The Cartographers

I have always had a fascination with maps. My career (geologist) and several of my hobbies (sailing and hiking) revolve around both map making and interpretation so the theming here was always going to capture me.

Here we are given a Dan Brown style mystery wrapped in some magical realism based around a very real artifact present in some maps - phantom settlements. These are fake places put onto maps to try and catch copyright thieves. The cross genre nature of this story does lead to some messiness in the structure, and the inherent plot holes found in any Dan Brown style mystery are most definitely present here too, but I had fun reading it. Definitely a book that forces you to suspend your disbelief so ymmv depending on how you approach it. For me an adventure featuring cartographical nerdiness works well. The fantastical elements are maybe a bit overwrought but in the end it is fun, and to be honest, that is the main reason to read things, isn't it?