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A review by rootie
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
3.0
​Unfortunately, the book was 5 stars until it slowly started to unravel and lost its spark. I feel bad for giving this book 3 stars, but I genuinely think it deserves it in this state.
I was so excited seeing a fantastical book on cartography and genuinely interested and intrigued as to how the author would weave the book together.
The first half of the book was everything I had hoped for when I had picked up this book. A map, last of its kind, brimming with secrets and value, which placed the keeper of it, in the sights of enemies hunting it down. The mix of murder and mystery kept me captivated and the feeling of the main character being watched and hunted kept the stakes high and the tension on max. I loved the idea of phantom settlements in maps becoming real places as long as someone followed the map to get there.
However, the second half of the book became bland and frustrating very quickly.
I think the author had too many characters to try and breathe life into, and because of this they felt very surface level. What you see is what you get. The antagonist was very obvious from the start of the book. I understand that the author was trying to convey that the secret of the map brought out the worst of each member of the group, but I think we spent more than an eternity detailing each betrayal which I felt could have been boiled down to a few chapters if need be.
I'm all for having additional backstory and understanding, but I dreaded reading the extended drama for half the book when the real magic of the story is put on the sidelines.
I was so excited seeing a fantastical book on cartography and genuinely interested and intrigued as to how the author would weave the book together.
The first half of the book was everything I had hoped for when I had picked up this book. A map, last of its kind, brimming with secrets and value, which placed the keeper of it, in the sights of enemies hunting it down. The mix of murder and mystery kept me captivated and the feeling of the main character being watched and hunted kept the stakes high and the tension on max. I loved the idea of phantom settlements in maps becoming real places as long as someone followed the map to get there.
However, the second half of the book became bland and frustrating very quickly.
I think the author had too many characters to try and breathe life into, and because of this they felt very surface level. What you see is what you get. The antagonist was very obvious from the start of the book. I understand that the author was trying to convey that the secret of the map brought out the worst of each member of the group, but I think we spent more than an eternity detailing each betrayal which I felt could have been boiled down to a few chapters if need be.
I'm all for having additional backstory and understanding, but I dreaded reading the extended drama for half the book when the real magic of the story is put on the sidelines.