cogman's debut novel. Two weeks later I've completed this one, the fourth (and currently final) in the series and have pre-ordered the fifth. I left work on time for once to finish this novel (and I never leave work on time). I then sat on the train crying over the penultimate chapter. That's what these books are like - once you've got into them, you're hooked.If you love escapist novels that capture your imagination and take you away from your boring life for a while, you can't do better than these. I thought I was too old and serious these days to get swept up by a story about dragons, elves and alternate worlds but it turns out I'm not. If you miss the days of poring over Harry Potter and longing for the next instalment, this might fill that gap. I might even dare to say this series is better. Cogman's novels are adult books (not in the explicit sense, just in the maturity) without losing that joyful sense you get with the early Potter books. There is emotional depth to her writing, but she's also very funny.Irene, the heroine, is a wonderful creation, as is her assistant Kai. And as always they meet an array of interesting, vivid supporting characters. In this novel the unresolved sexual tension between Kai and Irene is ratcheted up to an almost painful level, as is the underlying emotional pathos. They seem as doomed as Romeo and Juliet, and not just because as usual everyone is trying to kill them. Their mutual best friend, the detective Vale, is almost entirely absent from this book - something that might be disappointing for some readers, although not for me as he's my least favourite. Lord Silver, a key role in the three previous books is also missing. It seems that Cogman rotates her supporting cast - even the more major members - between books.Some reviewers have grumbled that the longer-term, overarching plot - concerning Irene's mysterious past and how it relates to arch-villain Alberich and the nature of the Library itself - doesn't get much advanced here. I don't mind that as what we got instead was some good character development of Irene in particular, which was really satisfying. Cogman makes a brave decision at the end of the book to make a fundamental change to the status quo - something I was quite surprised she did so soon but I trust her to make it work and it should keep things fresh. With what is happily looking to be a long series - at least 8 books are now confirmed - the grand unifying plot has to be brought out very gradually.The setting of this book - 1920s America - is different from the previous three, and unusual for a fantasy novel. One of the clever things about Cogman's concept is that she can send her characters anywhere and any time, which hugely increases her options. The plot is typically twisty and has a more political theme to it. As I say, there's a sense of doom underlying the plot that has nothing to do with peril to Irene's life (that's just a given in these books) - this time something she arguably fears losing much more is at stake. I found it the most compelling of the four for that reason. We know that Irene is going to survive (or there wouldn't be a book 5) - but readers are always aware that she and Kai can't carry on their partnership forever and so there was a much greater sense of threat for me here.So to sum it up, if you like fantasy adventure, stop reading Amazon reviews and get reading this series!

Cogman gathers them all up and inserts her characters seamlessly. Irene is aware that the Dragons and Fae are heading for peace talks and The Library must as ever remain neutral but when the Queen of the Southern Lands, Ya Yu, loses a key minister and sets two of her subjects, Jin Zhi and Qing Song, a challenge to retrieve a copy of "The Journey to the West" there's a risk to The Library's neutrality.Julian, the Librarian-in-residence, died a month ago and Everiste his former apprentice who went to clear out any traces of The Library has gone missing. Has he compromised The Library's position and gone rogue or is there a genuine reason behind his disappearance?Irene finds herself in a difficult position when Jin Zhi asks her to obtain the book and her working relationship with Kai is definitely not making it easier to prove that The Library favours no-one.Irene sets off to find the missing Everiste and a fast paced, action packed adventure begins with gangsters, mob bosses, fast shooting Fae and plenty of twists and turns. Can Irene talk herself out of this one?

This is the fourth instalment in the Invisible Library series, centred on junior librarian, Irene, and her student, Kai, who happens to be a dragon in human form. The Library steers a delicate line of neutrality between the dragons and the fae, careful to take neither one side nor the other in their rivalries and confrontations (not quite all out war) but it seems that there's a problem. If, as suspected, a librarian is helping a dragon to fulfil a quest for a certain book, the fae are not going to like it, and that could endanger every librarian in the multiverse. Irene and Kae are sent to track the miscreant, or, at least, find out what's going on and stop it. Their destination is a version of 1920s America with its gangsters, speakeasys, and cops. It takes Irene and Kai a while to find their feet, find their librarian (Evariste) and try and lose the cops who believe Irene to be a high level gangster from England. There are twists and turns, successes and setbacks and a double climax as Irene and Kai try to prevent two dragons from destroying that world. The characters are well drawn, the action twisty and intriguing and Irene has to do some quick thinking to preserve the Library's neutrality without getting herself, Evariste and Kai killed in the final showdown. Tightly written and exciting. Highly recommended.

A return to form for Ms Cogman after a slightly weak book 3. This the fourth Invisible library story is a fabulous read. Set against a background of a power struggle in the world dragons, one of the three groups spanning many parallel universes along with the fae and the librarians. Librarian Irene and her assistant are sent to sort a mess caused by a single book in a world that resembles prohibition era America, complete with the wide lapels and gangsters. While avoiding getting the Invisible Library tangled up in the politics of the Dragons. An entanglement that might be seen to upset the delicate neutrality of the Library in the greater power struggle between the forces of Chaos (the Fae) and the forces of Stability (the Dragons).Loved it!

I love this series, and I think this book was one of her best. Though my favourite is still the first, possibly because the whole world was so new and exciting rather than because the plot was the best. And the ending to this fourth in the series did not disappoint and sets up a whole new dynamic for Irene and Kai. I am waiting to find out who Irene's parents really are and this book does not take the reader on that trip. But the world of the dragons is dived into further and Irene, as usual, is a stunning heroine. I love her because she is clever, pragmatic, powerful and while doing a job that requires copious lying is still full of integrity. And with Kai as her sidekick, she can and does take on the worlds with a wry sense of humour.