An "atlas" of the worlds created by the West's most culturally significant fantasists—from medieval times through Harry Potter—this collection encompasses not only the maps themselves but essays on their imagining by the likes of David Mitchell and Cressida Cowell.
It gathers intelligently charming meditations from writers and festoons them with map after map after map after map of imaginary, and sometimes non-imaginary, lands. (Only after several days of staring at the beautifully reproduced images did I force myself to read the words, but I am glad I finally did.) I am so enamored of this book ... 'Mapmaking is often like this. It’s a daily process of managing mischief—overcoming dangers, problems, half-truths, illusions, deadlines and distractions—and tiptoeing along the edges of the known while also opening up new realms for adventure.' This happens to be a very neat description also of the images in The Writer’s Map and their complex relationship to the stories that they emerge from or that emerge from them.
The Writer's Map ... is nothing less than a writer’s love letter to the map ... A lot of map books are published in the second half of the calendar year ... this one is worth reading for the articles ... All of these essays are interesting but ultimately personal: what synergy there is in The Writer’s Map can be found in the multitude of voices that establish, again and again, through anecdote and experience, that maps and words share the same creative impulse and are two sides of a worldbuilding whole.
... [a] treat for literature and cartography fans ... insightful essays ... The text and images present...stellar quality, with the more than 200 maps (loosely defined; some are maps of the human body, for example) exquisitely reproduced in full color, often covering whole pages or spreads. Lengthy source notes and a thorough index are scholarly bonuses ... A must for large literary and cartography collections; a wonderful browsing item as well.
