Ronlyn Domingue's The Mapmaker's War was published by Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) in March 2013 (the paperback edition will be published in March 2014). It's the first part of Keeper of Tales Trilogy.
Information about Ronlyn Domingue:
Ronlyn Domingue is the author of The Mapmaker's War (Atria Books, 2013). Its epic sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, will be released in 2014. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, was published in ten languages. Her writing has appeared in The Beautiful Anthology (TNB Books), New England Review, Clackamas Literary Review, New Delta Review, The Independent (UK), and Shambhala Sun, as well as on mindful.org and The Nervous Breakdown. Born and raised in the Deep South, she lives there still with her partner, Todd Bourque, and their cats.
Click here to visit Ronlyn Domingue's official website.
Information about The Mapmaker's War:
"This will be the map of your heart, old woman."
In an ancient time, in a faraway land, a young woman named Aoife is allowed a rare apprenticeship to become her kingdom's mapmaker, tasked with charting the entire domain. Traveling beyond its borders, she finds a secretive people who live in peace, among great wealth. They claim to protect a mythic treasure, one connected to the creation of the world. When Aoife reports their existence to her kingdom, the community is targeted as a threat. Attempting to warn them of imminent danger, Aoife is exiled for treason and finds refuge among the very people who had been declared her enemy. With them, she begins a new life surrounded by kindness, equality, and cooperation. But within herself, Aoife has no peace. She cannot share the grief she feels for the home and children she left behind. She cannot bear the warrior scars of the man she comes to love. And when she gives birth to their gifted daughter, Aoife cannot avoid what the child forces her to confront about her past and its truth. On this most important of journeys, there is no map to guide her. In this tale - her autobiography - Aoife reveals her pain and joy, and ultimately her transformation.
The Mapmaker’s War is a mesmerizing, utterly original adventure about love and loss and the redemptive power of the human spirit. Watch for its epic sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, in 2014.
A REVIEW OF RONLYN DOMINGUE'S THE MAPMAKER'S WAR
Ronlyn Domingue's The Mapmaker's War is one of the best literary fantasy novels I've ever read. It differs greatly from other novels and it's one of those novels that can be recommended to both mainstream readers and speculative fiction readers. It belongs to the small group of novels that can be called literary treasures.
What makes The Mapmaker's War an extraordinary novel is that it's written entirely in the second-person narrative mode. This is rare, because most authors avoid using this narrative mode. This mode works well in this novel and it creates a mythic atmosphere. Reading a novel that has been in this narrative mode may be a bit challenging for readers, but once you get into the story, it's difficult to stop reading it. When the story grabs hold of you, you'll find yourself turning pages as fast as possible to find out what happens to the protagonist.
The Mapmaker's War is a beautiful and touching story about Aoife, her life, her work and the choices she makes. It's possible to say that this novel is Aoife's memoir.
Here's information about the story:
Aoife is the king's mapmaker. She travels to a distant land and discovers a secretive people who live in peace and seem to be wealthy. When the royal family hears about the wealth of the people, a war begins. Aoife has to decide where she stands and what she does, because she wants to protect those that she loves. Because she disagrees with others and warns the secretive people of the coming danger, she becomes an exile...
Aoife is a fascinating and complex character, because her life isn't easy. She experiences both happy and sad moments in her life, and feels trapped by her marriage etc. The author writes beautifully and touchingly about Aoife's choices and how she learns to live with what she's done and accepts what's happening to her.
What makes Aoife an interesting character is that she's ahead of her time, because she wants to be a different kind of a woman than just a dutiful wife and mother who takes care of the children. She wants to continue her work and travel (she's rebellious and doesn't want to settle down). As Aoife travels from one place to another, the readers get to know what kind of a woman she is. Aoife tries to find inner peace and harmony, because what she has done and what has happened to her continues to torment her.
Aoife's life changes in many ways during the course of the story. When she's still a mapmaker, she's a totally different kind of a woman than after her exile. She continues to evolve with new circumstances and re-learns to do things. Reading about her choices and relationships with different people is captivating. I'm sure that all readers will be fascinated by Aoife's search for peace, love, forgiveness and redemption.
There's plenty of depth in this novel. The author writes about such issues as love, forgiveness, redemption, compassion and non-violence in a deep and touching way. She explores them through Aoife's life and feelings.
Reading about the culture of the Guardians was fascinating for me, because their culture was based on compassion and equality. They were a non-violent people who valued a peaceful way of life. Their way of life differed from the way of life that Aoife was used to, because her own people were the ones that started the war.
The author has a fluent way of writing about what kind of brutality men are capable of doing to each other. For example, reading about Leit and his past was fascinating. Leit's story was touching and unforgettable in its raw brutality.
It was interesting to read about Wei, because she was born to be a Voice. Her abilities made her different from her family and other people, because she saw the world with different eyes and was sensitive to people's emotions. The author wrote fascinatingly about her abilities and her training. I think that several readers will be interested in finding out what happens to Wei and how her powers develop.
I have to mention that the author wrote well about Makha (a wolf), because she was an important creature for Leit. I've always enjoyed reading about animals in fantasy novels, so it was nice to read about Makha.
When I read this novel, I noticed that it was almost like a fairy-tale for adults. If the author would've chosen, it might have been possible to add the words "once upon a time..." to the beginning of the story. There's a charmingly allegorical and parable feel to the story, and the author has an ability to make the reader think about the happenings.
Ronlyn Domingue is a talented author, who writes beautiful and almost poetic prose. She's one of those authors whose prose both charms and touches the hearts of the readers. She outshines several other authors and manages to create a charmingly mythic atmosphere with her gently flowing prose.
In my opinion the contents of this novel and Ronlyn Domingue's writing style reminds me of Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, Ursula K. Le Guin's novels and J. M. McDermott's Last Dragon. It's almost like an original and unique combination of their writing styles and storytelling talents. I think that readers who love Ursula K. Le Guin's stories and novels will enjoy reading this novel.
Because I loved this novel, I'm eagerly awaiting its sequel, The Chronicle of Secret Riven, which will be published in May 2014. I'm also thinking of reading the author's debut novel, The Mercy of Thin Air (Atria Books, 2005), because it seems to be an interesting novel.
I can highly recommend The Mapmaker's War to readers who love literary prose and captivating stories. I sincerely hope that several readers will read this beatifully written novel and spread word about it to other readers, because it's a unique fantasy novel. If you've ever read literary fantasy novels or literary historical novels and liked them, you must read The Mapmaker's War, because it's a brightly sparkling gem of excellent prose and beautiful storytelling (in terms of depth, prose and storytelling it's a memorable work of art). This novel will resonate with the readers long after the last page has been read.
Highly recommended!