Mapmakers and the Flickering Fortress: (A Graphic Novel)

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

At the conclusion of MAPMAKERS AND THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN, besties Alidade and Lewis had just split up: Alidade surrendered herself to the Night Coats, in the hopes that she might learn more about them; and Lewis, with the help of Cado and his new Memri, Peak, set off in search of more Mapmakers.

When Alidade and Constable Frances Atwater arrive at Nox City, chaos is looming. Night Ward Wolfhart is missing and his underlings are trying to find him before word gets out. Naturally, Alidade sneaks off to do some investigating of her own. With the Constable in tow, Alidade finds hidden doors that lead to dark, threatening, thorn-filled worlds. The secrets they discover show more threaten to undo everything - including Atwater's faith in the system. (Insert "Are we the baddies?" gif here.)

Meanwhile, in the Plains, Lewis and Cado find a scattered farming community on the brink of disaster. Ominous black weeds - reminiscent of Flickers - are choking all the crops. When Peak accidentally falls on one, he's knocked out cold. Luckily, an aspiring Mapmaker named Ripley Range knows just how to revive the Memri. She invites the gang back to her home - which is also the Mapmaker's Plains lodge. The entire Range family are Mapmakers - or more like translators, as they'd call it - and they've slowly been mapping the expansive Plains as a team. A scribbled out section called the Barrenlands catches Lewis's eye; ever the optimist, he runs off in the middle of the night to prove that it's an area worth mapping (and saving). What he finds there is wondrous.

MAPMAKERS AND THE FLICKERING FORTRESS is a fitting conclusion to the Mapmakers trilogy. Chittock and Castillo continue to broaden Alidade and Lewis's world beyond the Valley, and the ending even introduces Mapmakers from all over the globe (crossing my fingers for a spin-off). The big reveal about the Night Coats is pretty great and hints at political corruption and hypocrisy happening IRL. And of course, I absolutely adore the environmentally friendly themes found in the Mapmakers series; the plot line with the thought-to-be-extinct pheasants is just lovely. Ditto: Alidade's conversation with the thorny trees. Plus we get to see Blue smile! show less

This was a great end to the series. Everything was wrapped up quite nicely. I loved these books. The concept is wonderful and the characters are great too. I felt a bit confused about the magic at times, I wish there were more books in this series to go even more in-depth in this world. Magic maps with magical creatures and doors and things are basically my favorite thing and I just want more! Ultimately, this is a series for kids, which is fine but I would love an even more developed epic fantasy in this world.