The Cartographers

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Author: Peng Shepherd
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pub. Date: Mar. 2022 (read Apr. 2022)

I was super excited when I first read the synopsis and saw the cover art for The Cartographers! Everything about the blurb appealed to me and I was stoked to jump into this one. Since its release, it’s getting some pretty mixed reviews, which I can definitely understand. It’s a very compelling story and there’s a lot that I liked about it. Initially I gave it 4 stars, but upon closer reflection, I have to admit that parts of the book are pretty flawed and that I loved the premise of the book more than the execution, so I decided to bump my review down to 3 stars. Still a great read, but not everything it could have been. So let’s talk about it.

The Cartographers features protagonist Nell Young and opens with the death of her estranged father. He passes away at work and when the police notify her of the incident, she discovers a map hidden in his office and sneaks it away with her. She quickly discovers that despite the unassuming nature of this cheap gas station map, it appears to be extremely desirable and is the only remaining map in existence. A shadowy group called the Cartographers appears to be after the map and Nell is quickly catapulted into a mission to unravel the maps secrets before the dangerous cartographers find her.

Sounds great right? It is. I found the writing to be pretty fast paced and the mystery super compelling. There’s a fantastical element to the story as we discover some of the secrets that maps can hold and slowly get answers about who the Cartographers are as we unravel Nell’s family history. I loved the idea that maps can be portals and that some places exist only within the maps on which they are shown. I got totally caught up in the story, in solving the mystery and exposing the secrets.

Unfortunately, as smart as the premise of the plot is, the execution and backstory are so flawed that it does take away from my overall impression of the book. Without getting into spoilers yet, a lot of the characters make questionable decisions, portions of the story are left unexplained, and the ending is perfect and messy in a way that doesn’t really make sense. We are introduced to a lot of characters, but many are left only partially developed. The premise of the plot is excellent, but it’s left unsupported by weak characterization and themes.

I would still recommend this book because of how fun it is. It really captured my imagination and it is very fast paced and I found it hard to put down. It’s just not quite as good as I believe it could be and beyond the extremely creative premise, I felt the author lost that creativity in telling the rest of the story. So I’d still encourage you to check it out, but for now, I’d like to jump into the spoiler part of the my discussion because I want to further explore some of the plot points and would love to hear opinions from others who have read the book.
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My main criticism relates to the Cartographers and their motivations. I feel like Shepherd created this wonderful idea of having the errors on maps become real places and I loved the discovery of Agloe, I just didn’t understand the choices the rest of the characters made. I didn’t understand why Nell’s mother opted to stay in Agloe for 30 years. Actually, I understood it in theory, it’s more that I didn’t believe it.

I didn’t believe that her motivations for deciding to stay in Agloe were strong enough. To say she is hiding from, or afraid of Wally is unfair. While he did become an extremely unstable character, I believe this was mostly due to his grief and ongoing fanaticism about the map. Had Tam simply left Agloe and not been presumed dead, he would not have spent 30 years trying to get back to her and I believe the combined effort of the Cartographers could have managed and support Wally in his grief. Instead they stood idly by for 30 years – allowing Wally to become more and more unhinged and permitting a young girl to grow up without her mother. This is selfish and irresponsible. I could excuse some of the Cartographers since it was only Daniel that knew Tam was still alive, but together Nell’s parents are a bunch of idiots.

Secondly, I didn’t believe any sane individual could stay in a fictional town for 30 years. The perceived danger wasn’t real, but even if it was, what person wouldn’t risk it to be with their husband and daughter. There’s no way Tam would still be sane after 30 years in a make-believe town, but clearly she wasn’t sane to begin with if she thought self isolating for 30 years was a good idea.

So all of the decisions made by the Cartographers were based on this flawed fear of an unhinged individual that they themselves created. It just wasn’t a good enough motivator for me to understand of empathize with their decisions. Tam made the decision to abandon her daughter and Daniel made the decision to ruin her career and slander her. What kind of life are they even trying to protect for Nell? A life where she is estranged from her family and forced to work in a dead end job, never having known a mother or father’s love? What is even the point? Leave Agloe and burn the map. No one should love cartography this much.

Tam being alive explains the motivation for hiding the map for so long, but honestly I thought this book would have been a lot stronger if Tam had actually died in the fire. It would explain why the rest of the Cartographers repressed the entire ordeal out of grief and I would have understood better why they hid it from Nell. Tam being secretly alive for 30 years just made me mad about Nell’s abandonment and weakened the premise for the rest of the story.

Anyways, overall this is leaving me thoroughly confused about the book. Like I said, I can’t deny I had a lot of fun reading it, my frustrations are mostly because I thought it could be stronger and I was sad to end the book feeling disappointed when I wanted so badly to love it. I didn’t quite understand the ending, but it was a wonderful blend of magical realism and I would read it again in hopes of picking up on some other subtleties about how the map magic system works. If you want to enjoy it, you just have to be willing to accept the story for what it is. A great idea, just maybe not perfectly thought out. 3.5 stars

Deathcaster

Rating: ⭐⭐.5
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Mar. 2019 (read Feb. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #4

I’m a bit torn on how to rate this book and I think I’m somewhere between a 3 and a 4. I still flew through it – loving all the different characters and relationships, but I thought the plot could have been a little stronger. I was still really engaged in the story, I just wanted a more!

It was nice to finally see some resolutions between characters and some new relationships forming. As always, I think Chima writes interesting and flawed, but relatable, characters. Lyss and Hal were probably my favourites of the series, but I also really liked Lila and had a bit of a soft spot for Destin. I liked that he was introduced as a bit of a villain in Flamecaster, but turned out to be really nuanced and even though he’d done some questionable things, you still really wanted to root for him.

So the series still gets full points for characterization, but let’s get into where I thought the plot suffered. I have two main complaints – the first is about pacing and the second is about where the importance of the story was placed.

A lot of information was revealed in this book. Chima holds on to a lot of secrets throughout the series. I think it’s a huge bonus when a series has an overarching mystery that continues throughout each book. But I also think it’s important to provide some answers and closure to other mystery elements as the series progresses. I think Chima held on to a bit too much information and as such, the story felt a little overwhelming at the end, with too many things being tied up too quickly.

For example, we have to wait through this whole series to find out who attacked Ash in the first book, what the Darian brothers are, who was behind the attack on Lyss, and who the mole at court is. When everything is finally revealed, the answers just feel a little anti-climactic. The plot elements weren’t necessarily large enough to carry this mystery through 4 books and I was left feeling disappointed by the answers. I think the individual books would have benefited had Chima given up a little more information earlier in the story.

That said, there were some elements where I think it made sense to string along your readers for 4 books, namely with the mystery of Celestine and her relationship to Jenna, Breon, and Evan. Which brings me to my second criticism – how Chima chose to frame the story around these 4 “casters”, but then didn’t really give their story the airtime if deserved.

The books are named for 4 individuals. I’m assuming that Celestine was ‘deathcaster’. Every thing about Celestine and the north islands and her dynasty is shrouded in mystery. We don’t know who she is or what her tie is to any of the other characters. We can tell she is seeking more power and represents a big threat to the realms. But Chima holds out on the significance of these individuals until the very last minute and then throws in a couple of (in my opinion) poorly cobbled together explanations of their relations and then quickly defeats the empress in a chapter. I was left not really understanding who the empress was or why she was so powerful, and then disappointed at how easily she eventually seemed to be defeated. It just left me wondering what bearing she really even had on the story, except providing enough of a threat to the realms to finally mend the relationship between the Fells and Arden. I just wanted SO MUCH MORE.

Like I said, overall I still loved the series. It just felt rushed and I felt we were still left with some unanswered questions. It wasn’t totally clear what happened with Raisa and Han and I would have loved a little more time devoted to Aedion and the healing of this family the reader has grown to love. Still a fan though and I am planning to read Chima’s first series, which I’m pretty sure is now the only one I have left. 3.5 stars overall – disappointed I never got a 5-star book out of this series.

Stormcaster

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2018 (read Feb. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #3

Stormcaster is where the characters all finally start to catch up with one another and we get an idea of where the story is really going. I’ve read a lot of reviews from people that think this is the strongest book of the series, but I think I still preferred Shadowcaster over this one.

Stormcaster starts out with yet another character POV, Evan Strangward. We’ve been introduced to Evan in other books, but here we finally get to learn what team he’s actually on and all about his history. Plus we finally get to learn more about Destin Karn! Evan and Destin feature heavily in the first 100-150 pages of the book, which I thought was really strong and exclusively tells Evan’s story, before Chima finally commits to the multi-POV book and starts alternating between all of her characters. We finally get to return to Ash, Hal, Jenna, Lyss, and Lila, but with so many characters constantly changing and with the plot going in so many different directions, I feel like not a whole lot was accomplished in this book. It was a relief to finally get the merging of stories, but in my opinion Stormcaster felt like a bit of a filler book with just enough action to progress the story. I still loved it, but I was left feeling the tiniest bit disappointed.

I don’t have a whole lot more to say about the plot; the characters continue to be the highlight of the series for me because there is no shortage of complex and interesting characters. I’m excited to see what happens in the final segment – but find it hard to believe so many character arcs and plot threads can be resolved in just one more book!

Shadowcaster

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2017 (read Jan. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #2

Okay, this book was awesome! I loved the story and the characters and I’m super into this series, but I thought it was a really interesting choice in execution.

Flamecaster focuses on two characters: Ash and Jenna, with a strong supporting cast. Picking up Shadowcaster is almost like starting a completely new book because suddenly Ash and Jenna are nowhere to be seen and we have new protagonists: Lyss, Hal, and Breon. I really liked both books, though I might give a slight edge to Shadowcaster, but it was a little disorienting to be separated completely from all the characters you spent the first book bonding with and have to build a bunch of new relationships. Especially when the first half of this book completely overlapped with the timeline of the first book. So even though we didn’t know the specifics, we pretty much knew what was going to happen. I kind of wish these two books had been combined to make one big book with many POV’s. Although I can see how a 1000 page book would be daunting to readers, but I could still see it working as 2 books with multiple POVs.

Anyways, that was the main flaw I had with this book. I still thought the storytelling, plot building, and character development were all excellent. I fell just as much in love with the characters in Shadowcaster as I did with the characters in Flamecaster and I excited to see them all together. The first half of the book was on the slow side because we were missing some of the tension because we ultimately knew what was going to happen, but the second half was a thrill!

I love Lyss and Hal! Not necessarily as a couple, but definitely as individuals. I wasn’t really into Ash and Jenna’s relationship in the last book and I while I felt Lyss and Hal’s could still have been drawn out a bit more, there was definitely more tension and less instalove. Though I could do without Hal constantly mooning over how Lyss “isn’t like the other girls”. But I did love Lyss!

Lyss’ story isn’t a story that hasn’t been told before, but I still loved it! She’s bold and brazen, but also caring and respectful. One of my favourite scenes was when she refuses to run off and start a war without first consulting the queen. I was totally expecting her to run off and make mistakes and ultimately be a hero, and it was cool to see her instead acknowledge another woman’s power. Then when she overhears her mother talking to Captain Bryne, again I thought she was going to run off and be reckless in revenge, but instead she just calls her mother out on lying to her. It was very mature and I loved how honest she is throughout the book. I don’t believe for a second she’s only 15 though. I’m not really sure why Chima insists on having all her characters be 15-16 years old. Literally none of these characters act like 15 year olds and I think the story would be a lot more believable if they were all in at least their early 20’s.

Anyways, despite my criticisms, I still loved this book and I’m already 100 pages into Stormcaster. A quick browse through the next book looks like we finally get to return to some of the characters from both books, but the first 100+ pages is still about yet another new character, so I guess Chima might have struggled to structure this series differently. Multiple POV stories definitely have a very different dynamic than 2-3 POV stories and I feel like maybe she was trying to avoid a confusing epic with too many characters and too complex a plot. Structured as is, the plot is still pretty easy to follow because we only focus on a few stories per book.

Flamecaster

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genres: Fantasy
Pub. date: Apr. 2018 (read Jan. 2020)
Series: Shattered Realms #1

I read the Seven Realms series about a year ago and loved it, but I knew something bad was going to happen at the beginning of this series and I couldn’t face it after becoming so attached to the characters in the first series, so I didn’t jump right in.

After returning from my 5 week vacation, I wasn’t feeling super motivated to read, so I decided it might be easier to return to a world I was already familiar with. It was a great choice because Flamecaster gripped me right from the first chapter! I found the Demon King pretty slow and it took me a while to get into it, so I was expecting a similar experience with Flamecaster, but Chima had lots of action packed into the first few chapters and I was immediately drawn in to the story.

Flamecaster is set in the same world as the Seven Realms, but a generation later. Our protagonist is Adrian sul’Han, or Ash, son of our heroes from the previous series. When something bad happens at home, Ash feels forced to flea and takes up residence at Oden’s Ford, learning to be a healer and wizard. In another part of the realms, Jenna is forced by the Arden Empire to work in the mines in Delphi. Her hatred of the king motivates her to join the rebellion, but a strange magemark on the back of her neck draws the attention of those she’d rather stay away from and she finds herself hunted for it.

I don’t want to say too much else about the plot for those that haven’t read the first series. Everyone warned me that you must read the Seven Realms series before the Shattered Realms series, but I disagree. This book is easy enough to understand without having read the first series, I’m just not sure why you’d want to skip the first series. The Seven Realms series is great, as is this one, so why not read them in order!

I really liked falling back into Chima’s writing. She’s definitely an accomplished writer and I enjoy how smart her plots are. I’ve read some reviews that this is a slow burn book, which in a way it is, but I was never bored and I loved the natural progression of both the plot and the characters. I love how you’re not sure how you’re supposed to feel about some of her characters and that her questionable characters are just as intriguing as her protagonists. Lila was a real favourite for me in this book and I’m dying to learn more about Destin Karn. We get a glimpse at the end that there’s something else going on with him and I can’t wait to learn more.

The only part I didn’t totally love was the romance. There’s not a lot of romance in the book, but I think the romance that is present came on a little too fast. I do enjoy a bit of romance in my fantasy books, but tension is key. I like watching the natural progression of a romance throughout the course of a novel or series, and the anticipation and build up. This book had very little romantic tension and I really struggled to buy into the characters attraction.

But otherwise, this book gave me the perfect amount of resolution and intrigue at the end. Luckily for me I don’t have to wait a year for the next book, but had I read this when it first came out, it would still have been a satisfying ending. Can’t wait to see where Chima takes this in the next book!