For a person who loudly and proudly declares that fantasy is her favourite genre, I actually read surprisingly little of it. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve had my fair share of fantasy. But by doing so, I learned that discovering a good series is like finding a needle in a haystack. A big crusty haystack of mediocre fantasy literature. Sometimes, it’s worth it. Most times, however, it’s simply not. Regardless, I’ve never ceased craving a good epic fantasy story, as I nostalgically look back on the days when I was reading A Song of Ice and Fire or The Gentleman Bastard. So, when I stumbled across David Hair’s Map’s Edge at Waterstones, I was intrigued by its title and premise – but more so by the blurb promising that it’s perfect for fans of Scott Lynch and Brandon Sanderson. I didn’t need to hear more. In hindsight, I probably should have.

The story follows a fugitive sorcerer and his daughter, hiding from the law in the aftermath of a failed revolution. Ever the scoundrel, once he catches a whiff of the biggest natural resource of istariol, the mineral that fuels sorcery, he’s hellbent on getting there before the empire. One problem – this place is far beyond the edge of the known world, and such a perilous expedition needs significant manpower. So, he gathers a ragtag group of outlaws to follow him on this uncanny mission, enthralled by the promise of riches. However, the dangers of the road become the least of their concerns as imperial forces start tracking their traces. Most peculiarly, the cunning sorcerer starts to care about his newfound family, which only makes the stakes higher.

Wholesome, right?

Maybe, if only this book had a cast of loveable or at least compelling characters. Instead, we get the most one-dimensional characters saying the most predictable things, as if typecasted. You have your charming sorcerer with his (attempts at) cunning remarks and your typical boss-lady female love interest who really wants you to know she’s not like other girls… Or the sorcerer’s daughter who is also really not like the other girls at all! Or the edgy priestess who is also not like the other girls because she likes studying. Cool.

Any other kind of book, I would’ve stopped reading purely because of the lacklustre characters. But fantasy has another element which fascinates me to the extent that I call it my favourite genre – the worldbuilding.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything remarkable about this aspect either. Like most fantasies, you have your tyrannical empire that has taken over the world. Unlike most fantasies, Map’s Edge manages to make this trope even more underwhelming, by shedding any political or cultural intricacy. This book is simply set in a world where the evil empire is evil and does evil things for no reason other than being evil.

This book’s sole redeeming quality (which is also the only thing that kept me going besides sheer stubborness) was the plot. It’s fast-paced, with some decent twists and turns. With whacky creatures, dark forests and mythical caves, it made for an entertaining quest. Although at times tacky, the action scenes are fun to read.

And if I hadn’t bashed this book enough already, this is my concluding statement. It’s something I realised halfway through and once I formed this thought, I couldn’t envision Map’s Edge in any other way:

If Game of Thrones is HBO, Map’s Edge is ABC Family.

That’s it. That’s my TED Talk.