The Lost Plot

It would be easy to dismiss The Lost Plot and the entire series as fluffy fantasy involving a weird Library, dragons, Fae, and dimensional time travel, and in some regards this assessment is true. It is rather fluffy in that the stories are not literary in nature but purely entertaining. You are not going to learn much about history, life, or yourself while reading them. To dismiss The Invisible Library series, however, is to ignore all that is right with storytelling for Genevieve Cogman tells one hell of a story.

Like all good series, each story builds on the other. In this fourth novel in the series, we know more than we did about the Library. We understand Fae and dragon lands. We know about dragon politics. We understand Irene’s show more mission and her relationship with Kai. What The Lost Plot does is provide us with just a bit more knowledge about each of these areas to further solidify our understanding. Dragon politics is at the heart of this particular novel, and for the first time we see how Irene’s relationship with Kai and their relationship to the Library could be in jeopardy thanks to his family. In the previous novels, this was something hinted at more than explored, but now we get to see firsthand the high-wire act Irene has been performing to keep both Kai and the Library safe. Her willingness to do so speaks volumes about her feelings for her apprentice, and we finally see some movement in that area as well. In addition, the time spent in various dragons’ company affords us a greater understanding of their strict rules and hierarchy. Plus, there are mobsters, holier-than-though cops, and dragons flying around fighting each other. What more could you want?

After the heavy action in The Burning Page, The Lost Plot does feel rather slow and less informative than previous books. Yet, I suspect this was done for a purpose. There has always been more to the story than just Irene and Kai traveling to different lands to collect rare books for the Library. Book three brought us closer to understanding that overarching mystery, so book four is a time to pause and establish greater understanding of our heros and the political minefields that exist in their line of work. It is not a filler episode so much as it is a breather episode, there to remind us of simpler times when we first met Irene and Kai and to confirm all that we now know. All long-running series have such lulls in action, if you will, where the main story gets set aside for a bit while we reintroduce the characters, discover how much they have changed since we first met them, and get the chance to process everything that has previously happened. For any series to be successful, having this relative lull in the action is essential and welcome.

This is not to say that Irene becomes dull and safe in her efforts to fulfill her mission. It is rather the opposite in fact. If there is any impending danger, she will find it. If she can find a way to wreck havoc, she takes it. This is the Irene we know and love, the one who will do whatever it takes to keep her friends safe and complete her mission, the one who is afraid to jump but will do it anyway because she knows it is the only way. There is plenty of action and destruction to whet any Irene Winters fan.

After three books in the series, there is not much more to say except to remind people just how much fun it is. Irene is hilarious in her practical, no-nonsense way with her affinity for a warm fire, a snifter of brandy, and a pile of books at war with her propensity for danger and mayhem. Kai has a chance to shine on his own this time too, as we see him forced to make decisions without Irene’s guidance and apply his understanding of the politics at play to his decision-making. The Prohibition-era like version of New York City is amusing and adds an extra layer of intrigue to the whole story. The Lost Plot is immensely satisfying and thoroughly entertaining, as is the whole series. The only bad part is now having to wait yet again for the next book. show less

Real Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: After being commissioned to find a rare book, Librarian Irene and her assistant, Kai, head to Prohibition-era New York and are thrust into the middle of a political fight with dragons, mobsters, and Fae.

In a 1920s-esque New York, Prohibition is in force; fedoras, flapper dresses, and tommy guns are in fashion: and intrigue is afoot. Intrepid Librarians Irene and Kai find themselves caught in the middle of a dragon political contest. It seems a young Librarian has become tangled in this conflict, and if they can't extricate him, there could be serious repercussions for the mysterious Library. And, as the balance of power across mighty factions hangs in the balance, this could even trigger show more war.

Irene and Kai are locked in a race against time (and dragons) to procure a rare book. They'll face gangsters, blackmail, and the Library's own Internal Affairs department. And if it doesn't end well, it could have dire consequences on Irene's job. And, incidentally, on her life...

My Review: Quite extraordinary. This is a high-stakes story within the Invisible Library series. Many, many things have changed since book one and in this story the changes truly come home to roost in the attic. Action, excitement, and several passages of astonishing violence are the key drivers of events down surprising channels.

It isn't often that I finish a series read, immediately procure the next, and devour that one in a day. I did that for this series because I am besotted with the idea of the Library and its multiverse-trotting spy/burglar/diplomats the Librarians. I am even, if you can believe this!, completely okay with the presence of magic in the series.

I know, right?!

I who lift my brow, crinkle my nose, draw my lips into a sneer, at the merest whiff of majgickq, actually *approve* of the system invented and presented in this series. It's actually inexplicable to me that I am not having literary hives every time the Language is used and at each Fae sighting. What has happened to me? I'm putting it down to the revolting fact, recently revealed to me, that I share an ancestor with *gag* Tom Cruise *retch*, which blow to my self-esteem causes me spiritual pain.

The story in this book is, from the opening scene, one of peril and menace to Irene. She is most often alone to face her adversaries. Kai is, as a developing theme in the series, going to have to learn to take action on his own behalf. Irene's worries that she isn't teaching him the skills she possesses so much as grooming him as her sidekick have been woven through the stories. It's a sign of the character's deeply seated identity, created by a talented and careful author. I buy into the characters's reality in this really quite daft alternative view of reality because Author Cogman spent the time to think through these small moments of self-reflection.

The main action takes place in a Prohibition-like New York after Irene and Kai land in the ruins of a library in Boston. Readers of the previous book will appreciate the emotional impact of this venue, and readers in general will share the appalled horrified revulsion that Kai and Irene express at the idea of a soul so bereft of respect as to perpetrate vandalism on a library. (As an aside, I note that [author:Susan Orlean|45374] just published [book:The Library Book|39507318] which non-fictional take on the subject I ended up abandoning as it was too painful to continue reading.)

The local mob boss, Giorgio Rossi aka George Ross, has a lady sidekick-cum-enforcer, Lily. Lily knows who, more accurately what, Kai is on sight. That's because Lily is Fae, and despite her chosen position as murderous muscle for the mob, is really the brains of the crime boss's operations. Irene's somewhat bizarre (and wholly unintentional) cover identity as an English crime boss visiting New York to drum up new business piques Lily's interest.

Crime boss Irene is hunting a vanished Librarian straight into the clutches of two dragons operating without sanction in this bizarre, lawless New York. They're aiming to win an internal political battle by supplying their dragon queen with a special alternative edition of an ancient Chinese novel. (She's interested in a re-read of this novel, a fondly remembered diverting entertainment from her past. That procuring this book for her amusement causes numerous deaths and a vicious war between her subordinates is...uninteresting.) Irene's hunted Librarian, Evariste, is doing his dead-level best to accommodate one of the dragons by procuring the book because his daughter is being held hostage by the dragon's clever henchman. Kai and Evariste, separated from Irene, go off and procure the desired book...but who receives it and how aren't in the least sure until the moment the event occurs.

The climax of the hunt for the book, for Evariste, and for justice (and Justice) takes place in the Court of the Dragon Queen. As always when the extremely Order-centered dragons are involved, there is a price to pay for the lies one tells, and a price to pay for telling the clear, unmuddied truth. Justice and fairness each have their innings, though neither one takes the field in unsullied glory at the end of the proceedings. The guilty...everyone is guilty, that's the nature of the world, the multiverse in fact, but here we mean "those whose actions and inactions caused irreparable harm" by it...suffer, and the wronged are made as whole as Justice can make them. Irene is required to suffer her personal agonies in the search for and service of Justice served to violators of Order.

But there is, as there always is, a reason in Author Cogman's relentless and grinding tale of Truth's victims. And it makes the ending of this book so very, very special. I seldom laugh with exuberant happiness as I read endings. That is exactly what happened here.

Author Cogman: show less

Anybody who loves books simply must love Irene Winters and the Library. In this fourth installment of The Invisible Library, Irene once again finds herself tangled in a mess. The setting? 1920s America. The players? Two dragons who are keen to steal a book and win a place of honor in their court. What follows can only be madness and mayhem, as well as all the delights followers of Cogman’s series have come to expect in these books.

I would like to preface the rest of my review by confession a grave mistake. I have never read The Invisible Library. Or any of the books in this series. When I requested this ARC, I was short-sighted enough to miss the part where it said “fourth installment”. I want you all to know I am going into this show more review with no background whatsoever, because context is important. Ready?

I will admit, it took me a little while to get into the swing of things. The Language, for example, drove me bonkers until Amanda from Literary Weaponry explained to me that it was all well and covered in books 1-3 (again, I would like to repeat shame on me for requesting book 4). Once the plot was well and running and we were in the 1920s, I was completely on board. I always turn into the most obnoxious person about period books, so of course I found myself cross-referencing the internet to see if landmarks truly existed. If anyone is wondering - Genevieve Cogman does her homework. She has perfectly and brilliantly captured the Big Apple in the Jazz Age, right down to prohibition and women's rights.

It's not just the 1920s she gets right, however. We start in a rainy mansion surrounded by vampires, and that is properly dreary and troublesome. Followed up by the Library, which has a sense of dusty paranoia, all the settings are unique and striking. And the dragon realms are truly fantastic.

Irene is brilliant.

A particular highlight of this book was Irene getting up on a podium and lecturing about the evils of alcohol to stall for time. It's an amazing, hilarious scene and it's just such an excellent example of Irene's resourcefulness. Loved it. Irene is boisterous and clever, a perfect companion to Kai's cautious and reserved dragon personality. Really, I couldn't be more pleased. She's like Rey from Star Wars, like Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, and you really can't help but to love her.

Of course, not every book is perfect. Compared to Irene's shenanigans, I found Kai's scenes fairly flat. And that is unfortunate, because in the middle of the book Kai is actually following the proper storyline while Irene's episodes are filler. Is there something wonderful that makes fans fall for Kai in previous books? I was not entirely impressed.

Did I like it? You know what? Yes, yes I did. I really thought at the beginning I was going to end up hating it, but instead I got looped into Irene’s shenanigans. It was absolutely not what I was expecting.

I was also at a disadvantage, not reading the previous books, but with a little suspension of disbelief and acceptance of the fantasy elements, I'm not sure that impacted my read. I think it's safe to say anyone could pick up The Lost Plot and be enchanted by it. I'm definitely going to add the first book on to my TBR, because I am now invested enough in Irene Winters that I want to know her whole story. show less

Irene Winters já é minha heroína literária favorita de todos os tempos (ultrapassando Nicholas Hook e Harry Potter) e está cada dia melhor. Pode chamar de defesa corporativista dos bibliotecários, mas juro que não é: ela é incrível mesmo.

A escrita da Cogman é fascinante desde o primeiro livro. Clara e ágil, mas sem perder os detalhes. É um texto que trata à sua maneira de todos os temas possíveis - da denúncia social ao romance água com açúcar - de forma homogênea e a serviço da história, como as grandes escritoras sabem fazer.
Além da história em si, temos um universo absolutamente bacana e interessante, com diversas possibilidades de fazer inveja à Doctor Who. Também é legal quando exploram um pouco mais de show more sua relação com outros bibliotecários e com a enigmática Biblioteca.

Essa aventura no período da Lei Seca norte-americana, num novo cenário e com o protagonismo dos dragões ao invés dos feéricos, serviu para desmistificar os últimos como "vilões" da série - embora Alberich, o vilão "oficial" é de dar medo.

Na torcida para lançarem "The Mortal Word" o quinto livro da série, já que decidi colecionar a versão nacional da editora Morro Branco. Para a tristeza do Érico Assis não sei quem fez a tradução. Mais uma aventura divertida e bem feita. show less

This book was on all of my anticipated books lists of 2018 last year but I just lost track of it among all the other hyped novels, but I'm so glad I finally got the chance to get to it. Though I didn't plan this as part of my Five Star Readathon, I thought this would be a perfect book for the "Old Anticipated Book" challenge and it did not disappoint.

It's so much fun to see Irene in her element again. She is so calm, cool, collected and resourceful - it's just damn impressive. Her quick thinking in extremely tricky situations is always a delight to read and I love how she takes charge and everyone automatically listens to her, because she is just that assertive. Despite getting into all kinds of trouble, there is never any question that show more she is loyal to the Library but I admire that she still tries to make sure there is as less collateral damage as possible. But in this book, we also see a vulnerable side to her, especially when she sees the destruction of an entire library in Boston or while she is struggling with PTSD from the fiery ending of The Burning Page. It was nice to see that despite her confident persona, she is still human.

While the original trilogy was mostly about Irene and Kai trying to steal books and simultaneously dodging the all powerful rogue Librarian, this book finally gives us a better insight into the dragons - how their worlds and courts work, the various rulers and their politics and how best to deal with them. Pitting Irene against two competing dragon lords made for a very exciting story, because I really wanted to see how she was going to outmanuever them all. The setting of the story in 1920s Jazz and Prohibition Era America was a masterstroke - I love the descriptions of Boston and New York and the style and culture of the people. Having dragons, fae and librarians mixed up with police and gangsters made the whole ride quite thrilling. And I have to mention, Irene makes for an excellent badass mob boss.

Irene's relationship with Kai also goes through a lot in this book. Her struggle to remain neutral and not favor the dragons, while also finally acknowledging that she did indeed care for him was done really well. After all that happened in the first trilogy, I thought we would never see their relationship progress beyond friendship, but was I glad to be dismissed of that notion. This is one of the slowest burn ships you will ever read and I have to give it to the author that even now, at the end of the fourth book, she only gives us a possibility but no confirmation. I really hope we'll see more progress on that in the next installment. I really did miss Vale a lot in this book and I wish the 5th book will have more of the three of them.

This is an excellent series of books that any avid reader in love with the written word and a penchant for adventure will enjoy. And I'm even more excited because I got approved for the ARC of the next installment The Mortal Word and I'm ready for some more adventures. show less

We're back in the worlds of the Invisible Library: Irene Winter is meeting with a family of vampires resident in Yorkshire to make an exchange of books. Unfortunately, the vampires have other ideas and try making her an offer she can't refuse. In the course of which, we are told that Peregrine Vale (the Sherlock Holmes analog in this parallel) is part of a rival vampire family - which will no doubt lead to complexity further along the series. Escaping from the vampires, Irene falls in with a dragon who also makes her an offer she cannot refuse. Unfortunately for the dragon, Irene is well aware that she must refuse as accepting will break the Library's neutrality between dragons (scions of order) and Fae (scions of chaos). The offer she show more was made was to locate a book for the dragon which was part of a political contest between two dragons. It was claimed that the other dragon had secured the services of another Librarian to do so.

Returning to the Library, Irene was given a mission to find out what was going on, and locate the other Librarian and bring him in for questioning. Oh, and to locate the book (a version of The Journey to the West replete with political satire) and make sure neither dragon got it - not that the Library needed another copy anyway. Irene and Kai (her dragon apprentice) travel to a Roaring Twenties analog of East Coast USA with a tight deadline...

The usual fun and games ensue; we learn more about dragon politics, fae assassins, and Kai has to retire from his position with the Library to prevent further political complications - but not from Irene's life. This instalment felt lighter in tone than others in the series. It seemed to me that this book would have worked as a stand-alone; I suspect it's going to be a bridging volume between the initial Alberich story-arc and a subsequent story-arc.

Recommended. show less

Although there were points in this installment in the perils of Irene Winters that I was wondering whether Cogman had gone to the well one time too many, I personally liked that this story hung on the doings of the dragons and I liked that this story represents something of an advance in Irene's career. How so? Well, the reward for a dirty job well done is often another dirty job and Irene has the charming task of acting as an agent of Library Internal Affairs to discover the truth as to whether another field agent has gone rogue. If you've enjoyed the series previous to this book you'll enjoy this one too. I do wonder how much Classic Trek's "A Piece of the Action" was an influence on the main setting!