For the love of God, a map please!

[Horrim Carabal]

One of my pet peeves is fantasy novels/series without FULL maps of the world.

The Killing God gives us NO map at all.

Someone, anyone! Please post a link to a fan-made map.

Or make one yourself.

I have no talent or I would. I need to know where everything is in relation to everywhere else.

Why don't authors recognize some percentage of their readers NEED this??

[Savor Dam]

Earlier this week, Forestal posted a PDF version of Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of The Land. There is a lot of material at the back of the book that sheds light on her methodology and how the bulk of the detail she put into her maps and drawings was based on textual analysis.

I haven't the cartography skills to do the same for The Great God's War, but I am giving some thought to focusing a reread of these books on pulling together as many of the clues in the text as I can in order to form a more detailed mental image of the overall geography of the various locations.

If I end up following through on those intentions, I hope to post something about what I learn.

[kevinswatch]

A map of Bellinger and Amika would be freaking awesome.

I recall in the ongoing Q&A that SRD did for the Last Chronicles that he was anti-maps in books?

-jay

[Savor Dam]

Agreed.

I do intend to do a reread focused on harvesting all the relative geography clues in the cycle of The Great God's War based on the methods I learned from Atlas of the Land, and to share my (likely very rudimentary) model of world where this series takes place.

That's an aspiration, not a commitment. No hard feelings if someone else does it sooner...or better. What's your vision of these lands?

[kevinswatch]

That would be sweet. Go for it!

Although I'm not crazy, right? I recall in one of the Q&As that SRD said he hated having to make a map for the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and was told to do so by his editors. Once he did it the first time he vowed never to do it again. Or something like that. Or I'm crazy.

-jay

[Elgart]

I have eagerly read every single word that Donaldson has ever written and there is no fantasy author like him. BUT it is a pretentious affectation and very disrespectful to fans to not include a map for The Great God's War. I have just started The Killing God and I can see it will very quickly become the story of a sprawling, climactic military campaign - nothing wrong with that, except there is no military campaign in the real world that could ever be understood without reference to maps, and this is no different. Like others posting here I don't have the time or the skills to try and generate a map from the text alone. But surely, somebody somewhere is up to the task ?!!! A jug of Grot for the best effort . . . .

[kevinswatch]

Love the name! Welcome! And I agree, a map is needed!

-jay

[Avatar]

There was no map for Mordant's Need either.

(Apart from the one Danlo made.)

--A

[kevinswatch]

Yeah, I swear that SRD said in one of the Q&As that he completely loathed having to make maps. He made one for the first chronicles since his editor made him do it. Then he fought doing it ever again. Right, he said that? Or am I crazy?

-jay

[Avatar]

No idea. Ask Wayfriend, he's the GI / Q&A master.

--A

[wayfriend]

There was nothing like that in the GI. Just that Donaldson made some maps himself, and that he's not particular about accuracy, only the general sense.

[kevinswatch]

There was nothing like that in the GI. Just that Donaldson made some maps himself, and that he's not particular about accuracy, only the general sense.

Interesting, thanks for confirming. I must be crazy! I swear I remember reading about that somewhere!

-jay

[wayfriend]

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I could not find it.

[kevinswatch]

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I could not find it.

I understand. I could very well be crazy. Haha.

-jay

[kevinswatch]

I doubled checked the GI by searching for simply the word "map" and I do seem to be crazy:

https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromt ... =map&none=

The closest I could find is that SRD admits that he's not a visual person in many posts and generally not fond of having to make maps as a result (perhaps my interpretation of his responses). But that's as close as I could get.

-jay

[wayfriend]

Still, there are plenty of interviews, and plenty of 'Fest Q&A's, where he may have said it.

[kevinswatch]

Still, there are plenty of interviews, and plenty of 'Fest Q&A's, where he may have said it.

True, but more likely, I'm just crazy, ha.

-jay

[Elgart]

I completely get that SD might have no inclination towards 'the visual' and no skills in that area. But most people have at least a couple of mates with decent graphic ability. Surely - scribble the basics on a napkin - hand it to someone who can use a pencil. Double check the result. Job done. And I get to find out where the hell Realms Edge is in relation to Fivebridge etc etc without having to rant on forums.

[wayfriend]

Well, SRD did say that the only reason the Chronicles had maps is because the publishers insisted.
He had maps he used to construct the story consistently, but he would have preferred not to publish them, I think.
If so, then the lack of maps is in the spirit the author intended.

[burgs]

I struggled through the first two books without a map, and now, starting the 3rd, where there's mention of geography as a point of tactics (destroying the bridges - what bridges??) am very frustrated to find there are no maps.