The narration of this book made it hard to follow at times. ( )

It took me a little bit to adjust to the rhythm of her writing but this book gripped and held and spoke to truth. This is the kind of book that, although written about other worlds/times/places, cannot help but move us deeply in our own. ( )

MY THOUGHTS:
THE MAPMAKER’S WAR:A LEGEND BY Ronlyn Domingue is an interesting Fantasy/Myths/Folk Tales set in an Ancient time,in a land far away. This was a difficult book for me to read, but with that said it also was an interesting read once you got started. It is an autobiography of a mapmaker named Aoife from a faraway land. An adventure of love,loss,the human spirit,a mythic treasure,and one woman’s courage to do the unexpected. An interesting tale of the human spirit,love,Asian legends, hope and human’s redemptive spirit. If you enjoy Asian legends,mystic treasure,adventure,fantasy,faraway lands,and the magic of legends,then “The Mapmaker’s War” is a title for you to read. An interesting read. Received for an honest review from the publisher.
RATING: 4
HEAT RATING:Mild

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction Reviews ( )

The Mapmaker's War is a book like no other book I have ever read. It creates a world far removed from the one in which we all exist, taking the reader on a journey of confusion, discovery, magic and love. I am not sure I completely understood it. I know I need to read it again - maybe another time after that - to fully grasp the author's intent. I know like most literary novels a lot of it happened somewhere over my head but I do know that I was enthralled for my time within its pages.

The book is written in the second person which did take a bit of getting used to - it does tend to keep the reader at a bit of a remove. There are also no quotation marks; this being a new conceit in books. Why? Don't ask me but it was easy enough to sort out when characters were speaking. It didn't distract from the reading - at least not for me.

This is not going to be a book for everyone. I suspect that a few years ago it would not have been a book for me but having stretched my reading choices over the last couple of years I have opened my mind to less literal books and have been rewarded with gems like this. I'm finding it hard to articulate exactly was I was so enthralled; the writing was engaging. I loved the main character of Aoife even though she was, at times, not likable at all. She was, if nothing else very, very human.

I find myself thinking about Aoife and her worlds. She lived in two but really only felt at home in one of them. She is like many of us in that way. In trying to protect where she felt safe and protected she opened it up to a horror it never should have known.

I am so happy I read this book and it will remain in my library for a second read. I know it's the kind of book that will be even better after additional study. I know I missed bits here and there as I turned the pages to follow Aoife through her loves and losses. There is a sequel due next year and I do hope I am lucky enough to read it. ( )

Ronlyn Domingue's latest novel, The Mapmaker's War: A Legend is an ambitious literary novel that more easily slides into the canon of magic realism than it does commercial fantasy. Generally an epic tale of a woman who defies convention and national obligation, the story explores issues of equality not only of the sexes, but of cultures, of governments founded on imperialism at the expense of all integrity, versus the cost of pacifism.

Brilliantly told from second person, present tense, Domingue's handling of this difficult voice is immediate, brilliant and compelling. At no point is dialogue written, rather it's told, and again demonstrates the author's skill in being able to take what could have been an extremely narrator-intrusive, action-stopping technique, and instead has rendered a story of imperatives.

The story itself is, as all timeless stories, driven by relationships and the characters behind those relationships, and in this case both are three dimensional and believable.

In tone I was very much minded of some of Ursula K. LeGuin and Candas Jane Dorsey's works, in particular Always Coming Home and Black Wine respectively.

Both an emotional and contemplative read, I highly recommend The Mapmaker's War to any lover of novels with depth and insight. ( )