Reviews

The Mapmaker's War by Ronlyn Domingue

foxgo's review

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

mhall's review against another edition

3.0

Anthropological fantasy about a rebellious female mapmaker who discovers a kingdom of peaceful people beyond the borders of her own land. Told in 2nd person. Recommended if you liked [b:A Natural History of Dragons|12974372|A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent|Marie Brennan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359770409s/12974372.jpg|18132937].

fairyhill's review

boring -_- the writing was good but that wasn't enough 4 me

msthienkim's review against another edition

5.0

Every now and again, I read a book that reminds me why I love reading. The Mapmaker’s War: A Legend by Ronlyn Domingue is one such novel. Domingue weaves a tale of love, ambition, loneliness and belonging that will resonate within all of us.

Aoife (pronounced ee-fah) is the mapmaker in this story. Born a girl in a far away land in a time long ago, her path in life was set: grow up, marry, and produce children. Instead, at a young age she falls in love with charts and maps. A childhood friend, who also happens to be the crown prince, learns of her desire. Pretty soon, she is apprenticed to the kingdom’s mapmaker. Aoife enjoys the freedom and privilege not common to girls her age.

In her travels to map the kingdom’s land, she discovers another land. Word spreads of the Guardians’ gold paths and various riches, and soon Aoife’s kingdom is ready for war. She attempts to advocate for the Guardians’ peaceful, almost Utopian world, but to no avail. Aoifee is eventually exiled and adopted into the Guardians’ community. While her new community is understanding and embraces her, Aoife struggles with her past, her betrayal, and her inner demons.

Wow, did that sound like I gave away the entire story? Don’t worry, there are no spoilers. The book jacket reveals even more details. The beauty in this story is Aoife’s evolution, transformation even.

http://www.fromlefttowrite.com/book-review-the-mapmakers-war-by-ronlyn-domingue/

whatandreawrote's review against another edition

1.0

The beginning reminded me of Juliet Marillier, whom I love. But I quickly lost patience with the artsy lack of quotation punctuation and the [heavens, I'm pretentious] interrupting thought bubbles. And the ending was just bleh.

acinthedc's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting book on several levels, The Mapmaker's War is the story of Aoife, a girl who overcame gender biases to become a mapmaker, pursued a love above her station in life, sparked a war, and sought redemption with the very people she nearly destroys. Written mostly in the second person, Domingue has crafted a compelling novel with some magical elements.

packet_'s review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cafo6's review against another edition

5.0

It took me a little bit to adjust to the rhythm of her writing but this book gripped and held and spoke to truth. This is the kind of book that, although written about other worlds/times/places, cannot help but move us deeply in our own.

hyacinth_girl's review against another edition

5.0

This book was beautifully written. Beautiful descriptions of the landscape and the relationships between the characters. Normally I don't enjoy books from a stream-of-consciousness perspective, but this book was absolutely riveting.

rezdog's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The author's rhetorical structure defies the conventions of any period; she addresses herself throughout and appears to be her own audience. 

Have you ever read an entire book written in second-person? The Mapmaker's War is a story about love, challenges, and reflections. The main character, Aoife, grows up in a kingdom that has strict expectations for women... make babies. As a young woman, she is able to become the apprentice of a mapmaker and her trajectory is changed. As she begins to map the kingdom, a mysterious settlement is found. The people who live there are happy and peaceful. Aoife is exiled and goes to live among the mysterious people. 

Ronlyn Domingue creates a fantasy world with deep lore. But what I really enjoyed about this book was the parallels to our own world. The characters struggle with sexism, colonization, and violence. Aoife goes through massive character development that felt realistic and a exciting to read along though. You definitely want to remember that this entire novel is, essentially, a diary and a reflection of Aoife. 

I gave this a 3.5 since some of the passages were difficult to understand because of the second-person and no quotation marks for narration. Although this didn't impede understanding the plot, I felt like this caused some chunks of the book to feel... nebulous and confusing.