Genevieve Cogman

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• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I think that's honestly a bit too wide a question for me to give a useful answer - there are so many ways of writing rpg material, and so many ways of writing fiction... I agree that with rpg material,...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Well, Irene is the result of more than just her school. Fortunately for her. And nostalgia is always golden when everything's currently trying to kill you... (I was at boarding school myself, but it wasn't Hogwarts or the Chalet School...)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I'm afraid I don't know what the Brass Baboon is or was, so probably not an influence. Sorry about the e-reader footnote issue....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I don't think that there's a specific Mary Gentle influence, though I have a number of her books on my shelf. Then again, the "Invisible College" isn't exclusive to her, excellent as she is. Try your sister on Black Opera?...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  It does explain Irene's language training, doesn't it? (Depends what day of the week it is - I can only manage to discuss it on English days...)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  You are absolutely correct, CPickersgill. Irene did indeed go to the Chalet School. Or at least a version of the Chalet School. Have a cookie. Have two. (conceals shelf full of Elinor M Brent-Dyer from her misspent youth)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Sorry about any addictions, and I'm glad that you had fun with the setting....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  It is one of those games where the GM and players have to come to an understanding about relative power levels and game balance before things start, to avoid much pain and argument later....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  It's an excellent game. ;)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  None specifically intended, but given how much I like crossing over multiple settings, I certainly wouldn't stop anyone else from envisaging it. :)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Thank you very much!...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Also some Orpheus, some Exalted, a bit of Vampire... It's very flattering to know that you would have liked to play it. Thank you!...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  There does indeed come a point in every GM's life where she has to hit the table with the hardback, metaphorically speaking....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  To be honest, my all-time love is Amber the DRPG. But you do need players who are willing to run with the story and be prepared to hose their characters, and who won't be too abusive to the minimal system....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Librarians would rather not go insane, generally speaking. It is inconvenient for one's to-read list....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I'm not saying it's impossible, but personal suitcases of books are more likely. Or perhaps of precious gems or jewellery (to give an example of something easily transportable) to boost one's bank account and allow for more convenient living, bribes,...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  No problem. Linguistic conceits are fun. The Librarians are aware of Borges and the "Library of Babel", but nothing seems to have reached the infinity point so far. Everything is still finite, or at least, everything that has been found...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  The key thing is indeed stories....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Interesting concept, SFreader, though possibly beyond the current state of science in my alternate worlds. (For the moment, at least.) Librarians vary with how good they are at cryptograms and whether or not they enjoy them. Most of them are...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I'm sure there are alternate worlds out there where even if Ogham was primarily written on sticks, it wasn't necessarily destroyed. And that the Library has collections of sticks from that world. (Or possibly collections of transcribed Ogham which had...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Okay, I'm having to consider some things there that I hadn't necessarily worked out the full implications of, so to quote Bujold, The Author Reserves The Right To Have A Better Idea: Ogham would work, if what was written down...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  paws4thot is right - the collected books/etc have to be different in some way. A book warehouse containing lots of different books might (just) work as a gate to the Library. A book warehouse containing thousands of copies of the...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  They do have to be physical records, KineticLensman. Simply telling the stories orally won't work. And there has to be some sort of doorway. Of course, the question of "which came first - the Library, or the library-structures which give...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  I'm afraid you've lost me, sorry....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  The life of meta-Librarians is strewn with literary thorns. (For what it's worth, my father always told me that the name "cogman" comes from the old term "cog", meaning "boat" - thus, "boat man"...)...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Thank you! The Name of the Rose was certainly an inspiration, and the gentleman with thistledown hair may or may not have been an influence, but in any case I love Susannah Clarke's writing. That question of yours about pre-literate...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Thank you very much! (Librarians do have that problem too. The only ones who really have the leisure to sit down and read as much as they want are the elderly or injured ones who've retired to the Library itself...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Library clothing varies, given all the cultures it draws from. Assume the standard principle of "bland or tasteless article of clothing I didn't particularly want to receive" holds universally....
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Any Librarian moving stuff around has to take it through the Library. The suggestion of moving herds of sauropod dinosaurs through the Library generally fails to meet with approval from senior Librarians. (So, basically - personal suitcase of stuff, no...
• Commented on The Invisible Library and its perilous Christmas obsessions
  Though possibly with fewer pairs of socks....