Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I frankly haven't read Paul McAuley's previous works and so I was in for a pleasant surprise, when the premise and concept of War of the Maps, his latest novel, hooked me in easily. War of the Maps is a science fantasy concept set in a gorgeously realised sprawling artificial world, spinning around artificial suns, birthed in the aftermath of multiple galaxies colliding with each other. [ If that didn't hook you in, then I don't know what will!]

The anonymous hero, referred only as the lucidor, who is an ex-lawkeeper in this nation that calls itself Free States, is on the hunt for an escaped convict. While this is the central tenet to the whole plot. this becomes wrapped up within a much larger 'doomsday' plot, where an alien species has invaded the borders of this 'settled' world and this war is threatening to go out of hand. The lucidor is on the move, tracking this mad genius psychopath known as Remfrey He, whose evil genius and ambition knows no bounds. The lucidor is single-minded in his pursuit, to the point of being doggedly determined to see it through to the end, and all the others are either a means or an obstacle to this end for him. A retired law-enforcer, the lucidor travels across nations, gets entangled up in daring rescue missions, hot-foots and rides through myriad adventures and finally ends up on a ship bound for the very ends of this known world, in his mission. Does he finally catch his wily nemesis Remfrey He and what is the fate of this invasion, becomes the focal point of the narrative that propels it forward.

Paul's world building is terrific, absolutely on point and sometimes just overwhelming. The lucidor's travels takes him to different parts of this settled world, exposing and discovering tantalising new aspects of cultural nuances in this world. For example, while Free States is a socialist economy where all citizens are considered equal, the neighbouring nation of Patua is an extremely capitalist economy. There is free trade and exchange of information across the borders. But the treatment of a lot of factors like social class standings etc are a world apart. The mythology and historical aspects are frequently interspersed into the story arc nicely. Concepts like the Creator Gods, the first men called the Ur Men, the first slaves or perhaps Artificial intelligence/ bots like Shatterlings etc are also fascinating concepts, organically baked into the story, forming crucial plot-elements.

Coming to the characters within, the story is mostly told from the POV of the lucidor. An older gent, who has kept himself in fighting fit conditions, is a stubborn old goat, who cannot be deterred from his single-minded mission. He considers himself responsible for this criminal called Remfrey He, whom he had captured once before. But the news that Remfrey has escaped to the front-ranks of this war on the borders of their world, with the intent of 'helping' the army, sets him off on this new mission, forcing him out of retirement. The lucidor is a well rounded individual, sensible and unbelievably calm under pressure. He is also a capable fighter with his 'staff', his most redeeming quality being unquestionable honour and mindless bravery. Bu these are the same qualities that lead him straight into trouble as well - as he cannot sit on the sidelines when there are crimes being perpetrated. Remfrey He, his nemesis and arch rival is also a fascinatingly written twisted character whose love for experimentation and pushing the boundaries of the unknown is limitless. Matched only by his arrogance and his innate desire of being a 'show-off'. Helping the lucidor in his impossible quest is also map-reader Orjen and her deputy Lysa, both strong, clever women who stand their own against the brilliance of Remfrey or the steel of the lucidor's unbending willpower.

The action scenes, and mind you there are countless adventures that our heroes go through in their quest, are well written. No fuss, But I felt the writing style perhaps took a bit of the drama and tension out of these scenes. This would probably be my biggest grouch as well - that the style of writing is literary. Don't get me wrong - The different worlds that our characters travel through, come tantalisingly alive in Paul's brilliant prose. His descriptions, transporting us effortlessly across these starry far-away landscapes, are towering feats of imagination. Monsters abound in these lands, each of them just as grotesque and sinister as the other. But I felt that in terms of fleshing out the details of this bizarre wonderful and brave new world, Paul sacrifices pacing a bit. And the plot conclusion about the fate of the invasion or even that of the 'hunt' by our lucidor, finally ended a bit tepidly for my tastes.

But in conclusion, Paul's War of the Maps is stunning and powerful imagination at work, sprawling worlds that collide with each other, teeming with strange life. This is a book that will force you to keep aside all your other engagements as the lyrical quality of the writing will spin a trance around you. Tracing a single-man's obsession into the seething maws of blustering madness, be prepared to be dazzled and confused in equal measures as you go for a trip of your lifetime around the stars. Recommended, for sure.

Thank you to Will and Gollancz for providing me an ARC. All thoughts are my opinion.

The Wars of the Maps is the combination of what the Witcher of Rivia would look like if he time travelled into the 21st century. It’s Witcher III the video game combined with Assassin Creed III. These are the video-game examples of what I’m comparing too. Because this novel has such a cinematic feel to the lush and dark environments of this world, it is amazing.

This books spans multiple oceans, spider crabs (yes. You heard it right. Spider crabs and mutated fish and leviathans) with a man that’s looking for really…a journey of his own re-demption. The Lucidor is an old man, but I just couldn’t help but imagine him reading in Geralt’s voice. He’s funny, he’s smart, and above all, he has a very dry sense of humor. Needless to say, this world is dangerous with rival kingdoms fighting against each other, separated across vast distances of oceans. There are endless deserts, lush mountain scenary that reminded me of North America for some reason.

And the poor Lucidor, as you will instantly guess: is mired into the political trappings of everyone trying to make a living for themselves. There are foolish characters. There are brave characters. There are characters that should have in my opinion, stayed for longer. Cyf is a character that I wished to see more off, as a slight criticism for me. The plot itself resembles something like a Spanish Expedition into the New World. You’ll soon see that during the course of the novel. This world has elements of steam-punk, but there’s not much steam in it. There’s the whole history of the First Peoples (as I’ve seen this being used in many novels, let’s call them the advanced civilization, an apt example would be the High Elves in the Old World of Warhammer) and the novel is really centered around discovering what they did. Why did these Gods leave this artifical world that they had created?

historical references that are really well hidden. I guess you’ll find them, but it is hard to judge – its the context really. This novel is slow paced, and it really picks up during the later stages. The reason for this is two-fold. One, this is a novel setting up the world. And two,

There are many historical references that are really well hidden. I guess you’ll find them, but it is hard to judge – its the context really. This novel is slow paced, and it really picks up during the later stages. The reason for this is two-fold. One, this is a novel setting up the world. And two, most fantasy novels in their first stages can be either setting up the character through the world, or setting up the world and then exploring the character’s motives. It’s a tricky situation for writers when they do this. Because you want a world where the reader has to be interested in every single element of world-building. You can’t go 100% Tolkein and write an entire bible because that’s not important. The world-building in this novel is VERY crucial. It’s drip-fed and doesn’t feel that imposing. I would say some areas did rely a little too much on describing some elements of the story. But if you want to know more about this advanced civilisation, then I urge you to read it. The world has very clear references of what human nature can do to destroy nature, and you’ll see nature fighting back. There’s diseases, mutations etc. It would take me a lot of time to describe it.

The writing is amazing, the prose stunning, the worldbuilding on an awesome scale. I think it’s a great novel. Fantastic work. Fantastic descriptions. And this novel has characters that serve their purpose.

Overall, a great read, and def worth buying.

At its most basic level the War of the Maps is a revenge tale, a story of a bad guy used by the good guys to get rid of problems. We begin with something like a science-fictional version of Stephen King’s The Gunslinger – a lone man on a horse travelling across a landscape. Thorn is a lucidor – a retired policeman on a mission. As he travels amongst the Maps looking for his quarry, we discover how he got to be a lucidor and the purpose of his quest.

Much of the novel is used to describe what this world the man is travelling through is like. There are a variety of landscapes – mountains and marshlands, industrial cities and medieval-esque markets. Initially the novel seems very much like the landscape and society of the Old American Wild West, or even Joss Whedon’s Firefly, surrounded by oceans.

Details of such environments are drip-fed through the novel as we go and we realise that in actuality this world is science-fictional. The bright sunlight beating down on our lead character is actually from mirrors above the planet. The world is really enveloped by the light of an artificial sun, and the Maps are actually places on this planet living as little kingdoms separated by vast seas generally having little to do with each other, apart from the odd skirmish or foray into each other’s different societies.

However, most of this is incidental. The main plot point is that Thorn is a man on a mission – he is hunting for the unusually named “Remfrey He”, a criminal who, for reasons that will become clearer over the course of the novel, has been set free but, due to complex politics, seems to still owes society for an atrocity he instigated. Our character, a retired lawman, is determined to make him pay.

To this aim we follow Thorn as he moves across desert to avoid assassins, helps a group of miners overthrow their slave masters, crosses seas, defends a wagon train as it travels across mountains and sails on a boat to rescue a group who may have the answer to an ongoing global issue.

The bigger picture is that Remfrey He (referred to with his full name throughout the novel) may be responsible for something that seems to disassemble genetics and recreate plants and animals into something new. A red weed seems to change women into ‘alter females’, a strange creature that seemingly loses most of its human characteristics and attacks humans. Remfrey He may have the solution to their mysterious origins – are they part of a new species designed to wipe out humans or are they a genuine adaptive response? As Thorn gets nearer to his quarry, things become stranger and we step into Jeff Vandermeer territory.

Around all of this there are also god-like intelligences that may be playing a bigger, more convoluted game, a situation made more complicated by the fact that Thorn seems to connect with one. All of this leads to a big conclusion.

War of the Maps starts slowly. Not all readers will like its languid pace, as it takes until after halfway in the novel before the lucidor’s planetary meandering begins to make sense. There is an element of ‘ignore the plot, feel the environment’ in the first half. Paul likes to describe the landscape and, as well done as it is, it can slow things down to a point where some readers may become frustrated. I did enjoy it myself.

But here’s the rub. Despite getting Thorn’s backstory drip-fed through the book, and an understanding of who he is and how he got to this, this character’s downbeat, emotionless default setting left me rather cold. At no point did I really feel emotionally connected to Thorn, the other characters he meets or their world. Instead, I read it in a rather detached, observatory manner. At times this dour mood and lack of emotion made the book, for all of its clever and detailed writing, a bit of a slog that I struggled to continue reading.

But as the plot’s bigger mysteries are resolved towards the end, the full impact of the tale becomes clear, a story that at its heart is science-fictional despite all the trappings that initially suggests that it is not.

In the end, War of the Maps for me is a conundrum – a well written, clever novel, but one which I admired rather than totally loved. It is not a disappointment – far from it – but at the same time I could not wholeheartedly recommend it.



War of the Maps by Paul McAuley

This is an excellent story, well written and engrossing.
I was fascinated by the amazing world building and the well crafted plot.
The cast of characters is well thought and interesting.
One small issue: it was a bit repetitive at times but this didn't reduce the enjoyment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Entropy and its consequences are a continual drumbeat in the background of War of the Maps. Enough time has passed for the Sun and all massive stars like it to die. Despite galactic-merger-driven star formation, ancient red dwarfs dominate and soon enough all the young, large stars will die. The artifact on which the lucidor lives is itself doomed. Death and his personal desire to evade it (or at least make sure other people die first) drives Remley He.

This sounds like the basis for a very morose novel. After all, McAuley’s The Quiet War was gloomy enough for me to nope out early. This book, however, acknowledges that entropy must win and yet gives its central character causes that are important enough to die for — and does so in a way that makes the lucidor’s faith convincing. Just because the long run is gloomy is no reason to needlessly maximize misery in the short run. To quote the always effervescent John Milton Keynes’ A Tract on Monetary Reform

But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task, if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us, that when the storm is long past, the ocean is flat again.

Much the same is true of science fiction authors. Hopeless doom and gloom are easy enough to write. McAuley has gone a different direction.

He de reconocer que las circunstancias que han rodeado mi lectura de The War of the Maps no han sido las más idóneas, ya que mi incapacidad para concentrarme y la escasez de tiempo que dedicar a la novela han jugado en su contra. A pesar de todo me he encontrado con una novela sólida que juega con las modificaciones biológicas controladas o no en un mundo que comienza siendo una incógnita del que poco a poco se va desvelando su estructura.

El protagonista absoluto de la novela es el lucidor, una especie de investigador policíaco ya retirado, que vuelve a ejercer su función para capturar al que fue su némesis. Esta persecución le llevará fuera de su ciudad estado y servirá al autor para que el lector vaya descubriendo poco a poco las peculiaridades del mundo.
El lenguaje que utiliza McAuely es precioso. Si ya nos habíamos fijado en la palabra ecopoet en su novela Austral, en esta ocasión no solo hace hincapié en la creación de palabras, es que toda la prosa invita a disfrutar de su belleza. Me costó un poco al principio entrar en su juego, seguramente debido a esa falta de capacidad de concentración que comenté antes, pero una vez superado este obstáculo te puedes recrear en cada página.
Resulta muy interesante ir recopilando las migajas de información que nos vamos encontrando por el camino para hacernos una idea de cómo es el mundo en que vive el lucidor y cómo los recuerdos de la tecnología ya perdida se van entrelazando con una mitología única. Y qué decir de las posibilidades biológicas de los estudios de ADN, que en libro se identifican como mapas, pues al fin y al cabo son los mapas de la vida.
También entran en juego las capacidades que poseen algunos personajes para alterar sus alrededores. Algunos pueden convencer al resto de las personas de lo que quieran, o provocar daño en remoto o como el protagonista, anular estas capacidades en los demás. Estas cualidades podrían dar mucho más juego del que McAuley aprovecha, quizá porque en el fondo se trata de una novela con un protagonista en el crepúsculo de su vida, obsesionado por finalizar una labor que considera pendiente.
Hay periodos de tiempo en los que parece que no pasa nada y eso no le sienta demasiado bien a una narrativa ya de por sí bastante pausada. No es que esperara una novela de acción y aún así hay algunas escenas que se podrían considerar de estas características, pero en general el tono es reposado y en ocasiones, demasiado parado.
Me gustaría haber podido disfrutar de The War of the Maps porque creo que la novela lo merecía. Quizá vosotros, en otro momento, podais hacerle justicia.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The worldbuilding, as ever with McAuley, was both detailed and plausible. But what I liked most of all about this story was that we mostly stayed in the viewpoint of the lawman, known as a lucidor, who is determined to track down a truly horrible antagonist – a murderer who casually commits atrocities, and enjoying watching his victims suffer. Unfortunately, he is also one of the foremost scientific thinkers on the planet who is able to help fight the influx of mutated creatures engulfing villages, countryside and towns, slaughtering humanity, domestic animals and wildlife alike. There are some gripping passages of the ruined landscape where no birds or insects break the silence…

So, who is right – the dogged lucidor who is convinced that Remfrey He should account for the lives he has torn apart? Or the authorities who feel that, in this extremely unusual case, Remfrey He should be allowed to atone for his misdeeds by travelling to the site of the suffering land to assist in beating back the alter women? These grotesque mutations have a social structure resembling ants and gather everything in their path to tear up and reuse it for their own purposes – including people.

Remfrey He is one of the most satisfyingly nasty characters I’ve encountered in a while, and by contrast, I grew to love the lucidor, whose name we hardly ever see. He has adopted his birth name, Thorn, after he retired from his profession of tracking down lawbreakers, when he was known as Lucidor Kyl. He is elderly, tough, resourceful and trusts no one and we’re in his head for a large chunk of the narrative. This story starts off as one man tracking another through an increasingly dangerous landscape, and broadens out as the lucidor is sucked into some of the upheavals caused by the dangerous mutations.

One of the intriguing details is that some people are gifted with particular talents, such as scrying. As well as being brilliant and resourceful, Remfrey He is a silvertongue, with the gift of persuading most people to become his disciples. And the reason why the lucidor was sent after him, is that his gift nullifies the talents of those in close proximity. I liked how that played out, because the consequence is that other people who might be able to successfully apprehend Remfrey He don’t want to work with the lucidor, as he sucks their gift dry.

This isn’t a fast-paced book. McAuley’s habit of writing dense description about every step of the way ensures that we see the world through the lucidor’s eyes and his days of plunging headlong into adventures are well and truly over. But I not only could see the world, I could taste and hear it, as this book swallowed me up and had me engrossed until right up to the end. It’s a gem that deserves to be far better known than it is. Highly recommended by fans of well-written intelligent colony world adventures and epic fantasy. The ebook arc copy of War of the Maps was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
10/10