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diothyst's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The book is written in second person, an older Aoife recounting her story, which takes a little while to get used to but once you are it read easily. That said, the book felt very lacking despite being an interesting story. The plot moves rather quickly but only because of the lack of detail; it’s an interesting story and a fun read but nothing about it compels you to want to read the remainder of the series.
beastreader's review against another edition
5.0
Aoife is a mapmaker. At the request of the king, she and a small crew are sent to investigate the rest of the land and chart it on a map. During this expedition, Aoife meets a village of people. They show her their land which includes great wealth of gold. When the king learns of this village he dispatches a group to check it out. Aoife warns the people and in turn makes herself a traitor to her own people. She is exiled. This is where Aoife’s journey begins.
I have never read anything by this author. However after reading this book, I am going to be checking out this author’s backlist and keeping her on my reading radar. Instantly I felt a connection to Aoife. I loved the way that this book was written. With Aoife as the storyteller telling her own story. The details and the pictures were exactly what she described as she traveled to new locations.
It was like I was Aoife. So as I was reading this book, it made it more interactive as if I could reach out and touch the dirt, smell the rain, and even fall in love. Ms. Domingue is a very prolific writer. I really do not know how else to describe this book. I am pretty much speechless in a good way. The Mapmaker’s War is priceless treasure! This is a book that you will not share but having your friends purchase their own copies.
I have never read anything by this author. However after reading this book, I am going to be checking out this author’s backlist and keeping her on my reading radar. Instantly I felt a connection to Aoife. I loved the way that this book was written. With Aoife as the storyteller telling her own story. The details and the pictures were exactly what she described as she traveled to new locations.
It was like I was Aoife. So as I was reading this book, it made it more interactive as if I could reach out and touch the dirt, smell the rain, and even fall in love. Ms. Domingue is a very prolific writer. I really do not know how else to describe this book. I am pretty much speechless in a good way. The Mapmaker’s War is priceless treasure! This is a book that you will not share but having your friends purchase their own copies.
lucia_bell's review against another edition
3.0
The style is definitely interesting and takes a little getting used to--the entire book is written in second person, which I can't recall seeing in a book before. It took me much longer to read than I thought it would, but once I reached about 60% of the way in, I enjoyed it. Not nearly as good as The Mercy of Thin Air, but not without merit.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
Anthropological fantasy about a rebellious female mapmaker who discovers a kingdom of peaceful people beyond the borders of her own land. Told in 2nd person. Recommended if you liked [b:A Natural History of Dragons|12974372|A Natural History of Dragons A Memoir by Lady Trent|Marie Brennan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359770409s/12974372.jpg|18132937].
bmg20's review against another edition
2.0
This was an extremely strangely written story for me as I had never read anything written in second person narrative before.
'Thank you, but I'll wait to eat them. Stained fingers, stained map, you said.
You're tame enough to feed by hand, said he.'
Adding to the confusing way of writing was the complete lack of quotation marks which I have seen more and more of in literature these days and still am not clear as to why this is done. I dislike it greatly. Unfortunately, the story didn't benefit from these choices in writing styles; it actually diminished my interest because it was a constant struggle trying to grasp what was being said.
The story itself had huge potential and I was eager to start this but was greatly disappointed at the disjointed nature I felt was created by using that form of narrative.
'Thank you, but I'll wait to eat them. Stained fingers, stained map, you said.
You're tame enough to feed by hand, said he.'
Adding to the confusing way of writing was the complete lack of quotation marks which I have seen more and more of in literature these days and still am not clear as to why this is done. I dislike it greatly. Unfortunately, the story didn't benefit from these choices in writing styles; it actually diminished my interest because it was a constant struggle trying to grasp what was being said.
The story itself had huge potential and I was eager to start this but was greatly disappointed at the disjointed nature I felt was created by using that form of narrative.
haleyhamfan's review against another edition
4.0
I'm surprisingly compelled by the form of this novel. The main character, Aoife, is retelling the story of her life, to herself: "You followed the path," "you loved him." "Tell the truth" she implores several times, each time making you wonder how truthful we really are with ourselves. The story isn't a page-turner - you won't lose sleep over any plot twists - but I just might lose sleep over how truthful this book was.
Part legend, part coming-of-age story, part cautionary tale, part romance. This book was a full yet casual read. It is essentially the story of a woman who told the truth as she knew it, and spent the rest of her life living with the consequences, good and bad, of such candor.
Part legend, part coming-of-age story, part cautionary tale, part romance. This book was a full yet casual read. It is essentially the story of a woman who told the truth as she knew it, and spent the rest of her life living with the consequences, good and bad, of such candor.
fairyhill's review against another edition
2.0
dnf -_- this book was so mind-numbingly boring which is a bummer because i thought the beginning was really interesting
bethany_a's review
The concept of this book is super cool. Mapmakers, secret utopian societies across the river, a royal kingdom, general rebellion? Sign. Me. Up.
However, I really could not get past two things in this book. 1) everything is written in second person. For real. Everything is 'you saw this, you said this, you thought this'. I like character pieces, and the author really takes the reader into the main character/narrator's head more than any other book I've read. But I just could not deal with the second-person narration. It was terribly clunky and I could not get into a flow of reading. 2) I hated the main character. She just was not likeable in any sense and I couldn't deal with her.
I read the reviews again before I decided to not finish the book. One review mentioned how interesting it was that the author skips all the world building and scenery. And that is what got me. I love world building. Atmospheric & immersive settings with sweeping, lush worlds is what I live for. This book is not that.
If you want to go for something very different and odd, go for it. But this was not for me.
However, I really could not get past two things in this book. 1) everything is written in second person. For real. Everything is 'you saw this, you said this, you thought this'. I like character pieces, and the author really takes the reader into the main character/narrator's head more than any other book I've read. But I just could not deal with the second-person narration. It was terribly clunky and I could not get into a flow of reading. 2) I hated the main character. She just was not likeable in any sense and I couldn't deal with her.
I read the reviews again before I decided to not finish the book. One review mentioned how interesting it was that the author skips all the world building and scenery. And that is what got me. I love world building. Atmospheric & immersive settings with sweeping, lush worlds is what I live for. This book is not that.
If you want to go for something very different and odd, go for it. But this was not for me.
foxgo's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5