3/25/2016
"The Mapmaker's Chronicle: Race to the End of the World" by A. L. Tait
Copyright 2014, 171 pages
Fantasy / Historical Fiction

Image taken from Goodreads

While set in a make-believe world with make-believe racial groups and make-believe countries, The Mapmaker Chronicles takes on a realistic time period when ideas that the globe is round was first raised. Thirst for knowledge urged countries - both in our real life and in the book - to send out explorers in huge ships mapping out territories never known before. At a glance, this book is yet another zero-to-hero story - as if we need more than we already have today. In this case, Quinn Freeman is a young farm boy who cooked and sew rather than doing heavy farm work. He was soon chosen to participate in a prestigious program where he competed - and outcompeted, because of course he did - sons of lords and noblemen. I found it rather interesting how the author conveniently skipped the part where Quinn was in Scribe School - perhaps knowing that it's redundant to tell. In fact, Quinn's whole experience in his school was described in this one short sentence: "the fact that Quinn had proved himself more than capable of keeping up in his class (which had surprised nobody more than Quinn himself) had only added to the problem" (p. 13-14). Translation: "of course he did well, and of course he's bullied for it. Next up!". Even with Quinn's explicit lack of confidence to be chosen as a mapmaker, atop his unwillingness to "go see the world" at the first place, the book fooled no one about how Quinn's story would later develop. At this point, the only thing that kept me flipping through the pages was Tait's sheer story-telling skills. The words she chose, on top of all, was one that charmed me from the very first page. Her way of describing things - be it people, scenery or an event, was detailed in its own unique way. Here is one paragraph where we were first introduced to Odilon of Blenheim: "The man standing next in line was quite a different proposition. Odilon of Blenheim looked ill at ease in his silk stockings, slippers and embossed velvet tunic. As well he might. Standing between two men dressed in worn leather breeches, simple hemp shirts and scuffed knee-high boots, he looked as out of place as a fish on a jetty. When he’d first presented as a candidate for the race, King Orel had looked at him askance. Why would this perfumed popinjay, particularly one so popular with the ladies, want to put himself through such danger and hardship?" (p. 30). To say that Tait uses big words is a total understatement. 

Some might find it confusing, or hard to read, but I like it that way. Maybe it's just the story's time setting. The funky, fancy words only made me feel like this book came straight out of the Middle Ages. Aside from the diction, however, the rest of the story soon exceeded my expectations. Quinn's "underdog" crew and their thrilling adventure is a lot more than just a zero-to-hero story (however much it appears to be so at first). It's about discovery, encountering fears, being patient, forgiving, trusting, regretting being trusting, huge white good-luck monster and hair-breadth escapes from death. Oh and my favorite: it's also about being open-minded. I love, love, love it how Zain repeatedly explained to the youngsters how the world is so much bigger than what they have seen. Simply because they have never seen it, doesn't mean all those strange things they encountered has never been there at the first place. I feel like this bit is still very much applicable today - where everyone has access to an accurate world map. Too many acted like the world ended in their borders. Too many are intolerant of different culture if it crossed their own. I suppose everyone needs to "go see the world" at least once in their lifetimes. 

Anyway. Back to the book. All in all, it's an enjoyable read. It did not start out great, but then there's this sudden rush of events that will engulf you and carry you with it - like a really big wave. Everything is so fast-paced. Before you can blink there's another new thing happening - making it impossible to put the book down. That said, I do wince at the tall tale side. And when I say "tall tale", I mean Quinn's exaggerated abilities. Photographic memory is not fiction. But learning a completely foreign language overnight definitely is. As someone studying Second Language Acquisition, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that bit. I do know this book is meant to be fantasy anyway, but that definitely-impossible language skill still bothered me nonetheless. Perhaps it's just the possibility of people believing that bit to be true - since it's depicted to be a part of Quinn's photographic memory which, again, is not fiction. There's also Nammu, the ginormous, one-horned, ghostly maybe-fish. In my head I imagined Nammu to be a narwhal. The book never did reveal if Nammu is just a big fish, a monster or a spirit, but for some reason I'm crossing my fingers and toes for Nammu to be a narwhal (or something else that is realistic). Again, I know this book is supposed to be fantasy anyway, but I do prefer if it keeps the realistic parts realistic. I just think it would seriously destroy my understanding of the universe if they decided to make sea monsters real. Not that Quinn's language skills already shaken it anyway. 

Now this particular book is only the first of the trilogy. So I have yet to find out the results of the race. Obviously I have no guess as to who will claim victory, but I'm honestly a lot more interested in whether or not we will reach the part where Quinn realized there's no such thing as Genesi - and that the Earth really is round. Because - just the way I hope Nammu is a narwhal - I sure wish they wouldn't decide to make "the flat Earth myth" a fact.