# When reading a high-fantasy novel, how much do you study the maps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125 "2008-03-05T01:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/21 "2008-03-05T09:07:37Z")
I’ve seen very detailed maps, but they’re printed too small to read anything on it. If they had maybe removed all the fancy scrollwork on the border, and maybe had a gutter that was smaller than an inch, it’d be more useful. Or perhaps spread it across two pages (with a suitable gap in the centre so the image isn’t obscured by the crease). I’ve seen maps where the text obscures the geographical features, rendering them pretty much useless. I’ve seen maps where the wiggly lines representing the ocean look like the wiggly lines representing the mountains, which look like the wiggly lines representing a swamp; maps where you can’t tell the difference between a river line, and a road line; and maps where you can’t tell which part is land and which part is sea. I’ve seen maps that do not match what is written in the story whatsoever, even though they appear to have been drawn by the author. e.g they travel north to get to a town clearly marked as west of them in the map. I see rather too often maps that show only about five or six of the twenty places mentioned in the story, but also show about forty or fifty other places that are never once referred to in the text. And very, very rarely, I’ve seen maps that work on every level they’re supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/22 "2008-03-05T12:27:14Z")
I consult maps occasionally to get my baring after a number of places are mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/23 "2008-03-05T12:38:31Z")
I never even look at them. They don’t add to my experience. ---
**Author:** ![exclamation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/858c86/32.png) [@exclamation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exclamation)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/24 "2008-03-05T12:38:53Z")
I skip straight over the maps, get straight into the fanatasy world, and let my imagination build the landscape. Then something happens that doesn’t fit into what my head has created, so I’ve got to go to the map, establish the story in **that** landscape. It’s not a perfect system. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/25 "2008-03-05T13:06:04Z")
I’ll closely scrutinize the map before I start reading. Then completely forget about it and just let the story carry me along. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/26 "2008-03-05T13:14:03Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Really? I have two different paperback editions of\* A Game of Thrones\* the first fell apart from repeated readings, so I bought a new one), and both contain maps of southern Westeros. Maybe yours was missing a page? What they do lack is a map of the Free Cities and points east (except for the Slaver’s Bay map in book 3). Hopefully, that’ll be rectified by book 5. [/QUOTE] It may have just been the edition I had, but I definitely remember only seeing a map of the North and the Neck. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/27 "2008-03-05T13:19:37Z")
I don’t study them, but I consult them, frequently. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/28 "2008-03-05T13:23:54Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I’ve seen very detailed maps, but they’re printed too small to read anything on it. If they had maybe removed all the fancy scrollwork on the border, and maybe had a gutter that was smaller than an inch, it’d be more useful. Or perhaps spread it across two pages (with a suitable gap in the centre so the image isn’t obscured by the crease). [/QUOTE] This drives me _mad_, the map where key stuff happens on the crease between the two pages. Surely the map maker knew the map was going in a book! I love maps when reading, usually. I like to flip back to the map while I’m reading the story – I’ll look at it in the beginning but because I don’t have much context, I don’t focus on it too much. I’m also the kind of person who likes family trees in my books, I refer to those while reading as well. And in real life, I also love maps and family trees. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/29 "2008-03-05T13:47:37Z")
There must be maps. Particularly for those epic-type fantasy series that seem to follow the LotR standard of questing across many lands. However, I don’t like it when the map is Chekhov’s gun – where the story’s heros will be visiting _every dang named location on the map_. David Eddings was always really bad about that. Funky geography drives me a bit bonkers, too. But not so much in novels as in role-playing games, for some reason. Mordor’s square mountain range doesn’t bother me so much. Legend of the Five Rings’ rivers that flow away from the sea to go mountainclimbing, emphatically _do_. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/30 "2008-03-05T14:07:48Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] This drives me _mad_, the map where key stuff happens on the crease between the two pages. Surely the map maker knew the map was going in a book! I love maps when reading, usually. I like to flip back to the map while I’m reading the story – I’ll look at it in the beginning but because I don’t have much context, I don’t focus on it too much. I’m also the kind of person who likes family trees in my books, I refer to those while reading as well. And in real life, I also love maps and family trees. [/QUOTE] Those damned creases are especially annoying in paperbacks. Another map lover here. Does the map help me understand the story? Or is the story an excuse for the map? A favorite world: Newhon, wherein you find Lahkhmar, City of the Black Bones. Artist Lordy Rodriguez makes maps that paste together “real” places in highly unusual ways. His work is highly detailed–but [these](http://www.stretcher.org/archives/r4_a/2004_07_01_r4_archive.php) might give you an idea… ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/31 "2008-03-05T14:32:17Z")
Gobbler’s Knob’s in Punxsutawney, PA, about 100 miles NE of Pittsburgh ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/32 "2008-03-05T14:33:51Z")
Count me in the I don’t study maps, but I like having them to consult camp. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/33 "2008-03-05T14:46:42Z")
See above. Not necessary but sometimes nice to consult if I get confused about something. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/34 "2008-03-05T15:02:15Z")
I draw a line to mark the characters journey. I have to reference the maps constantly throughout the book whenever a place is mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/35 "2008-03-05T15:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Shine] Gobbler’s Knob’s in Punxsutawney, PA, about 100 miles NE of Pittsburgh [/QUOTE] Gosh, that sounds familiar… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/36 "2008-03-05T15:39:16Z")
I’ll glance at a map before I start a book, but if it’s a new world that I’ve had no prior experience with, it doesn’t mean much to me. I’m extremely bad about remembering names that have no relevance to me at the time I see them. Only once I get invested in the story and I start wondering where the places are that are mentioned do I really get into the map. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/37 "2008-03-05T15:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] > [@Mr Shine](#): > > Gobbler’s Knob’s in Punxsutawney, PA, about 100 miles NE of Pittsburgh Gosh, that sounds familiar… 😕 [/QUOTE] It’s also the setting for _Groundhog Day_ Gobbler’s Knob’s in Punxsutawney, PA, about 100 miles NE of Pittsburgh _ducks and runs_ ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/38 "2008-03-05T15:56:21Z")
I don’t tend to be obsessive on maps, but I will check them to see where places are in relation to each other as I read through the story. In Song of Ice and Fire I was always trying to see where the children were in relation to each other. I’m in the middle of Stirling’s Meeting at Corvallis, and I keep checking the map in the front, but it’s hand drawn and needs to be about 3x bigger for my ageing eyes. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/39 "2008-03-05T15:58:41Z")
I think maps really help. Maps and invented languages. Maps, invented languages and arch-type fantasy races. Maps, invented languages, arch-type fantasy races, genealogies, creation myths, etc. … Sorry about that. Maps are great for any High Fantasy that involves war or journey. I am enough of a fan of maps to have Atlases of my county from 1850 & 1891. I own the Atlases of Middle Earth & Pern. They really do lend to a story and I often find myself flipping back to them while reading the book. The Middle Earth map I have memorized to a scary degree. Jim ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125/40 "2008-03-05T16:01:52Z")
I’m very map-oriented IRL (I spend hours on GE for fun) but I don’t really need it in my books. I mean, I do like things to be internally consistent, but I don’t need a map to make sense of things, usually. LOTR, Pern, Bas Lag, Discworld - don’t really need a map for any of those. Of course, having said that, I do have all the Discworld mappes. But that’s for the writing, not the cartography so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-reading-a-high-fantasy-novel-how-much-do-you-study-the-maps/440125.md?page=3)