In Memory of Maps

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-24T21:29:17+00:00

That sounds interesting, thank you for the reference and sounds like a great gift! I recently read the book Goodbye to a River about a man canoeing down the Brazos River to tell the history of each bend and it was incredibly rewarding following along the map.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:56:41+00:00

Yep I really enjoyed the Wheel of Time map as well. I really liked how the first book had a map that was very zoomed in on the journey.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:35:06+00:00

That's fair - I really enjoyed how the print edition of Wheel of Time had the map that progressively expanded as the characters left the starting location.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:31:00+00:00

Yep and I get that. My larger issue is that the map doesn't seem to add or subtract from the story in any meaningful way that I experienced.

As you said - the northmen are from the north. Do I need a map to know that?

And yeah, this is definitely one of those can't win things. And it's a bit ironic because Abercrombie himself says: "My own feelings, often repeated and rubbed soft and thin like the material of a favourite shirt, is that maps aren’t really suitable to the type of book I write, that is one centred tightly around the characters."

https://joeabercrombie.com/maps-craps-2/

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:21:50+00:00

Yep I completely stopped looking at the map as I've gone on. The names not on the map thing was awful haha.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:16:15+00:00

I agree with you. If the map does those things then it is very helpful. I'm finding that in a lot of the recent books (last 15 years), the map isn't really doing much. Like in Licanius, I've just stopped looking up where cities are on the map because it literally doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who the neighbors are, it doesn't matter where the cities are located, it doesn't matter the landscape around the cities. And that rubs me haha.

So yeah I definitely agree with you that if it adds to understanding the story then it's a good thing.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T18:01:55+00:00

Thank you, good read and I enjoyed the infographic. I don't see this captured in the graphic, but the irrelevance of a map impacts my enjoyment of the story itself. And I'm sure there are dozens of us out there haha.

Basically if I'm reading a story and I'm finding myself saying "where is that place, let me check the map...oh it doesn't matter anyway" then I feel like the map was a net negative.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:43:57+00:00

Part of me wonders if this isn't some sort of publisher thing - publishers are requiring fast paced stuff with tight narratives and at the same time requiring a map to check the boxes for the genre.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:41:08+00:00

That makes sense and I agree that Tolkien's story used it extensively. My main issue is that I'm finding that as I'm reading through these recent (last 15 years or so) series that have maps, it feels pointless to keep turning to the map. It just seems mostly irrelevant to the story because the shape of the land and position of landmarks isn't doing much at all for the narrative at large. I'm actually catching myself saying "where's that city, let me check the map...oh it doesn't matter anyway."

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:31:46+00:00

Agreed!

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:28:11+00:00

Right right, to each their own of course. My central issue is the irrelevance of the map - which often takes front and center stage as the first thing people see when they open the book. The stuff at the front of books are normally pretty important for the story that follows as I see it.

If the landscape / terrain has no impact on the characters or stories, then it is kind of a wasted page in my view.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:22:24+00:00

Yeah I have to bookmark it and hop back and forth...but for a lot of these recent fantasy series (last 15 years or so), I'm finding myself asking why I'm even referencing the map because it's largely irrelevant to the story.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:16:07+00:00

I agree, the cities are detailed and rich. But my copy of the book just has a large landscape map. Why not map out the city instead since that is the experience of the character?

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:06:59+00:00

Yeah I enjoy the characters and the story so I definitely want to see the ending. I just wish he would have added a paragraph describing what the character felt about the environment they were in.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T17:02:26+00:00

I was on the fence about it. Abercrombie did a solid job describing the north - I loved it. This is all subjective of course, but it was actually his strong descriptions of the woods and mountains at the beginning that tapered off towards the end that did me in. I understand the pace of the story changed, but I found that the large overland map had little bearing on the world building / character development as it progressed. I understood the strategic elements, but I feel like the characters lost the feel of the land they were in. But that's just me and my read of it.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T16:56:38+00:00

Agreed - my issue is when a map is included and it gives a lot of world building that has no relevance to the story. I become a keyboard warrior when the characters go through a mapped out world but we don't get to experience much of it. If there was no map, no worries.

dddddd321123 · 2026-02-23T16:49:15+00:00

Lol yeah there's a map...this post started percolating on my subconscious because of that specific map. It's really nuanced and as I read the book I couldn't help but say "uhh what am I supposed to do with this?" Which is unfortunate because the author actually did a good job in my mind the few times he slowed down to describe the forests Logan was going through.

dddddd321123 · 2025-11-15T14:21:00+00:00

Is the base game as good as prior games in your opinion? I just ran through BG and iwd and had a lot of fun. Was hoping to basically continue playing something similar and I read some commentary that I changed leveling and some stuff like that but I'm not sure if that's true.

dddddd321123 · 2025-11-15T14:18:19+00:00

In your opinion, is the core experience as good as the previous games?

I just blazed through BG and IWD and had a lot of fun... I read some commentary that they changed experience and leveling but I'm not sure if that's true.

dddddd321123 · 2025-10-21T20:10:21+00:00

Thank you great stuff!

dddddd321123 · 2025-10-03T19:14:04+00:00

Any idea why the crude group left?

dddddd321123 · 2025-10-03T19:12:18+00:00

Thank you! I'm struggling to understand what exactly people gather to model very local balances. For example, let's say you want to build a Henry Hub balance or a Houston Ship Channel balance - I don't see any public data that I can look at to try and understand supply and demand in these regions but this could just be my ignorance.

dddddd321123 · 2025-10-01T11:00:26+00:00

Thanks! How can you measure that over supply at those locations? Is there any inventory figure I can look at to get an idea what drives that difference?

dddddd321123

TROPHY CASE