Map of the Impossible

One of Joanna Penn's great attributes is to create brilliant, believable characters and then thrust them into a truly strange fantasy world, in this series she has created an organisation that uses maps as a medium to travel between realms, the human one (rather prosaically based in Bath in the UK) and the borderlands which is not a nice place! Although I am not a huge fan of dark fantasy, the sheer quality of the writing has meant that I have thoroughly enjoyed being engrossed by this trilogy, and couldn't wait to see where the story led. The ending was totally unexpected, and yet managed to seem almost inevitable once I had read it. Although this book is a fantasy, it does reflect a lot of real-world issues, people trafficking, slavery, family loyalty, being faced by impossible choices, and utilising talents as well as possible, and it is this link to the real world that makes this book so relevant and readable. With each book we have been introduced to new characters, and in this one it is Zoe, who starts out as a very clever but minor member of the map restoration team, using her talents as a weaver to untangle the threads of damaged maps and then rearranging them as part of the restoration project. However she grows in confidence and abilities as she helps a team entering the borderlands, and ends up being a major player in the spectacular ending. I love this type of character development which makes them much more human, and inspirational. I am fortunate to be a member of this author's advance readers team, and so received a complimentary copy of this book, but have voluntarily written this honest review.

This series has meant something to me. My first dive into a different world for me. I usually read detective novels and love them but when this series came out I decided to give it a try since I have read many of the other books by J.F. Penn. I enjoyed this series and this book was a great addition. I love the way she makes her town the center of the books, treating it like another character that you want to visit. All of the different characters having different abilities making them a perfect team together.

This is a great book with a great ending that I highly recommend.