The Great Debate: Maps in Fantasy

Nicholas on maps.

Nicholas C. Rossis

When working on Pearseus, I decided to include a map. In fact, I ended up drawing at least three versions, then buying Cartographer and doing another three versions there. Then, I realized a lot of people hate maps in books. A recent post by A.J. O’Conell of Bookriot explains why.

I Hate Maps

When epic fantasy N.K. Jemisin released her latest novel, The Fifth Season, she posted the – admittedly beautiful – map from her novel on her blog.  What’s unusual about this is that Jemisin is one of a handful of authors who have been vocal about their distaste for maps in high fantasy.

So, why aren’t some fantasy authors fans of maps? Three reasons are usually cited:

• Maps on the fly-leaf are cliché; every author from J.R.R. Tolkien to George R. R. Martin seems to have one.
• Sometimes being able to see every major location in a world

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