DNF at 33%.

I’m afraid I just didn’t click this one. The opening chapter is exciting, setting up an interesting world and a main character with an unusual goal, but the book rapidly becomes bogged down in its huge cast, whom I struggled to tell apart as they are not well-differentiated. The pace crashes to a halt as the large cast all set off on a journey together and we constantly flick between points of view, so I never knew what was actually happening in terms of the larger picture, as there are so many little things happening, and very few of them were interesting to me. It all seemed rather petty. Dialogue is flat, the narration feels distant and I just couldn’t get invested. This feels to me to be a slightly lacklustre take on a Joe Abercrombie-style gritty, realistic fantasy concerned with the ‘little guy’, and, apart from that genre being just not my cup of tea generally, this doesn’t have enough character pizazz to pull it off.

I particularly found the depiction of female characters somehow... fake? There’s a lot of overt statements about womanhood, safety, pregnancy, misogyny and so on, but it comes across strangely by-the-numbers, as if they are statements from the author trying to be feminist rather than the thoughts of authentically real-feeling women. Not one woman in this book, reflecting on her womanhood, felt like an actual woman to me. No one’s “boobing boobily”, so it’s not that old problem of men writing women in fantasy, they just feel wrong and flat in a way I’m struggling to explain. The final straw for me was the sexual assault of one of the main female POVs and the reaction of another female character - I just couldn’t see how this plotline could be handled well given the previous depiction of female characters. Sadly, this is not a book I want to finish.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ecopy of this book!

This is my second book by David Hair and unfortunately, I do not think he is an author for me.

I found the dialogue to be very flat and there was very little worldbuilding. The main pov is also rather dull and he is far too concerned with always doing the right thing. As a character driven reader, if i do not at least like the characters, then I will not enjoy the book.

There were also multiple instances of attempted rape that were not resolved in a way that made me comfortable.

From Good Reads:
Really enjoyed this and look for forward to the next one.
Great worldbuilding, interesting plot and a fine mix of characters to spice it all up.
Dash collects and leads his rag tag bunch on a magical quest - and who doesn't love a quest.
Set up nicely for the next one.

Well, this is fun! I quickly got swept up in the story as Dashryn is having to deal with brutal invaders crashing into his home and demanding he treat an injured patient. He isn’t someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, but it doesn’t take long to discover his loathing of the Bolgravians, who are responsible for smashing his life apart. He also has a teenage daughter to keep safe…

I was immediately hooked and stayed that way. This story quickly gains momentum as most of a village uproots itself and goes on the road in search of sufficient riches to change everyone’s future. I stayed up reading this one far into the early morning, unable to tear myself away from the sheer tension and adventure. All sorts of things go wrong on the road, from broken wagon wheels, to thuggish mercenaries who think women are good for only two things – and no… conversing with them intelligently as equal human beings isn’t on that very short list.

Dashryn has his own reasons for wanting to earn a large sum of money – which he can’t do without a lot of help. And despite his apparent breezy, can-do demeanour, I liked him a whole lot more when he agonised over the inevitable deaths and did his level best to ensure casualties are kept to a minimum. I also like his rather spiky relationship with his teenage daughter, who is wanting more independence. I’ve read far too many fantasy books where teenagers are either completely beaten down by intolerant parents, or are simply far too sensibly compliant to be remotely true. While my grandmother was fond of telling me that when she was growing up, teenagers were far too busy trying to earn a wage and learn the ropes from older work colleagues, who weren’t tolerant of mistakes to be rebellious – I am sure that in this context, a motherless daughter would be seriously questioning her father’s decisions. Which she does…

There are a number of vividly drawn, memorable characters in this story, including a twisty mercenary leader, a Priestess who’d rather study than preach a sermon, and a shape-shifting bear. Over the space of the book, I grew involved in their trek to seek out a better life and thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and various setbacks they endured. The denouement was very well handled – taking the plot suddenly in an unexpected direction and leaving me desperate to read more.

In short, this is a cracking fantasy adventure that I highly recommend to all fantasy fans and I very much look forward to reading the next book. While I obtained an arc of Map’s Edge via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Received ARC copy from Jo Fletcher Books and Netgalley for honest read and review.
This book sounded good and looked good,and it was.
Really great story and a fine set of characters with their own merits.
Day the was outstanding and I loved the use of magic-praxis.
Good action packed story that had it all, Giant birds ,magic users and the usual abundance of bad guys to keep it interesting.Cannot wait to read the next in series.

I was first drawn to this book because of the title and cover, and that lovely, tantalising ‘At the edge of the map, there’s no going back…’ I am obsessed with maps and cartography, so Map’s Edge had me hooked from that point, even before I read the blurb which confirmed that this was a book I wanted to read.
It must be said that the summary made it sound a little more ‘heist-like’ than the final product felt, although at its core is a heist. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and what it did, as well as the foundation that it is has lain for the rest of the series, and there was more than enough action throughout. Map’s Edge does, however, have that classic fantasy adventure-quest feeling from the offset, one that starts with the odds against it, because the main character had fought and lost against the Empire before, which added a nice flavour to the story.
Fittingly for a book called ‘Map’s Edge’ great care has been taken with the worldbuilding, and Hair has created a breadth and depth to this world that really brings it to life. There is a wonderful blend of variety and interconnectedness between Treshveld where our story begins, across the Bolgravian Empire and the countries that have fallen beneath them, and in Verdessa. And there is a deep sense of history, both recent and ancient, through the ancient race of the Aldar who had perished centuries ago. Even better, for all the richness that this first book has given us, there is very much the impression that we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of the world the author has created, and I look forward to discovering more of it in the future books.
Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the magic system, which was interesting and for the most part well developed and explained – there were a few places where I had questions, but as this is book one that is to be expected. There are two primary types of magic Praxis and Mirza, both of which see the Sorcerer bonding with a spirit which becomes a familiar that is invisible to anyone but the Sorcerer and other Sorcerers. Praxis Sorcerers have a natural, symbiotic relationship with their spirits while Mirza Sorcerers bonds with their spirits are self-destructive, the Mirza spirits essentially corrupting them from within. As with the worldbuilding, you get the impression that there is more to both sides of this magic system, especially when there is also the Izuvei, sorcerers working to become more attuned to the spirit world, and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
While a lot has been put into the worldbuilding and magic, the characters have not been left behind, and Hair has created a broad, varied cast right from the start. Every character, whether main or secondary, has there own motivations and history, and the dynamics between them especially as the group comes together, and threatens to fall apart, and endures a journey that pushes them all to the limit, are spectacular. There is banter, there is emotion and conflict and resolution. The characters and the world, bringing one another to life. Not all the characters are likeable, but you are invested in all of them, no matter where they fall on the spectrum, even if you only want to see their downfall, and that is because of the writing.
This was a fast-paced, entertaining read, set within a world that I want to explore more of. It has the breadth and depth of epic fantasy, the action and excitement of a heist, and it has left me wanting more. I would highly recommend for anyone looking for an epic adventure, and I will eagerly be waiting for the next instalment in this series. In the meantime, I will be picking up the Moontide Quartet by David Hair which has been on the TBR for far too long.

Map's Edge's, in a nutshell, is this: A bunch of Otravians, Pelarians are led by Dashryn Cowl to find the 'secret' Istariol that has long been funneling the source of sorcery in this distant land. All I can say is that from the outset, it appears and looks to be like a pulling a sneaky heist as the Bolgravians seek to stop this from happening in the first place. Dashryn also needs to convince a bunch of people to come with him on this quest. It is long, dangerous and it is not an easy quest to go on. Especially when you consider the fact Dashryn fought against the Bolgravians and failed. And he lost his Kingdom to a powerful family where his wife...

I shall leave it at that. I believe the book itself paced itself very nicely with its characters. Jesco Duretto, being the loyal and rogue-like mercenary from Shadran was a sort for sight eyes. He brought in many comedic moments within the book. Vidar, a man with an ability to turn into a rogue-like bear and a scout in the Royal Nordan Army before the Bolgravs smashed them. The Bolgravs are the equivalent of invaders that you don't want to come into your homeland. They are a tough and brutal race, but I believe they possess no skill nor art. They don't. They're just drunkards.

And Dashryn has to keep mediating this rag-tag band of followers between him and Sir Elgus. All I'll say is a Chameleon has more shades than Sir Elgus has. That's the only clue I'll give. You'll figure it out in the novel. Zarelda is a delight to read in this novel. She's like the daughter every father loves. Strong and stubborn, but smart and fiesty however she does get a little lovesick within this novel. Oh, and Sir Elgus has a proud, loyal son...I'll leaves you to figure this one out. The book description is correct: You'll be exploring mountains, you'll be going through the ruins of the Aldar, the forgotten civilization that eerily resembles a Carthaginian Society to me.

There are plenty of floods, avalanches, heck, magic blasting frigates! (Also watch out for this one, this was my favorite scene in the entire book) I didn't like two characters in this book: Firstly, Toran Zorne is a despicable member of any race that would fit well in a dictatorship's secret service. Loyal and ruthless to the core, feeling no emotions. There's nothing clear about his origin than this: He's just evil from birth. That's what I feel. WWII had many people expressing their evilness when in reality it just demonstrates that human nature is very fickle indeed. Secondly, Kemara I felt doesn't have that chemistry yet with Dashryn. I feel Dashyrn needs another partner. You'll get what I mean when you read further.

There's a lot of cool stuff, ancient civilizations, magic, a heist, personal loss, love, and humor. I enjoyed this so much and I would def say, that's it for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Sebastien De Castell. A VERY apt description indeed :)

A good fantasy according to my heart: it’s action packed, fast paced, full of twists and turns and gripping. I think there’s a lot of potential and it could become one of my favorite fantasy series.
I liked this story since the first pages and was fascinated by the very complex world building and the plot that kept me hooked.
It’s a classic epic fantasy, well written, full of drama and secret. You want to turn pages as fast as you can because you don’t what’s going to happen.
The world building is amazing and very complex. I want to learn more about the ancient civilizations and I was fascinating by the magic system and the belief system.
Some of the characters are a bit flat and need some more character development. I loved the female characters as they are strong willed, complex and well written.
As the book end with a cliff hanger I can’t wait to read the next instalment.
This one was highly entertaining and I recommend it.
Many thanks to Jo Fletcher Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The good news is that "Map's Edge" is the first in a series. The bad news is that we have to wait for the second book. I thoroughly enjoyed this magic- and quest-filled fantasy. I love the way David Hair writes (and he has written more books. Check them out - I will be!), and the world he has created is a very solid one that holds the story perfectly. The interactions between the characters were a real high point for me and I can't wait to catch up with them when book 2 is available.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All of the views expressed in this are my own.
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The blurb had me hooked. The scope of the worldbuilding seemed enormous and in that aspect I was NOT disappointed.

The worldbuilding is rich and seamlessly embedded into the story rather than doled out in infodumps.

David Hair delivered in plot just as well as he did with the worldbuilding.

The one thing I found lacking was the depth of the protagonist. This might just be a 'me' thing though, but I did find it difficult to empathise or connect with him. The side characters seemed more fleshed-out and rounded than the main character.

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a story full of plot twists and a high-tension struggle for survival!

Overall rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

When I see a blurb like the above for Map’s Edge, one that gives a tonne of information to the reader and has some big-name authorial comparisons, I tend to think that it could go one of two ways. It could be awesome. There could be so much to enjoy that it’s impossible to write it all down. Or it could be a case of over-hyping a book that’s only gonna let me down in the end.

I picked up Map’s Edge because it seemed like a pretty “standard” noughties-style epic fantasy. The kind of story that builds on a lot of pre-established tropes but with some original flourishes. And that’s what I got. kind of?

The premise here is that we’ve got Dash Cowley, a guy with a mysterious past, a daughter, and a desire to get the hell away from the Bolgravian Empire. Who are pretty much your standard epic fantasy evil empire, but with Russian accents. Early in the book, Dash comes into possession of a map with the location of a treasure trove of scarce magical ore — istariol. In this world, sorcerers use istariol to power their magic. Dash is able to read this map since, wouldn’t you know, he is a sorcerer!

So the story begins. Dash starts seeing dollar signs and, perhaps more importantly, the prospect of a peaceful life. He puts together a ragtag group of people from the town he’s currently hiding out in and sets off to form a colony. Quickly. So that they can get to the istariol before the empire finds out.

Obviously, things don’t pan out that simply. The empire gives chase. Factions within Dash’s colony start to butt heads. There’s quite a bit of exploration of the troubles of leadership, and Dash spends most of the book practicing conflict resolution. This is something I’ve enjoyed before in books like Abercrombie’s The Trouble with Peace, but I found it a bit repetitive here. I usually love a bit of found-family feel, and was hoping that I’d get that here, but unfortunately I didn’t find that to be the case. I thought there was too much conflict between the travelling crew for that sense of belonging to shine through.

Some of this conflict (and the subsequent mediation) took the story down a path that I really didn’t enjoy. There is an attempted rape of one of the more prominent point-of-view characters. Several attempts, really. The way that the first is dealt with leaves the plot thread hanging in a foreshadow-y way that I found uncomfortable. I assume this was the author’s intention, but that doesn’t change the fact that this may not be enjoyable for some readers.

This ties into one of the recurring themes of Map’s Edge. There’s some exploration of the dangers of being a woman, and on the forced reliance on men with more powerful positions. While I applaud the author for tackling this topic, as I feel more authors should, I… didn’t really enjoy the execution. There were some poignant moments, such as when a character walking through the camp on her own at night starts to worry for her safety. But I feel that when you bring such a volatile topic as rape into a novel, you have to really nail the survivor’s story. You have to nail the emotions involved. You have to touch on the healing, show a way forward. And the way that it was handled in this book just didn’t work for me.

But if I’m honest, a lot of this book didn’t work for me. I didn’t think that there was much life or charisma in the dialogue. I thought that the characters continually made infuriating decisions, and that their flaws and motivations were often less complex than I’d prefer. Some scenes and character arcs just didn’t hold my interest. There’s one story thread where Dash’s recently-turned-sixteen daughter is determined to lose her virginity to the one “nice” guy from a horrible family, but her father doesn’t approve. While there might be someone out there for whom that storyline strikes a chord, it certainly wasn’t me.

Two things I did like were the magic and the worldbuilding, which are tied together in a way I found really interesting. I enjoyed watching the characters learn about them to the extent that I really didn’t mind the info-dumps. The magic system here involves sorcerers connecting with a sort of invisible animal familiar, which is always a plus in my book. There’s an element of “rediscovering an ancient lost civilisation” here, too, which was one of the things that kept me reading.

In the end, Map’s Edge by David Hair wasn’t really a book that worked for me. There were some aspects I enjoyed, but more that frustrated me. It wasn’t my kind of book, but if you’re interested by anything I’ve said above, it might be for you.

The Map’s Edge is about a renegade sorcerer called Dashryn Cowl has run out of places to hide. The erstwhile sorcerer of the Imperial College has fled the Bolgravian Empire when his high-flying family fell from grace, but the tyrannical empire is still hunting for him.

When Dashryn gets his hands on a map showing a place outside the known lands rich in Istariol, the mineral that fuels sorcery, he sees a way back to power. There's only one problem: it means masquerading as an Imperial Cartomancer (an instant death sentence) and finding some dupes to help him mine the Istariol in secret, no questions asked.

The first point I liked about his book was it was fun to read. Dashryn is well written and absorbing character, who you become invested as the story progresses. The plot is engaging and there is plenty of tension throughout the story.. However, for me, the story lacks in pace. The world building is balanced well enough, personally, I like a strong well structed world this was just enough to keep my interest.

Overall, a book that was fun to read and worth checking out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jo Fletcher books, all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

The author weaves together a whole bunch of familiar elements into a fast paced and fun story.

It's not a taxing book to read, the plot is straightforward and unsurprising, the characters are fairly typical and a little bit two dimensional.

What the author does really well is tension at all levels; internal, family units, intra group, inter group, world wide. I really loved this element of the book, the author clearly understands people and how they interact and it's pitched perfectly so it doesn't slow the overall pace of the book down.

This was a great first instalment to this new series. The characters are well written, the plot is compelling and the world is an interesting one. It did take me a little while to become fully invested but after a few chapters I was invested in the characters. If you're looking for a new fantasy series to start, this one may be worth checking out.

The publisher’s blurb for this book might be a little misleading. The suggestion of a renegade wizard, who has run out of places to hide, stealing a magical substance, masquerading as something he is not, with the assistance of ‘dupes’ recruited to assist him, from an empire seeking his death and perfect for fans of Scott Lynch, all gives the impression of something rather different to what we get.

You might imagine this will be a book about an out and out rogue pulling off a fantastic heist at the edge of the world - who wouldn’t want to read that? Sadly, that isn’t what we get.

Our central character turns out to be such a stand up, all round decent guy, so concerned to always do the right thing, he is, unfortunately, a bit on the dull side. We long for him to show some roguish charm, some duplicity or concealed secrets or just a character flaw. Instead he wants to gain the magic maguffin so that he can finance a revolution to restore a constitutional monarchy in his homeland, it seems.

None of which might matter too much if the story told had sufficient tension and excitement or simple fun. But here it is lacking too. There is a shortage of pace. Despite having the structure of chase for most of the book, it manages to squander any feeling of tension or suspense, in favour of slightly rambling picaresque for the first half of the book. It picks up later, but that was a little too late for me.

The world building is less convincing than it might be. Details, such as the landscape they move through, can be disappointingly vague. The change of seasons, which in book that takes place over months and over significant distances, should provide a backdrop is almost entirely absent. Magic, for me, is too obviously something that works for the author’s convenience, rather than by its own rules and logic.

It’s a mistake to review a book on the basis that it isn’t the book you hoped it would be, of course. It is an issue if you can imagine ways the story could have been improved.

This is by no means a bad book, it’s just not particularly one I feel I can recommend. I’m sorry it didn’t engage me more.

A free copy of the proof was provided by the publisher and Net Galley in return for an honest review.