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arodriguez283's review
3.0
Why was this book written in second person?! Just...why? The writing was pretty good, though not my favorite. The world building was great, considering this book was under 250 pages. The magic system intrigued me, but there wasn't enough explanation about it. The magical aspect of this book could've been so great, if I had had a better understanding of it. It's possible that the author's intention was to make sure the reader has about as much understanding about magic as Aoife did, seeing as it was written from her perspective. I just didn't enjoy not being able to be fully immersed in this world. I found some of the characters were well-rounded and interesting, while others were stock and predictable. Mostly, I just could not get over the second person. I understand what the author was trying to do, but I feel like this book would've been so much better if it wasn't in second person. This is a good book for people who want a shorter fantasy book and also don't mind reading in second person.
elwoodicious's review
5.0
Beautiful, peaceful, poetic, contemplative. This is such a curiously gorgeous work. The language flows with easy melodies and the narrative, spoken like a reflection of life upon a the moment of a quiet passing, is enthralling. By far, one of my favorite reads.
enolarayne's review
5.0
After The Mercy of Thin Air, I've been anxiously waiting to read something new from this author. Once I read a few reviews for this book, though, I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I don't think I've ever read a book written in second person, and I honestly wasn't sure it would work. But boy, did it! As before, the author pulled me in with her vivid storytelling style and kept me hooked the entire time. This is a short, easy, and beautiful read that left me smiling at the magic of it all.
booksnomnom's review
3.0
I loved the beginning but once we got into the actual story, leaving the foreshadowing behind, the wonderful language and strong writing couldn't hold up what was to me a rather vanilla plot. I'd like to try other things by this author, though.
myxomycetes's review
4.0
I hate bloated epic fantasy with a white-hot hatred that could blind the baby Jesus, and the fact that your standard fantasy novel nowadays is 500+ pages of grimdark neckbeardio “world building” only makes my blood boil. So when this book crossed my radar, likely via amazon algorithm, the first thing I did was check out the page count. It was less than 300 pages. That was enough to make me want to read it.
The Mapmaker’s War reads like a blend of William Morris, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Jeanette Winterson mixing social allegory and utopian yearnings with keen-edged, descriptive prose. Fantasy fans deeply embedded in the genre will likely view the book with suspicion, since it’s “literary” in unacceptable ways: 2nd person narrator, unconventional dialogue tags, and lots of summary. Don’t be one of those people. Give it a read. It’s refreshing to read a secondary world fantasy novel completely orthogonal to the genre.
The Mapmaker’s War reads like a blend of William Morris, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Jeanette Winterson mixing social allegory and utopian yearnings with keen-edged, descriptive prose. Fantasy fans deeply embedded in the genre will likely view the book with suspicion, since it’s “literary” in unacceptable ways: 2nd person narrator, unconventional dialogue tags, and lots of summary. Don’t be one of those people. Give it a read. It’s refreshing to read a secondary world fantasy novel completely orthogonal to the genre.
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