The Dark Archive (The Invisible Library: Book 7)
by Genevieve Cogman
This has been a thoroughly entertaining series and the
latest book is one of her finest. Action, mystery, Fae villains (and allies,) Dragon
royalty, The Library, snarky comebacks, precise descriptions, some surprises –
it’s a perfect diversion for the winter months.
“Irene began to descend the stairs, her mind whirring
with possible plans. A pity that so many of them ended up in And then he
shoots me.”
Irene is a librarian but not your archetypal one – she’s
also a spy tasked with gathering books from different worlds to hold in The
Library, which helps balance the worlds of order with worlds of chaos.
In Cogman’s world, or worlds, there are humans, which includes librarians, Fae who are chaotic, and Dragons who represent order. There are a multitude of worlds, exactly like the Earth, that can be traveled between. Events on the worlds often diverge at different points in the timeline.
There is a truce in force between dragons and Fae, and the librarians are the neutral party. Here, Irene is tasked with trying to find a way to get her young apprentice, Catherine, a Fae, into the library. Her mentor, Coppellia, tells her it is necessary, but it seems impossible.
Meanwhile there seems to be an assassin on the loose and nasty little mind controlling metal snakes that remind me of a particular Doctor Who mechanism.
There’s a strong steampunk feel to this series as most
of the worlds we visit tend to be during a time period in the mid to late 1800s
and largely British, though the technology can be more modern.
The return of many favorite characters,
including Detective Vale and Inspector Singh, as well as a few key villainous
suspects make for an entertaining clash. I highly recommend this adventure for
some fairly light reading.
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