About the Book
-
Author:
- Genevieve Cogman
Cover Story: If It Ain’t Broke …
BFF Charm: Single White Female
Talky Talk: Detective Fiction
Bonus Factor: Fae
Relationship Status: Long Haul
Danger, Will Robinson! The Mortal Word is the fifth book in the Invisible Library series. If you have not read the first four books—The Invisible Library, The Masked City, The Burning Page, and The Lost Plot—turn away now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. If you have read the books, however, feel free to continue below. As this is a review of the fifth book in a series, there will likely be a few spoilers.
Cover Story: If It Ain’t Broke …
I’ve said it before (a few times), but I dig these covers. They’re not the prettiest things, but they really work well with the series’ content, and tie nicely with the library theme.They also each include nods to the plot of the particular book, as evidenced by the very Paris Metro-like linework at the bottom of this specific one.
The Deal:
After risking her life for the dragons, Irene deserves a little downtime. But the life of a Librarian is never a slow one. When Bradamant, Irene’s mentor-turned-enemy-turned-begrudging-friend, shows up at the home of Peregrine Vale, Irene’s colleague and the Best Detective in (his) London, asking for help solving a murder that could have dire implications for a secret dragon-Fae peace treaty. After sending Kai back to his family (to avoid raising unnecessary questions of allegiance), Irene and Vale travel to an alternate Paris that’s struggling under the dual influences of the chaos-driven Fae and the orderly dragons. There, they meet with acquaintances both new and old, all of whom must work together to solve the case. It’s only the security of the multiverses at stake.
BFF Charm: Single White Female
Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. But Irene’s is just so damn cool. Not only is she a badass spy whose career is traveling through different universes stealing rare books, but also she gets to meet cool and unusual people and/or paranormal creatures. Sure, she frequently finds herself in life-threatening situations, both her own and the lives of those she loves, but she’s well-trained enough to get out of them (mostly) in one piece. I dig the idea of her job even more than I dug the idea of being an astronaut back in high school, and I went to college for a year thinking I was going to be a mechanical engineer*.
*Damn you, Physics for Engineers, for dashing my dreams.
Swoonworthy Scale: 1
There’s long been a tenuous chemistry between Irene and Kai, but Irene’s consistently pushed it down because of their Librarian mentor-mentee relationship. The events of The Lost Plot saw that relationship change, so I had high hopes that something would happen in The Mortal Word.
I won’t say exactly why, but I was sorely disappointed. I’m giving this a 1 rather than a 0 because there was a little swoon, but not between the right characters, and comes about for very different reasons.
Talky Talk: Detective Fiction
Although Vale’s long been a part of Irene’s story, until The Mortal Word, he more often took a supporting role, offering advice and confidence on Irene’s other situations. In The Mortal Word, he’s sought out specifically to help, and though he’s still very much a secondary character, the book is more in line with his specialities (i.e., Sherlock Holmes-style investigation) than the typical high-stakes adventure. This made the book feel slower-paced, on the whole, than the rest of the series. (But there were high-stakes bits, don’t get me wrong.)
Bonus Factor: Fae
I talked a little about Cogman’s unusual dragons in my review for The Lost Plot, and I’d be remiss not to mention her unusual Fae, too. The Fae in The Invisible Library aren’t your typical faeries; instead, they’re narrative archetypes. They embody stories, and their lives and powers are controlled by the limits of the story they are.
For example, there’s a Fae character in The Lost Plot who’s called The Princess. She is the embodiment of pretty much every fairy tale princess ever, utterly nice and often naive. When she exerts her power on humans, they find themselves wanting to serve her (like knights) or sweep her into their arms and protect her from all harm.
It’s a really fun twist to the norm, and it fits wonderfully in Cogman’s book-centric universe.
Relationship Status: Long Haul
I was a little let down by certain things this time around, Book, but you can’t get rid of me that easily. I still love getting lost in your words, and the love we share for books is a bond that can’t easily be broken.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Ace, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. The Mortal Word is available now.
