Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

67 reviews

hmwoodward's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I enjoyed the setting of this book, the focus on maps, and that it was a mystery.

Though I predicted the villain and the twist, I didn't predict the ending. In fact, it still doesn't entirely make sense to me. Maybe it will after I sit with it more? On track to be a 4 star read but changed to 3 due to this unsatisfying ending.


I listened on audiobook and can't say this was my favorite narrator. There were several narrators, yet the main female narrator still did the stereotypical gruff male voice throughout. I'd understand if it was a one woman production but that was not the case here.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alexlily's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

the_book_bee's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kcjulia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Entertaining mystery with magical maps! Loved the storyline, but not the writing. Major plot holes in the big reveal.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lantheaume's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ofheartsandaros's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

olma's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

Had trouble setting this down. It reminded me of a mix of “Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore”
by Robin Sloan and “Series of Unfortunate Events.” 
That being said, I felt like the end was somewhat rushed and under-explained. Nell said she wouldn’t pick the map over her family, but she technically did and for some reason took months to actually reach out and let Felix know she was okay. Also, I felt like the explanation of the map wasn’t satisfactory. If all you had to do was make a map to create anything you wanted, why was it so important to put it into the Haberson map? He could have just drawn a map by hand theoretically and changed anything. I get that the danger was that he could control the world, but since other trap rooms /phantom settlements existed, there’s no reason Tam’s specific map needed to be uploaded (other than Wally’s obsession with her). I just didn’t feel like Tam staying away for 30 years actually needed to happen based on what actually happened and could have happened. Why protect that town from Wally when there could have been hundreds more? They literally could have tracked down any map with a phantom settlement.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tm400's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

this was such a captivating read! i feel like it had such a unique premise, and that the author executed it really well. i'm a big sucker for magical realism, and this book hit almost every aspect of the genre that i love!
i love the use of language such as skeleton, ghost, shell, empty, etc when describing wally towards the end of the book, after we've discovered he was the one behind the murders/map disappearances but before they return to agloe. i also really loved the way the story was told, with the intermittent first person chapters from the members of the Cartographers. really helped me immerse myself into the setting!!
 
i loved how this story was written; it was immediately thrilling from the first chapter, and i read it quickly. i found it perfectly paced and loved the storytelling. personally though... i wished a different ending for the protagonist. i do think that this ending was great, and i think that it was still a fantastic ending for this novel. but part of me, the part of me that just read that whole book, wished for something more...explicit is all. i also got confused a few times on characters' motives for why they do the things they do (mainly/especially wally and tamara)
sorry but i also hate that tamara was still alive in agloe at all... i suspected it from the second we discovered she was the only one who didn't make it back to the real rockland after the fire but i was just hoping maybe it wouldn't happen but then it did :/

i'm giving this a 4/5 stars, and am definitely looking into more books by peng shepherd to add to my tbr! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious

Expand filter menu Content Warnings