TheDark Archive

I absolutely loved this . . . flavoured with truly unique mythology and a dash of the eldritch. Such clever, creepy, elaborate worldbuilding and snarky, sexy-smart characters!Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one’s fool, she has a wonderfully droll sense of humour – much like the novel itselfBrilliant and so much fun. Skullduggery, Librarians, and dragons – Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!a fantastic addition to Genevieve Cogman’s oeuvre, and paves the way for a deeper exploration of the fantastic world that she has created.Cogman fills a captivating story with animated characters and propels the narrative at a cracking pace, planting perfectly timed plot twists and reversals of fortune along the waySimply a joy to read - deeply atmospheric where it should be, properly exciting when anything's going on as it generally is, and tender too. This is a series that shows absolutely no sign of losing pace, and I'm already impatient for the nextWithout sacrificing the adventure that is a hallmark of the series, Cogman pulls Irene through a multilevel maze of doubts and paranoia that will have readers jumping at shadows, too. Fans will be delighted to find this series still going strongReturn to the world of dragons, Fae and Librarian spies in this action-packed instalment of the Invisible Library series. Librarian-spy Irene finds herself in hot water, as a mysterious killer pursues her across an alternate Victorian London.

A mysterious archive. A powerful enemy. And a cunning plan.

Danger is part of the day job for a Librarian spy. So Irene’s hoping for a relaxing weekend. However, her jaunt to Guernsey proves no such thing. Instead of retrieving a rare book, she’s almost assassinated, Kai is poisoned and Vale barely escapes with his life. Then the attacks continue in London – targeting those connected with the Fae-dragon peace treaty.

Irene knows she must stop the plot before the treaty fails. Or someone dies. But when Irene and friends are trapped underground, in a secret archive, things don’t look so good. Then an old enemy demands vengeance, and a shocking secret is revealed. Can Irene really seize victory from chaos?

The Dark Archive is the seventh book in the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman.

Praise for the series:

'I absolutely loved this' - N. K. Jemisin, author of The Fifth Season

'Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one's fool' - Guardian

'Brilliant and so much fun. Skullduggery, Librarians, and dragons – Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!' - Charles Stross, author of the Merchant Princes series

Genevieve Cogman started on Tolkien and Sherlock Holmes at an early age, and has never looked back. But on a perhaps more prosaic note, she has an MSc in Statistics with Medical Applications and has wielded this in an assortment of jobs: clinical coder, data analyst and classifications specialist. Although The Invisible Library was her debut novel, she previously worked as a freelance roleplaying-game writer. She is also the author of The Masked City, The Burning Page, The Lost Plot, The Mortal Word and The Secret Chapter, all in the Invisible Library series. Genevieve Cogman’s hobbies include patchwork, beading, knitting and gaming, and she lives in the north of England.

The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman is the perfect read for book-lovers everywhere. It's a fast-paced adventure – think Doctor Who, but with Librarian spies. Reviewers have also found a dash of Discworld and Jasper Fforde, a hint of Sherlock Holmes and a great deal of humour.

The first novel in the series, The Invisible Library, introduces Irene and her assistant Kai: a pair of librarian spies on a mission to retrieve a dangerous book from a parallel world. In an alternative version of Victorian London – where magic runs rife – they soon find that the book they seek has already been stolen. Cue a whirlwind quest down a rabbit hole of forbidden societies, twisted plans, new friends, old enemies and the occasional dragon. What could possibly go wrong? Irene and Kai’s (mis)adventures continue in The Masked City, which takes them to a sinister version of Venice, and then in The Burning Page and beyond things really start to heat up . . .

‘Brilliant and so much fun. Skulduggery, Librarians, and Dragons - Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!’ – Charles Stross

‘A breath of fresh air’ - Guardian