Peng Shepherd’s latest offering, is centered around maps, some hidden secrets, a series of murders down the line, and a whole lot of fantasy. Our protagonist Nell is the daughter of two distinguished cartographers – Daniel and Tam, and is herself a very competent cartographer. The story sets into motion with Nell finding a seemingly nugatory, old map in her father’s belongings after he passes away in his NYPL office. This happens to be the same inconsequential map that she had discovered seven years ago while working under her father. It had led to a big showdown between the two and consequently, her expulsion.

Of course, there is more to it than is apparent. And hence, Nell embarks a treacherous and grueling search, trying to unveil the hidden truths surrounding this map. In the process, she keeps uncovering the past of her parents and their group of friends. They all, in some way are related to this map and party to it’s secrets.

How this map relates to the past? What makes this very ordinary looking map so valuable? Is this map responsible for her father’s death? Is it responsible for a series of other murders & robberies? The answers to these are slowly revealed as Peng Shepherd takes you on a fantasy ride.

The Premise

To start with, I had great expectations of The Cartographers simply due to it’s extremely unique premise. The subject of the book had me intrigued even before I started reading it. And, to some extent – at least in the initial part – the book does have you entranced. I simply loved the setting of the NYPL and the whole academic ambience that it created.

A Fantasy Tale Of An Improbable World

Actually, the first setback that the story receives is with a shop disappearing into thin air inexplicably. And quickly follows it up with a series of such incidents. A man disappearing in a lobby, a burglar disappearing into ‘nowhere’ and so on. I felt it was probably something super natural going on.

As it turned out, The Cartographers is a fantasy novel more than fiction. And so, most of the surprises it has to offer are unreal and not believable. You know such a thing is not possible in real world. And so, it is hard to connect with this story at any level. The only way to enjoy this book is to keep logic aside. Just assume and accept what is being narrated without questioning ‘how’ and ‘why’! It feels like a magic tale that will have your kids clapping hard at such occurrences!

The Loop Holes

There were quite a few loose ends in this story that otherwise had so much potential. I just wish they had been tightened to give The Cartographers a wider acceptance. It is not possible to elaborate upon these without spilling the beans. Thus, I am putting these here as Spoilers. You may click on it below to read the detailed analysis. Or rather, if you plan to read the book, you may want to skip them.

Conclusion:

The Cartographers had immense scope in it’s plot to start with. I would have loved to see some intriguing treasure hunts at those phantom settlements. Or some mysterious ancient symbols, and puzzles joining together in Dan Brown style! Anything that would have been more imaginable and convincing. Maybe fantasy lovers would enjoy them, but the surprises that this book offered had me face palming more than anything else.

I won’t reject The Cartographers outright. It has it’s pluses. Probably I had different expectations. You can get your copy here.

Before we end, if you are a fan of suspense thrillers, why not try The Maidens (Alex Michaelides) | Book Review