I was really interested by the theme of this literary, speculative novel and jumped in with a lot of curiosity.
What would a world where the environment keeps on shuffling around be like?

I had hoped to find something similar to some of the Japanese speculative novels that I've read, which also touched on strange environmental phenomena. But I just couldn't get into the writing style. It felt so wordy, with never-ending sentences.

I tried to read some of them out, as I told my husband how I was struggling with this read and wanted to illustrate that... and realised I was running out of breath almost every single sentence. This sharply explained why it felt off and was so hard to focus on.

The characterisation was pretty good, I liked some of the little mundane things about them, giving them humanity, but the style kept them distant.
I just wasn't engaged with any of it. But if you like contemporary literary books it might be up your alley.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bindery Books for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow, what a great start to the reading year! This book is full of complex, compelling characters, and I was so invested in them. Esme, grappling with her fractured relationship with her fiance paired with her organized personality. Arjun's anxiousness, his compulsive desire to feel needed and do good, was resonant. By the end, it was sweet and powerful to see Arjun overcoming his anxiety, Esme reframing her life around herself — how far both of them came. At times I felt their pain, was exasperated by their choices, was buoyed by their hope. Always, I was captivated. In some ways it felt like watching a friend grow.

The flow-of-consciousness writing style I think is so different from anything I've ever read and I love the literary/speculative mix! Here, it’s striking and suits the anxious tension of the narrative. And this world — it felt chaotically true. I loved moments where, despite people bracing against things they couldn’t understand, they still found unity, connection, hope - a light in the midst of an ocean of uncertainty. This unity came through especially in the narration, and I loved the way all those disparate plotlines and perspectives wove together so fluidly into a really breathless ending. I shivered! I ached. This book left me feeling thoughtful, and awed, and warm — it felt like waiting for spring. It felt like stepping into a movie and leaving open-jawed. Just wow! 

“But this has been a year of miracles. Miracles as big as flying buildings and as small as the pinky finger that has learned how to stay still. As big and invisible as love. The miracle of existing. The miracle of moving.” — The Unmapping.

The premise of The Unmapping immediately drew me in: New York City’s buildings rearrange themselves every night, leaving the city in chaos with missing landmarks, a broken power grid, and mysterious cults emerging in the aftermath. The first 100 pages take their time setting up the world, but once the story gains momentum, it becomes really engaging.

There’s a diverse cast of characters whose lives become intertwined as they navigate the challenges of this ever-changing city. I enjoyed following their different journeys and seeing how they handled the constant upheaval. This book kept me thinking about how I would act if the world around me was always changing, and I’m really glad I picked it up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery Books for the e-ARC!

The premise of this book immediately caught my attention. I've been fascinated by cli-fi stories for a while where authors examine how climate change and disasters impact humans and how people form community and come together in times of need. In particular, I found the POV of our two main characters to be really interesting. Esme and Arjun both work at New York's emergency management team and they are tasked with managing the distaster response for "The Unmapping".

I'd say this was more of a literary leaning sci-fi, where there was a focus on the individual characters. Personally, I loved this aspect of the book and also really enjoyed how the author showed us other POV characters (who were often unnamed) and illustrated how all these characters were interconnected and showcased the struggles they were encountering.

The writing for this book was sharp, witty, and definitely chatty. Sometimes I felt like I was reading the characters' stream of consciousness (especially Arjun's). I found this style of writing to be griping and helped me connect with the characters and root for them. Arjun in particular, was such a fascinating character to me, especially because I think there are many people who want to be "heroes" and want to feel needed in times of need.

There were some subplots that I couldn't really wrap my head around (re: the cult and the explanation for the Unmapping), but I think the character work in this book was splendid.

Super excited to see the author's upcoming works!

I found it quite difficult to finish this book. The 2 main characters really hooked me in at first but their character development throughout the book felt a bit off. While I’m sure there was a literary reason for it, the reason to only name some of the characters was lost on me and as a result left me not having much interest in them.

A shame as I was really looking forward to this one as I love a dystopian book BUT I can absolutely understand why some people loved this book so check it out for yourself!!

2.5 stars rounded up.

“The first rule of emergencies is you never know what will happen until it happens.”
Esme and Arjun work in different departments for Emergency Management in New York City, one being in the office and the other in the field. Their worlds become completely unglued when different buildings in the city are not where they should be…and it happens again and again, always at 4 in the morning. As they both race to assist the city in whatever way possible, can they hold themselves together?
I enjoyed the premise of this book, but its execution seemed a bit lacking. Robbins uses different people’s perspectives to outline how insane an emergency can be and how it affects one’s life; however, I did not comprehend why some of these recurring characters weren't given names. Don’t expect to have everything resolved at the end of the book. Give it a chance. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but it may be yours.

I was really excited to dive into this book because I found the blurb fascinating and boy it did not disappoint. Such an interesting take, Robbins take us in an incredible journey with a very unique story. I loved the setting, the characters and the writing. I can't wait to hear more about this author!.

Thanks to Bindery Books | Mareas and NetGalley for this ARC of Denise S. Robbins' 'The Unmapping.'

Fascinating concept. Not sure how successfully it's been conveyed in this sci-fi/speculative/dystopian novel. NYC wakes up one morning to find itself and its infrastructure moved around.

There's an awful lot of moving parts (no pun intended) and characters and I didn't find them completely successfully connected.

I'm not sure if the cause of the unmapping is ever properly revealed and the whole cult thing seemed unmoored and unfinished.

I think there's a fantastically original core to 'The Unmapping' - just wasn't carried through.

I did learn through that aluminium Christmas trees were actually once a real thing - Google tells me they fell out of fashion in the mid-60s but the retro-freaks have driven prices up in recent times for any remaining examples!

Gonna make my mom read this so she finally caves and buys a real Christmas tree.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for sending me this book!

Thank you Bindery Books for this ARC.

This book is based on a very interesting and unique concept, and I was really intrigued by it.
I was expecting some form of disaster story, focusing on the chaos created by the unmapping and how society will adapt to it.

Instead I found this book was more focused on a small cast of characters and their lives, emotions and reactions. It has a eerie feel to it.
I was somewhat unsettled by the choice to name only some of the characters, and giving only tittles to most of them (the wife, the reporter, etc.) and I had a hard time connecting with any of them. Considering the context they are in, I didn't find their decisions or motivations realistic.

Overall it's a miss for me, I would have liked to read a story more focused on the unmapping itself, it's consequences and the practical response to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindary Books for a copy of this ARC!

When I first read the premise of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I love a good disaster-type story and so this book felt like it was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately this story veers in some unexpected directions that made it not as enjoyable for me.

This book follows a multitude of characters in the wake of a completely unexpected disaster. At exactly 4am, the city of New York completely re-arranges itself. City blocks are completely scrambled, causing all sorts of problems around the city. As questions mount as to what could have caused the strange phenomenon, we follow several characters as they deal with the resulting chaos, both in their city and in their own lives.

I really struggled with these characters. For one, it was an unusual choice to give some of the characters names at the start of the book (Esme and Arjun, for example) and not others (the journalist, the woman who’s sucked into a cult, and several others that I honestly can’t even remember). By purposely not giving them names, it made me feel like they weren’t really important to the story even though each had several chapters of perspectives and so I never really felt invested in any of them.

Then we have three “main” characters that are named - Esme, a woman in an abusive relationship who becomes obsessed with finding her fiancé in the aftermath of the “unmapping”, Arjun, a young man desperate to be perceived as a heroic figure and dealing with unrequited feelings, and Antony, a young man that gets trapped beneath a building on the first day of the unmapping (though he’s mentioned more as a peripheral character, which was also frustrating).

I found myself not enjoying any of them, either. For one, I had a hard time relating to or really understanding what motivated these characters to make the decisions they did. A lot of things felt purposefully unusual to make for an interesting story instead of a fight for survival. It just didn’t feel realistic for a disaster-type story.

I also felt extremely frustrated that such an interesting concept wasn’t expanded upon more. There was so much potential with such an unusual disaster but it felt wasted by focusing so much on the characters and their nonsensical actions. There is later, also a hinted explanation for it but it made no sense whatsoever either. It’s like this book was trapped between science fiction and contemporary but couldn’t really find it’s footing in either genre.

Finally, I really struggled with the writing overall. This book has a sort of stream-of-conscience type of writing but with so many characters that strangely all sounded the same despite their different experiences, it started feeling garbled pretty quickly.

That said, I do think there is a market for this book. It’s a quirky, character-focused type of speculative fiction that I do think some will enjoy. So while it wasn’t my cup of tea, I think fans of speculative science fiction that focus more on characters than the disaster will like this one.

This book releases June 3rd, 2025.

Rating: 2/5
Review will be published on my website on May 26th, 2025 at the following url:
https://mishmashedmagic.com/bookblog/the-umpapping-by-denise-s-robbins

The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbin’s was a pleasant surprise. I choose to read this book because the idea of the unmapping was unusual and intriguing. I found that this novel took a much deeper turn into what life is. Reading through each character’s perspective on this new way of life was eye opening. The unmapping wasn’t just about the movement of buildings throughout the city, but the personal movement of these individuals and how life’s changes impacted them. This book hoped around a lot in perspectives, which was a bit confusing at first, but I was able to connect with the characters and understand the movement from one perspective to another. The author did a great job at taking a simple idea and making a huge impact. I think readers will really enjoy the creativity of this book as well as the depth of this novel. This book sheds light on the uncertainty of life, but shows that humanity can get through it by working together on the things we can control. The unmapping represents the randomness of life, and each charge there reacts differently to theses changes. It was enlightening to read this novel and connect the pieces together.

Pros:

Strong concept. Really hooky idea, especially if you're from New York City and know just how much a catastrophe something so huge as an Unmapping would be.

Cons:

Not a fan of the dialogue!
The characters, as others said, seemed like they could be stronger and they felt like Vehicles For The Theme in a way that I think didn't do them service as Also Characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 1.5 stars

Giving credit where credit is due, "The Unmapping" really nailed a concept that FEELS so familiar to the science fiction genre, in the way that the story draws parallels to dystopian fiction and climate catastrophe, while also bringing a fresh new take with the concept of the Unmapping of New York City. Each facet of the Unmapping event feels extremely well thought out, from the mass hysteria of displaced people to the dominos of events that occur when buildings are ripped from their locations; the gas leak scene at opening of the story in particular was a nice hook that immediately draws readers into the story.

I also think Esme and Arjun are great characters to choose as main characters for this type of story, SPECIFICALLY in the ways that they work in the Emergency services department in NYC, and I appreciated the ground zero perspectives their characters granted to the story. And while I wasn't the biggest fan of the literary writing style for this type of story, I do think it succinctly conveyed the message/tone the author was attempting for in the story.

That being said, the weak characterization/paltry character development, as well as the stale dialogue, resulted in this book being an overall miss for me.

Esme's characterization as a person lacking conviction, who then becomes untethered (unmapped) when her anchor point goes missing, was constantly hammered into the audience. We are told at every turn that she's never made a choice of her own volition in her entire life, we are told she only sees value in herself when she can be of help to others, and we are told about her lifelong reliance on Marcus as a beacon to her life path. I feel like telling vs showing can work well when characters start from such a passive mentality, but this growth of both her character and the writing style for her character never seamlessly blends together. Instead, the telling vs showing continues as Esme grows, leading to extremely predictable and boring choices made for her character. The romances that flit in and out of her life feel like waystations to further her character development, and her conclusion felt so forced, I feel like her story would have been far stronger with a better emphasis on the strengthening of her platonic relationships.

And to a certain degree the same could be said of Arjun, as he becomes untethered to his hat, his clonazepam, and his job. The commentary on Arjun's mental illness was odd, I do feel like the perspective his South Asian parents had on his clonazepam usage was glaringly accurate, but the concluding scenes with Arjun and his relationship to his anxiety attacks felt overly anti-pharmaceutical.

The side characters feel like vessels for commentary on organized religion and cults, but those sidelines were so meandering and overall pointless to the central plot that even though I ended up skimming through most of those portions of the book, I understood the flimsy ideas that were attempting to be portrayed in those characters. Overall the religious commentary lacked nuance and didn't feel original, it felt like a weak endeavor to introduce more facets to a story; if it had been done well, I think the story would have been more rich and full, but unfortunately with the accompanying writing style and characters, this portion could have been omitted entirely.

However, the weakest element in this story was doubtlessly the dialogue. The dialogue was often long and pushed out large swaths of worldbuilding, and while this characteristic in of itself does not lend itself to bad dialogue, the formatting of the dialogue lent itself to conversations that felt inorganic and forced. The conversations were severely lacking in any sort of natural back and forth flow, to the point where each character's dialogue felt like a rote script being read by an actor. From the NYC mayor to Esme to Arjun to Anthony, each character had moments where it just felt like they were spewing words to their conversation partners, without breaks for natural conversation pauses or conversational ticks, which made the dialogue come across far too stilted.

All in all, I think the concepts and the premise of this story held really great promise, I just think the execution of the story and the character work missed the mark for me.

What an exciting premis, loved this sci-fi setting and happenings. Really enjoyed the first half, found the 2 main characters a little difficult to love. Thank you to the author. Thank you to # NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bindery Books for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

2.6 stars

I requested this ARC because the concept and plot seemed so interesting. And it is. The problem that I have with this book is the two main characters.
Arjun is a whiny little brat and Esme’s doormatnness is just unreadable- like both of them need some self respect. It was really slow going because I just loathed the two main characters, despite the fact that the story/mystery was super interesting. When we got to read POVs of the blonde woman or the mayor or even Esme’s dad I was hooked. Also, they randomly rehash Esme and Arjun’s backstories like a dozen times, it got tiring. To be honest I would have DNFed this book if it wasn’t an ARC, it was putting me into a slump and felt sooo long. The plot was compelling, but not good enough to surpass my hatred for Arjun and Esme- there’s a difference between flawed characters and annoying characters. Their love story was sooo underdeveloped, I was honestly hoping it wouldn't become romantic because there was like 0 development for the first 3/4 of the book. The ending was fine but I wish the conclusion of the mystery was a bittt more fleshed out. This review was all over the place but that's lowkey the theme of the book so I'm not apologizing.

I had to dnf at 33%. I had really high hopes for this book. The writing style was not my cup of tea. The text felt too chopped and too conversational. The story was paced too slow. Nothing was calling to me to find out what happens next. I feel like the author is keeping the characters and and plot at arms length.

i think literary sci fi is one of my favorite forms of sci fi, the same way literary horror is one of my favorite forms of horror— & it’s just as well that i love the pulp of both :D this one, though, steers more literary. very high-concept as i’ve come to expect from near-future sci fi, this book really digs into the human condition & what being human means in our world (and the world to come). gorgeous prose & a story that requires you to come to your own conclusions instead of holding your hand through the answers.

I let this one sit a little bit before writing my thoughts:
The initial third did not get me hooked enough - but it did promise a ride. For the rest of the book, I could not put it down. I found the "love" story lacking and not too convincing, and at times it seemed like the author was trying to mash a lot of themes together, so some of them didn't get the chance to stand out properly.

Thank you to Bindery Books for providing me the ARC of this book!

The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins

The reader partakes in an interesting look at what happens when New York geography scrambles like a ham and egg omelette from Denny's. Denise S. Robbins cleverly orchestrates New York lives paralyzed by the sudden changing of building locations. Through the eyes of Esme and Arjun, we witness the utter catastrophic scenarios placed forth by an unforeseen enemy, the Unmapping. Imagine waking up to a different view, your house physically moved. Electricity, transportation, and general knowledge lack of residential placements are causing confusion. The city is at a standstill. Through their work with New York’s emergency management team, Esme and Arjun are trying their best to aid civilians. Arjun is tasked with helping out on the ground level, and Esme is manning the cameras high above; however, neither have the concrete answers to suffice their good intent. While the book proceeds through the various interpersonal relationship strife of both, we stumble upon a possible reason for the shifting of New York City blocks. Global warming? Possibly, but perhaps something even more strange lingers beyond the fringes of normal contemplation.

I was hooked, the steel hook piercing through my pouty lip. My tail frantically jackknifing in protest until I became free, unhooked. I swam away, wondering what was and what could have been. I was fascinated by being lost in a mixed-up world. Enticing me like the wiggling of a worm on said hook. A rotating scenery flipping like a rolodex, upending my equilibrium. The bewilderment of finding a misplaced home or business that was upended by movement, resulting in the devastation of power lines and means of transport, rendering people helpless. In theory, I had never read a book like this, so the writer should be commended for an abundance of creativity. As I approached the latter half of the tale, I begrudgingly became disinterested. The love story souring upon my taste buds? Quite possibly, or perhaps it is the reasoning of why “The Unmapping” was happening in the first place. Without spoiling much, I can say I was disinterested in the discovery. Even after some contemplation, I still didn’t fully understand. The novel felt segmented into three very different ideas. A love story, a survival tale, and a religious implementation that, while I could appreciate, felt unneeded.

I hit the proverbial reading wall. I trudged slowly uphill, owing the author some goodwill after the hospitality I had been shown. The writing style was easy to digest, but the inclusion of so many varying ideas is what bogged me down like quicksand. However, there was enough here to be encouraged to hear the author’s voice on another project. There is something to be said for originality in this day and age. I am giving this 3.25 out of 5 stars, rounding down to 3 stars.

Many thanks to Bindery Books for the ARC through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.