Review: The Lost Plot

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These are solid, well-written books with a protagonist who solves problems with courage and intelligence, despite occasionally wishing that she wasn't always the one who had to fix things.

You need to read them in order, really, to get the most out of them, though each has a separate story problem that's solved by the end.

Their big weakness, which I've mentioned before, is that it's never quite clear what the magical Language can and can't do, so it operates as a plot convenience - but that's less obtrusive here than in some of the earlier volumes. Most of the problem-solving here is Irene using her ability to bluff and/or negotiate with scary beings, whether they be fey assassins, 1920s-style New York gang bosses, or dragons. She has the near-impossible task of extracting a fellow Librarian who's been blackmailed into working for a dragon while maintaining the Library's status as a neutral force, something that would be a lot easier if she had fewer scruples about collateral damage.

The pacing is gripping at times, the challenges varied and ingenious, the editing nearly impeccable (so it doesn't distract me and bounce me out of immersion), and all in all this is a high-tier recommendation from me.

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