WOMS: The Untold Story

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Since Evie Dunmore’s The Gentleman’s Gambit isn’t due for another…five months, my next WOMS review is for the conclusion of a series I’ve read but not written about before except to mention how quickly I fell in love with its charms.

The series is none other than Genevieve Cogman’s The Invisible Library.

Obviously, as I’ve said before, I’ve loved reading this series, but why?

Could it be the crossover elements between historical, fantasy, and sci-fi fiction embodied in the various settings the characters can travel to at any given moment as they navigate their multi-universe? The alternate version of Sherlock who teams up with the series main protagonist? Is it that one of the other main characters is a dragon, which in turn means the series features dragons frequently? Or could it be the main character who is a librarian, quiet and meek, wants nothing more than to curl up by the fire with a good book, but is constantly being dragged away to fight in some other battle, fierce and daring behind her deceivingly demure countenance, ready to challenge any foe who threatens the stability of their multiple worlds?

Probably all the above.

Cogman’s characters are easy to love (or hate), which makes her stories all the more fascinating to devour. The different worlds they traverse are equally as dynamic and exciting, the adventures they get swept away in thrilling to the last page.

If like me you read through all of her books within the series, by the time you reach her final (for now) installment, The Untold Story, you know the end is nigh as Irene and her friends must face the threat which has grown throughout the series—primarily in the form of the true identity of her biological father—and no longer can be ignored.

However, the ending caught me by surprise—almost. As if Cogman didn’t want Irene’s story to end, but she knew this part of her tale needed to conclude. She said as much in the acknowledgements section, which helped. Now this isn’t because the ending was horrible or a cliffhanger. Far from it! Rather, she beautifully tied up the loose threads which she had woven throughout the preceding seven books, but did it in such a subtle, clever way as Cogman naturally writes you don’t realise the end is coming until it’s arrived.

Though I anticipated it looming before me, reading it did not feel as grandiose as the epic proportions of finality as within a Sarah J. Maas book. Like Irene, like Cogman, the story just…ended. Sweet, simple.

When I finished the book, my first reaction was, “Oh, that was lovely. What a perfect ending to a series.” As if I had just finished a scrumptious cake or some other treat, not the last book in a series I’ve craved from start to finish. It wasn’t until hours later the finality started seeping in and I realised that was THE END.

And now I’ve begun to understand just how perfect it actually was.

No fuss, no frills. All the main characters in one piece; the nemesis and villains all vanquished; peace and order restored; and so they all return to life as it was, ready to begin again, should they be needed.

As Cogman eloquently says, in her own words,

Stories are like that. They’ll wait for you until you can come back to them.”

Genevieve Cogman, The Untold Story

Which only makes me feel as if I’ve fallen in love with Irene’s story all over again, knowing she’ll be there, waiting for me, whenever I’m ready.

It’s books and characters like these I find rare in today’s literature, and I’m so glad to know there are authors out there—like Cogman, who are writing stories like Irene’s—that we might become friends through sharing in their adventures.

I wonder what adventure Cogman will take us on next.

Have you read The Invisible Library? How far have you gotten in the series? What about The Untold Story? What did you think about Irene’s final battle? Let me know in the comments below!

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