Did you love Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore? Do you love maps? Ok, you will very likely love The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd. Bear in mind though that it won’t *always* be the most logical book, so if you are the kind of person that is driven crazy by magically induced plotholes then it might not be for you.
One of my favorite things about this book is that it was inspired by a true historical story about phantom settlements and how cartographers used them as copyright traps. I had first heard about this quirk of cartography history in an episode of 99% Invisible years ago and was delighted that it turned out to be a major plot element in this book. Shepherd gives a brief summary in this interview of the true story of Agloe. I also really enjoyed the very rich descriptions of the Map Collection at the NY Public Library and it will definitely be a destination on my next trip to NYC.
The book is told both through the eyes of Nell, our protagonist and the keeper of a very important map, as well as via flashbacks of a group of characters 30 years ago which include Nell’s parents. The way the story was told did a good job of building tension as each character reveals a bit more about the mystery of Nell’s map. It is easy to forget that all maps (including digital ones) are reflections of the people who make them and do not exist in a cultural vacuum. There is no such thing as a neutral map.
