Rule 2: draw a map

    If you have watched the second episode of Andrew Marr's Paperback Heroes you'll know that rule 2 of his guide to fantasy is 'Draw a Map': he cites Game of Thrones as an example of a book in which a map drives the whole story.

    I don't know how central to the plot of Caraval is the map shown above, but this Venice-like plan at the front of the book is certainly a point of interest.

    Caraval is a debut young adult novel by Stephanie Garber to be published in both the UK and US in January with film rights having been sold to Twentieth Century Fox; here's the blurb:

    "Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.

    For Scarlett and her beloved and wild younger sister Tella it represents freedom, an escape from her ruthless, abusive father and from her own dark past.

    When the sisters' long-awaited invitations to Caraval finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But Scarlett is too scared of her father to leave Trisda and so she is kidnapped by Tella and a dangerous yet oh-so-seductive sailor named Julian and taken to the mystical Isla de los Suenos, the site of Caraval.

    Legend has it that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nonetheless, on arrival Scarlett quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever ... with the evil Master of Caraval, Legend."

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Comments

[Spade & Dagger]

I particularly like the inclusion of a map in a book - especially in historical mysteries where an authentic map from that era is used. With a map you know where you are in a story!

Sadly our local library no longer stocks paper OS maps for loan. I used to borrow them for trips away, as a quick study of a map always opens the eyes and mind to the geographical & social surroundings. I know online maps are readily available, but there is nothing like trying to handle a huge fragile, borrowed sheet of inexplicably folded paper in a howling wind.