The Masked City: The Invisible Library, Book 2

I loved the first book in this series, The Invisible Library, and was incredibly excited to read this one. After devouring it in one sitting, I can safely say that the sequel does not disappoint.The story begins with Irene and Kai going about their business as Librarian-in-Residence and her assistant when the story opens. There is a small time lapse between the end of the first book and this one, however I believe that it shows how the characters have adapted to their new situations. After a successful book retrieval mission, Kai is kidnapped and the real story begins.As Irene is forced to negotiate with dragons and Fae alike, the reader is given an in-depth view of the world that builds upon the foundation established in the first novel. It was very interesting to see how Irene navigated the world of the Fae, using their own magic to her advantage (well, most of the time). This book takes us far outside of the sphere where Irene and Kai have made their home and it is utterly fascinating to see the contrast between the dragon and Fae controlled spheres.Much like the first novel, Irene accomplishes her goals using mostly her intelligence with a little help from magic. I think what I enjoyed the most about this book is that the damsel in distress trope was given a role reversal. The male dragon was taken captive and was powerless to escape on his own and Irene had to undertake a quest to free him.Overall, this was a highly enjoyable book and I would highly recommend it (although I do suggest reading the first book in the series first as it establishes the world and relationships present in this novel). As for the ending, it made waiting for the third book in the series slightly torturous.

If you haven’t read the first volume in this series, then … what are you waiting for? You’ll find my review here:https://www.amazon.com/review/R3A42HO9DSJ5HC/[SPOILERS]This second volume is again a fun romp, full of ideas. Irene’s dealings with the Train are especially clever. But this volume also suffers from some flaws the first didn’t have:1. Info dumps. The first volume did a great job at weaving into the story a great deal of background information. The second volume doesn’t have as much new information to communicate, yet it does so more blatantly.2. Repetitions. The same information gets repeated, often more than once. Sometimes we get several versions of the same info dump. Sometimes Irene reports the same events to different characters. It gets tiring.3. The characters do stupid things to facilitate the plot. Right from the start, Irene and Kay, who’ve been attacked already, then warned they were in danger, decide to split for no good reason (just so that Kay can start reporting to Vale first before Irene joined them, which could only save very little time—and there was no countdown involved at this point of the story). Of course, one of them gets kidnapped. <sigh> And toward the end, Irene lets an enemy inch closer and close to her, during negotiations. Of course, the enemy ends leaping at her. And after beating this enemy, she and Vale let her leave unharmed after she swore to take revenge; Irene even unlocks the door for her! This enemy is a Fae, and if they didn’t want to kill her, they could at least have forced her to promise she would not seek revenge, neither directly nor indirectly, through neither action or inaction. But no. They let her leave, just so she can come back in another book to threaten them and their loved ones.4. Information gets forgotten. At some point near the start, Vale and Irene discuss Kay’s kidnapping (I like this passage a lot: it *shows* that both characters are smart) and conclude he couldn’t have been kidnapped by his family for several reasons, the clinching one being that a Fae was involved (as Vale found out) and that no dragon would work with a Fae. But then, surprisingly, Irene and Vale get back to discussing the “Was Key captured by a member of his family?” hypothesis, then Irene delivers the same hypothesis to her supervisor (never mentioning Fae involvement), and then again to Kay’s uncle (again, never mentioning Fae involvement).5. The Language (the “Librarian magic”) gets broader and broader, its limitations vaguer and vaguer. At some point Irene mentions she could just tell a knife to leap to the eye (or heart? I can’t clearly remember) of her enemy, since she knows his name. So why didn’t she do something like that in past, similar circumstances? Also, she did show she could tell an object to find another (or a place). So, can’t she also do the same with a person? Does it mean that no one she knows the name of can ever hide from her? Why didn’t she even try to use this power to find Kay?Wow. It sounds like I hated the book, doesn’t it? I didn’t. I still intend to read the next opus in the series. But yes, I must admit, after the first volume, I expected better from this one.

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 is the second novel in the Invisible Library series - and it's best to read them in order so if you've not read the first yet, start there. This picks up several months after the first finished. Our heroine, Irene, is an operative for an inter-dimensional library, complete with magical type powers and plenty of street smarts. Her job is to steal rare books - rare as in unique across the numerous alternative worlds. She is assisted by her handsome apprentice, Kai, who just happens to be a dragon in human form.The action kicks off straight away with Kai being kidnapped in the prologue. Distraught, Irene abandons her post in order to chase across several worlds in a dangerous rescue attempt. There's plenty of excitement throughout, and the chance to find out a bit more about the conflicting forces of Irene's universe - the dragons and the Fae. I can see Cogman's logic in wanting a storyline in which Irene rescues Kai, given that much of the first book involved the reverse. Kai is also an extremely likeable - even loveable - character and the reader's concern about his fate will keep them reading into the night (at least I did).The downside of this set up is that Irene and Kai are separated for most of the book, depriving us of the interaction between the two that was such a strong feature of the first novel. The two bounce off each other well, with dialogue that is funny and entertaining, all spiced up with a strong undercurrent of unresolved sexual tension. A couple of other characters return - Vale the detective, Irene's supervisor Cordellia, and the Fae ambassador Silver. The main antagonist from the first book is missing, as is the character of Bradamant which I thought was a bit of a shame. But with a long series planned Cogman has plenty of opportunities to bring people back in later instalments.Overall, this is another great piece of fantasy adventure fiction. On one level it's daft and full of clichés, but it's well written, exciting and I'm totally hooked. It's pure escapism and great fun. It's also refreshingly funny and doesn't take itself too seriously - although it has some surprisingly emotional moments as well. If you enjoy this genre of book, you will be sure to love this series.

Irene is is settled as librarian-in-residence in the Victorian steampunk London from the first book. She's settled there with Kai as her assistant and their friendship with Peregrine Vale has strengthened. It appears, however, that they may have become a little too relaxed as they acquire a new book for the library and are unexpectedly attacked.The pair manage to overcome the aggressors but Irene dismisses a feeling of being watched from the rooftops as mild paranoia.. she ought not have!The pair later separate so that she can deliver the book and Kai meet up with Vale but the Fae are at work, and a new powerful couple have arrived at the Embassy creating problems for Lord Silver who is keen to get rid of them. When Kai disappears and fails to meet Vale Irene has no choice but to delve into Kai's family background to prevent the destruction of Vale's world in retaliation. She binds herself to find and rescue Kai from the Fae which is no light undertaking.She's going to have to try and hide in full view in an alternate world where chaos reigns supreme. She's also only got 24 hours before Kai is auctioned to the highest bidder. Can she save him and prevent a war that will destroy multiple world's as the Fae try to wrest control from the dragons.Fast paced, gripping and thoroughly enjoyable read. You can easily immerse yourself in Cogman's tale as she captures alternate worlds their cities and people with precision. Feel the emotions of her characters as they are thinking on their feet under the pressures of the library, chaos and the glamouring powers of the Fae. Let go and experience Irene's adventure with her, Cogman makes it a joy!

If anything I would say that Masked City is better. I've recently studied creative writing as part of a degree and the biggest downside of viewing writing as a craft is that you start to pick holes and notice things. Invisible Library, while thoroughly enjoyable, was off key occasionally, it had bits that I felt were weaker than the author was capable of. This is entirely subjective of course, ultimately I enjoyed Invisible Library a lot and I wanted to get back into the universe/multiverse of the story as soon as I finished it. The Masked City filled that need and I was quickly absorbed back into the characters and moreover the settings. It is a great fun adventure that is easy to read and enjoy.I finished it with a flourish and immediately ordered the third, only to realise (with a sigh) that it won't be published until December. Regardless of this, if you want something a little steampunky, light and easy, with wellimagined settings and increasingly complex characters then Genevieve Cogman has something for you and the trajectory suggests they are getting better each time.

Irene is now Librarian in the world of her previous adventures, ably assisted by Dragon Prince Kai. But then Kai is kidnapped by an ambitious Fae, and taken deep into the chaotic worlds where the Dragons can’t rescue him. Irene goes alone, without the blessing of the Library, but with the dubious help of Lord Silver, to effect a rescue, knowing that if she fails, the Dragons will destroy the world from which he was kidnapped.This time round, the plot is less about finding and stealing rare books, and more about finding and stealing away a captive Dragon. Kai’s role is passive: to wait to be rescued; Irene has to traverse the dangerous world of Fae Venice, disguised as a minor Fae, without knowing even the location of his prison. We get further world-building as we learn more about the Fae and the Dragons, and how they work. Irene’s adventures will win approval of the Dragons if she succeeds, but that of her beloved the Library is another matter…

After reading The Invisible Library I was looking forward to this second volume of the series in which Library Agent, Irene Winters, faces another challenging mission in alternative worlds. Her handsome apprentice, Kai has been kidnapped and taken to an alternative Venice ruled by the Fae, therefore rampant with chaos.Unaided, she must rescue Kai, before the Dragons, lords of “order,” declare war with the Fae. Setting out to find him before it is too late, Irene makes unlikely alliances with a group of followers of important Fae patrons, as they travel on an incredible train which can move between worlds. Adopting a carnival mask and an all covering cloak she attempts to move around the dark alleys and gloomy canals of Venice, incognito, but she constantly finds herself in increasing danger from the evil Lord and Lady Guantes.The city is described in rich detail, maintaining its reputation for murder and fear. Irene is a bold, creative agent who uses her story telling powers to create narratives which bend reality to her purpose. Her powers of using the Library Language to open locks and change the state of matter, help her in her task, but cause her pain and exhaustion. This colourful story is full of vivid images of the iconic buildings in Venice and the sumptuous mythical train, which are a delight to read. Although all the essential background story is given, you will gain most by reading Book One The Invisible Library first.