Dashryn Cowl has run out of places to hide. The erstwhile sorcerer of the Imperial College fled the Bolgravian Empire when his high-flying family fell from grace, but the tyrannical empire is still hunting for him.
So, when he 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.
But somehow, amid the dangers of the road (floods and avalanches, beasts, barbarians and monsters), a strange thing begins to happen: Dashryn starts to care about his ragtag followers and their strange odyssey into the ruins of an ancient forgotten civilisation.
But his past won't let him be the implacable Imperial Bloodhound Toran Zorne has caught his scent, and Zorne has never yet failed to bring his quarry to ground.
At the edge of the map, there's no going forward and no going back . . .
***
The crash of a mailed gauntlet on the door tore Dash Cowley from his dreams and brought back another night when steel-clad fists ripped his life apart. 1, NEVER OPEN THE DOOR AFTER DARK
***
(@JoFletcherBooks, 15 June 2021, 400 pages, paperback, #ARC from @AmazonUK and voluntarily reviewed, #AmazonVine)
***
***
I'd never heard of the author before but something really appealed to me about this book. I loved the blurb and the front cover made it look like a book I'd want to pick up and would enjoy. I had a great time reading Map's Edge and plan to read the rest of the series and will likely seek out other books by the author. I was impressed by the level of world building in the book, the author takes his time to describe, create and help you visualise a real and very vivid world. I also liked the way the book approaches the idea of magic, taking a different idea than most books I've read that features characters with magical abilities. The characters are all impressive as well. There's a quite a large cast but it never feels too much and they are all very individual and realistic. Map's Edge is quite impressive.
