The Cartographers
USA TODAY AND LA TIMES BESTSELLER
Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize!
"The Cartographers is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice." -- Washington Post
"There are echoes of Borges and Bradbury, Pynchon and Finian's Rainbow, but Ms. Shepherd's exhilarating and enjoyable work casts a magical glow all its own." -- Wall Street Journal
From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father's belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret--one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family's dark history.
What is the purpose of a map?
Nell Young's whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell's personal hero. But she hasn't seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.
But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can't resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence...because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one--along with anyone who gets in the way.
But why?
To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps...
Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V. E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history and magic--a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered.
And don't miss The Book of M!
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Peng Shepherd was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, New York, and Mexico City.
Her second novel, The Cartographers, became a national bestseller, was named a Best Book of 2022 by The Washington Post, and received a 2020 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her debut, The Book of M, won the 2019 Neukom Institute for Literary Arts Award for Debut Speculative Fiction, and was chosen as a best book of the year by Amazon, Elle, Refinery29, and The Verge, as well as a best book of the summer by the Today show and NPR's On Point.
"A beautiful and haunting story about the power of memory and the necessity of human connection, this book is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece and the one dystopian novel you really need to read this year."--Bustle on The Book of M
"I was both disturbed and inspired by Max's and Ory's journey through apocalypses large and small. Peng Shepherd has written a prescient, dark fable for the now and for the soon-to-be. The Book of M is our beautiful nightmare shadow."--Paul Tremblay, award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World, on The Book of M
The Cartographers is a story about magical maps that lead to your heart's desire, the sort of people who would do anything to find them, and the joy, regret, and possibility they bring. A vastly rich experience. I loved this book.--Charles Soule, author of The Oracle Year
"This is an apocalyptic thriller with heart. . . . The Book of M is devastating and inventive as Shepherd examines the value of memory, packing in imaginative twists as she goes."--USA Today on The Book of M
"She is a brilliant, brilliant new fiction writer. This is someone who you're eventually going to have on this couch--she's that good."--Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on the Today show
Eerily magical . . . At the heart of the novel is a timeless question about the meaning of memory.--Time on The Book of M
