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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Map Thief

by Heather Terrell

Mara Coyne is hired to find a stolen artifact that may prove that China discovered a way around the southern tip of Africa before Vasco de Gama and the map would also show the Chinese discovered America in the early 1400s.

The book jumps back and forth between 3 time periods, telling the story of the mapmaker, a navigator for de Gama and Mara's search for a map stolen from an archeological dig in China. I thought this was an effective way to tell all three stories, even though it was a bit confusing at first to keep track of the main players.

I always like a book that keeps me interested and teaches me at the same time. I 'felt' the time periods and identified with the feelings of the main characters. The bigger story, that of finding the map, was all the more interesting because of the struggles that went into making the map and preserving it. I wanted the map to be found and the right thing done with it.

I liked this book well enough that I bought Terrell's first book, The Chrysalis. I would definitely recommend this to others who like historical fiction.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting I just read some reviews on Book Thief, which had been all over book bloggers and critics' radar and now I find your take on Map Thief. I think I'll take up both! :)

Framed said...

I think I've heard of the Chrysalis. I'm looking forward to hearing which one you liked the most.

Booklogged said...

You're in for some good reads, Matt. The Book Thief is one of my all time favorite books. A definite MUST.

Booklogged said...

Framed, I hope you don't have to wait long.

Bookfool said...

Sounds fabulous! Onto the wish list it goes. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm a sucker for Map books, I'll have to pick it up. Thanks for the review!

Iliana said...

I like the sound of this one. I've been on a bit of a historical kick lately so I will have to look for this!

hellomelissa said...

you may think i'm nuts, but sometimes when a book jumps around like that i will take notes! is that crazy?

Maaja Wentz said...

I haven't visited your blog in a while - or mine for that matter. I like the changes, the author interview etc. Keep up the good work! It's interesting stuff.