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8 of the Newest Fantasy Books with Maps

Fantasy books are always made better with maps.

By Tacye
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Fantasy books are always made better with maps. In fact, you can easily find interactive maps for classics like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones that allow you to easily follow the characters’ journey throughout the book(s). To be honest, we would be very happy if all books have a map in them, and yes, even contemporary ones! Nonetheless, let’s take a look at the newest fantasy books with maps in them.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

The eastern trade city of Middren, Blenraden, fell to war with gods and the king decreed that only knights protecting the city were allowed to set foot in it. Of course, (i) Kissen, a godkiller, (ii) Skediceth, the god of white lies, (iii) Inara Craier, whom Skediceth is bound to, and (iv) Elogast, who is on a mysterious quest assigned by the king, all have to visit Blenraden. The map in Godkiller is a perfect witness to their treacherous journey.

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

As with The Cruel Prince, it has a map of Elfhame in it. However, as the map only focuses on the lands covered in the book, it no longer has places that we grew familiar with in the original trilogy, e.g. the Hollow Hall, Tower of Forgetting. Instead, in The Stolen Heir, we spent the majority of the book in the Court of Teeth, which we already met in the Folk of the Air series. We also get to explore Court of Moths, the southmost Unseelie Court.

 

Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao

Amelie Wen Zhao created a fantasy world where waterfalls, deserts, mountains, and ports all collide together. With luxurious imageries and names that are on the longer side, e.g. Krazyast Triangle and Dzhyvekha Mountains, having a map for Ana’s world is definitely necessary for us to fully appreciate the world Amelie crafted.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War is set in Nikan, which got divided into twelve rival provinces. Each province is named after a Chinese zodiac sign and headed by one Warlord. While the map is great in showing you where the twelve provinces are located, it actually helps you match the Nikara Empire with ancient China. In fact, Federation of Mugen can be viewed as Japan, and Speer, Taiwan.

Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

The map details the layout of the Sun Capital with its seven districts, from the Moon District where Violet grew up and met the prince, to the Seer’s Tower where Violet now resides, to the Palace and Art Districts that our characters wander through while shopping. The map is also adorned with pretty roses and twigs.

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

We actually chatted with Saara about the process of creating the map in The Final Strife, and her own habits when seeing a book with a map. The map in The Final Strife outlines the Wardens’ Empire, and all the places Sylah travelled through, such as the ruins and rubble that is the Dredge, the Ring where regulars and irregulars alike are drawn to bets and fights. It is incredibly exciting to have a map here as Sylah herself discovered a similar-ish map in the book.

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Dance of Thieves has TWO pages of maps inside! This is perhaps not surprising as Kazi also used a map to get to Hell’s Mouth, and valued vests with hidden pockets for weapons and maps. Fans of the Remnant Chronicles would also know that Mary E. Pearson has confirmed that the Remnant is meant to be post-apocalyptical US. The maps thus are perfect for you to try and theorise the modern day equivalents.

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

The Isle of Cadence has many different areas of land that it would be difficult to imagine where things are without the map. From the direction of the mainland, to the clan line, to all the characters’ crofts, the map details them all. It even has the moon thistle patch where Jack and Adaira became old menaces.

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