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Loading... The Cartographers: A Novel (edition 2022)by Peng Shepherd (Author)
Work InformationThe Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. DNF, which would normally mean one star, but in this case I read 300 pp before I quitep. When it became a novel with magical realism, I lost interest, but kept reading. Once it was obvious who the "bad guys" were, I really lost interest. ( ) I enjoyed this book about maps and the ways they bring people together or separate them. I had heard about the phantom settlement Agloe before, but I didn't know the whole story. I was glad that Nell's father requested a Sanborn Map as I had not only heard about them but had used them to find an ancestor's childhood home! "What's the purpose of a map?" Just suspend disbelief. Go in to this one just for the sheer adventure of it. I know little about map making but I did know that many original map makers left their own little mark on maps, little "mistakes" that made the map absolutely theirs (and so no one could reproduce it). How unique to turn that knowledge in to such a fun fantasy story. I liked Nell. She's your MC most of the time and I liked getting to know her and her world. I loved the twist of her working in a "classic" map making store after losing her museum gig. Once you reach the plot, I loved learning about the past from the unique POV and learning who all was involved. Even though my book club and I guessed what was going on, we loved checking in each week after reading a section and talking about each twist, each character and each new turn. It's a fun story and I hope you love it too! The premise was interesting and I was happy with the mystery that evolved. Then, it turned into a flashback series for the main plot and had a lot of holes in the end...I was left with a lot of questions about why some things happened one way, but similar situations later had different rules applied. I ended up being disappointed with this in the end. Helen ‘Nell’ Young grew up fascinated by maps and intended to follow in her cartographer father’s footsteps. After getting her PhD she gets an internship with the NY Public Library where her father is head researcher. She finds a box in the basement storage room that seems to include a couple of rare map donations and brings them to her father to ask permission to research them. However, in the box is also a cheap NYS fold-up road map from 1930 which seems out of place. Showing the box to her father starts an argument that questions her integrity and knowledge and scorns her and fires her ruining her future career hopes. They don’t speak for 7 years, and Nell has a low level job in the field. Then her father dies, suspiciously, and Nell finds the old road map in his secret drawer. Things begin happening, a library break in, being followed, certain of her father’s colleagues appearing fearful, some even disappearing mysteriously and lots of warnings to stop investigating. This was a very intriguing plot, little bits of magic, power and greed, and old secrets. Really enjoyed the adventure. no reviews | add a review
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From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father's belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret--one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family's dark history. What is the purpose of a map? Nell Young's whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell's personal hero. But she hasn't seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map. But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can't resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence... because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one--along with anyone who gets in the way. But why? To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps... Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V. E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history and magic--a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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