The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Real Life Cartographers place "phantom settlements" on their map so they can prove copyright infringement if other mappers copy their work. SPOILERS ABOUND In The Cartographers, these phantom settlements are real, as long as you have the map in-hand when approaching them. seriously, I'm going to spill the entire plot now So. This book starts with an absolutely amazing premise - that maps contain magic, that real physical spaces can be created by adding them to maps. This is an idea I absolutely love. This book explores this magical idea to a mediocre degree. Insofar as it deals specifically with the map-magic, I like this book, and it does a pretty decent job. But the overall plot, the character development, and many technical aspects are just ... not very good. Nell Young was working in the map division at the New York Public Library when she found a 1930s New York State road map. She presented that map, and others, to her father - who led the map division. He was furious and refused…