Reviews

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

dembury's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 rounded up!
Although the book has quite a bit of characters standing around talking, or telling about events in the past, the sheer wonder and ingenuity of the concepts presented make "The Cartographers" a DEEPLY worthwhile read. I'm personally fascinated by the whole idea of phantom settlements and getting to see them explored in this way, coupled with the love of maps and exploration and discussions about knowledge, made this such a fun story to lose myself in.
I recommend this one to anyone who enjoyed "The Starless Sea" by Erin Morgenstern or "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan.

redbeard92's review

adventurous inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

A fun book, but not my favorite read. There were some moments that I was captivated, and others I was counting pages until the next chapter. 
I liked hearing the story through the eyes of different characters, and seeing it all come together. Still a fun read! 

sunwaves's review against another edition

3.0

even almost halfway into the book, i was convinced this was going to be my favorite read of the year. unfortunately, it soon became glaringly obvious this book has some serious plot holes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

ede08's review against another edition

3.0

Cool idea…midlevel execution. No one was fully fleshed out. Sometimes something would appear or there would be missing details that needed to be there to explain things. I was still really intrigued tho so 3 stars

aherrst's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

mandypandyrox's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

timbo001's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

missnatalieann's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this book. Magical realism is my favorite genre to read, I love the idea that there could be magic in the real world that just not everyone knows about. Parts of this story were easy for me to figure out ahead of the reveal but that didn't take anything away from the story for me. (I am a person who definitely likes to know what is happening in a story as quickly as possible.) Overall I enjoyed the story and trying to fit everything together and solve the mystery. I liked the different narrators and hearing the different perspectives of the same story being told by each of the characters. I am definitely left with some questions, but that's ok, I don't think everything needs to be answered.

screamingphoenix405's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

neurodivengeance's review against another edition

Flat story, dreadful pacing, abysmally read. I stuck it out this long because The Book of M is one of the best books I’ve ever read & I kept thinking surely its author couldn’t write something this bland & rote after something that compelling & unforgettable - but now it’s at a point where I’d rather concede that this book isn’t for me than continue in the hopes that it might improve.