peng shepherd – Pleasant Nights

Title: The Cartographers

Author: Peng Shepherd

Genre: fantasy

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I LOVED The Book of M. I read it in 2019, and it ended up being my favorite book that year. I still think about it from time to time, especially that plot twist. So, when I saw Peng Shepherd had another book out, there was no doubt I was going to read it. I’m so glad I was able to get this from NetGalley. And, as is my preference, I went into this entirely blind. I had no idea what it was about.

From Goodreads: 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 also 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 discover 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.

This story starts out as just a regular mystery adventure book. Whereas Book of M starts in the fantasy world from the first page. So, I was a little surprised this one was so, well, normal. But as I kept reading, small mysterious things just kept happening. As the story unfolded (much like a map, haha), the magical part of the story became much more evident. As we follow Nell, we also hear other perspectives telling her stories from the past, which fill in many of the backstory gaps. But these stories occur naturally within the plot rather than feeling shoehorned in. I really loved this book, although I did see this plot twist coming about halfway through the book. This one is easily another five-star book. I will definitely be eagerly anticipating her next book.

The Book of M

Holy smokes, this book. I am a dystopian snob. I have read dozens of them and most are fair or good. But this one was absolutely amazing. Downright excellent. I felt like I was reading Stephen King, Robert McCammon, and Jeff VanderMeer in one book, but it was still its own unique concept.

The Book of M tells the story of what happens when you lose your shadow. One day, a man in India turns around and his shadow is gone. Then a few more people. Then an entire marketplace. Then entire cities. No one knows why this is happening or why some people lose theirs and why others don’t. But once you lose your shadow, your memories begin to fade. You forget parts of your past, people you know, who you are, how to read, how to talk, how to breathe. And while you are forgetting, you know it’s happening. It’s like a modern-day version of Flowers for Algernon, in some sense.

However, there’s a man who can possibly help you. His shadow is quite unique due to an unusual meeting, and if you can find your way to New Orleans, there will be refuge and hope. However, you have to battle various groups of people who are misguided, shadowless, and hopeless. This book absolutely floored me in the end. I was holding my breath and just had to put the book down when certain things were revealed. This one is a must read.