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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is truly like nothing I've ever read before! Murder mystery/family/sci-fi. I couldn't put it down during the last 100 pages, lots of plot twists.
The Cartographers by Peng Shepard is a mesmerizing tale of map makers and the hidden treasures of maps. This book is an adventure/mystery that dips into science fiction and fantasy. The love of map making is explained really well and why some people dedicate their lives to it. This book has some great characters that I was drawn to. The book has a really cool twist midway through that changes what this book is about and makes it truly unique. The writing and the words are really powerful in this story. The pacing was a little slow at the beginning, I was losing interest right in the middle when, the book hits it's twist which immediately interested me and the second half moved rapidly. The Climax was good I figured out one twist pretty early on of who a hidden figure was, which made the climax good but not great. I do feel the book repeated its self a little to often, which was one of my complaints in her debut novel The Book of M. Peng Shepard has only written two books and I have been really impressed by the writing and the descriptions and just how unique the storytelling has been. This novel was on Goodreads best of 2022 so far reads. The Cartographers was published on March 15 2022.
Plot Summary: 8 year ago Nell was fired from her dream internship at the New York Public Library, she found three maps in storage that she thought held value and could really help the funding for the library. She was fired by her father at the time and has not spoken to him since then. She receives a call early in the mourning from the library thinking it is him, but it's the police who want her to come down since her father was found dead. I looks as if her father fell or could have been pushed off a ladder. She meets with the director who was always found of her ask her to collects some of her fathers things, she finds a secret hatch with a 1930's gas station of upstate New York, a map that she got fired for that he called junk. She takes the map and finds it not in the data base she adds it and plans to return it. but when she comes back the next day she finds a guard murdered and a break in occurred right after she logged the map, with no items stolen. She researches the map and finds it is wanted for a high price by a group that is called the Cartographers, a group that will kill to get it. Nell discovers her father was once part of the group and fired her when she found the map to protect her. Nell must find out what is so special about the map before it is too late.
What I Liked: Really cool twist in narrative half way that took the book to another level. Because of that level the book is hard to define which I liked. The book had some great fleshed out characters. I liked the details in map making and the history of it in the book. The flashbacks were one of my favorite parts and thought they did a great job of connecting to the present. I really liked how unique the overall story is.he ending could have been better but it ended on theme of maps coming from love and the perfect map is one with a purpose. I really enjoyed the cover art a lot.
What I Disliked: The novel repeats it's self a little bit too much. One of the twist that figured out early on is baby stepped so much and has three instances, two of the instances are repeats, to point to the twist. I felt like Shepard didn't trust her audience to figure it out, without it getting spelled out. I see it a lot in new authors which Peng Shepard is but the rest of the book is so mature.
Recommendation: The Cartographers is a really fun unique story that I recommend checking out. I did like Peng Shepard's other novel The Book of M just a little bit more. She has written two solid first and second novels that are both unique stories full of beautiful writing and characters. I rated The Cartographers by Peng Shepard 4 out of 5 stars.
Plot Summary: 8 year ago Nell was fired from her dream internship at the New York Public Library, she found three maps in storage that she thought held value and could really help the funding for the library. She was fired by her father at the time and has not spoken to him since then. She receives a call early in the mourning from the library thinking it is him, but it's the police who want her to come down since her father was found dead. I looks as if her father fell or could have been pushed off a ladder. She meets with the director who was always found of her ask her to collects some of her fathers things, she finds a secret hatch with a 1930's gas station of upstate New York, a map that she got fired for that he called junk. She takes the map and finds it not in the data base she adds it and plans to return it. but when she comes back the next day she finds a guard murdered and a break in occurred right after she logged the map, with no items stolen. She researches the map and finds it is wanted for a high price by a group that is called the Cartographers, a group that will kill to get it. Nell discovers her father was once part of the group and fired her when she found the map to protect her. Nell must find out what is so special about the map before it is too late.
What I Liked: Really cool twist in narrative half way that took the book to another level. Because of that level the book is hard to define which I liked. The book had some great fleshed out characters. I liked the details in map making and the history of it in the book. The flashbacks were one of my favorite parts and thought they did a great job of connecting to the present. I really liked how unique the overall story is.he ending could have been better but it ended on theme of maps coming from love and the perfect map is one with a purpose. I really enjoyed the cover art a lot.
What I Disliked: The novel repeats it's self a little bit too much. One of the twist that figured out early on is baby stepped so much and has three instances, two of the instances are repeats, to point to the twist. I felt like Shepard didn't trust her audience to figure it out, without it getting spelled out. I see it a lot in new authors which Peng Shepard is but the rest of the book is so mature.
Recommendation: The Cartographers is a really fun unique story that I recommend checking out. I did like Peng Shepard's other novel The Book of M just a little bit more. She has written two solid first and second novels that are both unique stories full of beautiful writing and characters. I rated The Cartographers by Peng Shepard 4 out of 5 stars.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed it for the most part, but the last third felt too stretched out for me and I got annoyed with the characters. I love the setting of the library, and maps, and tech but in the end I was a bit disappointed as the magic was so limited and not explained at all
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:
Complicated
I love reading books in which I get to discover a new fascinating topic that I never would have encountered otherwise. The world of cartography is precise, masterful, and utterly intriguing. There is a hint of magic but not enough to propel this story into the fantasy realm, and it was the perfect amount foe me.
This book reads like an engaging puzzle that the reader gets to solve, which kept me engaged and eager to read more. Reminiscent of [b:The Unseen World|32191748|The Unseen World|Liz Moore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490397181l/32191748._SY75_.jpg|46521425], Nell is raised by a single father and goes into the same professional field as him. Their relationship is complicated and multifaceted. After his untimely death, Nell becomes intertwined in a danger-filled secret, with reveals at every corner. Although at times the writing can be clunky and some of the gasp-worthy moments came across contrived, the story of the Cartographers is cleverly woven together. I was desperate to keep reading to figure out the full story, and it did not disappoint.
4.5 Stars
This book reads like an engaging puzzle that the reader gets to solve, which kept me engaged and eager to read more. Reminiscent of [b:The Unseen World|32191748|The Unseen World|Liz Moore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490397181l/32191748._SY75_.jpg|46521425], Nell is raised by a single father and goes into the same professional field as him. Their relationship is complicated and multifaceted. After his untimely death, Nell becomes intertwined in a danger-filled secret, with reveals at every corner. Although at times the writing can be clunky and some of the gasp-worthy moments came across contrived, the story of the Cartographers is cleverly woven together. I was desperate to keep reading to figure out the full story, and it did not disappoint.
4.5 Stars
Like a lot of other reviewers, I love the premise of the book but feel it didn't execute. The constant shift from first-person to third-person was confusing. Like I said, an interesting idea but having to overcome a lot of plot holes for the sake of the story makes it not very successful in my opinion.
Spoiler
The fact that William was Wally all along was predictable. Maybe I'm missing something but I didn't quite understand Wally's desire to keep the town secret. Also, I feel like the whole "phantom settlement" was a huge plot hole. Ramona's shop was drawn on the back of her business card, allowing Nell's father to enter it. But he had to go there to ask for a copy of a legitimate map to be able to utilize the "phantom settlement" at the library? Why not just draw it? The same with Wally.. why couldn't he just draw Agloe to get there? I feel like drawing the map is legitimate since the book ended with Nell's hand-drawn map to the new location of Agloe. I don't understand why it took Nell's mom 20+ years to draw a map of Agloe. I also don't think it makes sense that she was able to survive there for so long. They said she was able to survive because she was able to draw herself a restaurant and whatever else she needed. But I seem to recall Agloe had a diner and ice cream shop to begin with but nothing in the stores. It doesn't make sense that some of the places would come furnished and some wouldn't.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Twisty turny but all the twists are telegraphed from a mile away.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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