Title: Race to the End of the Earth (The Mapmaker Chronicles #1)
Author: A.L. Tait
Genre: Fantasy, Children
Publisher: Hachette Children’s
Published: 14/10/2014
Synopsis: A map of the world? Why did the King want that? Everyone knew if you went too far in either direction you’d fall off the edge, into the jaws of Genesi, the fire-breathing dragon.
A reluctant adventurer.
A ship captained by a slave.
A mysterious sea monster.
And a race to the end of the world.
The first thrilling book in The Mapmaker Chronicles.
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Young Quinn is living a quiet life on his family farm in Verdania when he receives a visit from a Deslonder, Master Blau, requesting him to attend schooling and eventually a quest as the mapmaker aboard a ship, trying to make a map of their world. Quinn’s uncanny ability to memorise anything is seen as a useful skill in this quest.
Along the way, Quinn and his travelling companions must encounter hostile people and lands, sea monsters and the competing teams who will stop at nothing to quash Quinn, his friend Ash and their captain, Zain. The other teams in the race to discover and map the rest of the world are amongst their biggest threats, the apprentices, such as Ajax and his leader, Odilon. The attempts of these other teams to thwart Quinn and Zain underestimate the photographic memory that Quinn possesses, which should give him an advantage over the other mapmakers.
Like many adventure fantasy stories aimed at children aged nine years and over, The Mapmaker Chronicles: Race to the End of the World takes children and those who are kids at heart, on an adventure through a new world, one of magic and monsters. A world where they can imagine themselves as the hero, and take on monsters and enemies, and conquer their fears through the actions and the eyes of Quinn and Ash, whose perilous journey in the first book is just the beginning of what is to come.
As a first book for a series, it is well written, and full of adventure for both boys and girls. It can be enjoyed by any child, and is a quick, easy read, and one that can hopefully persuade a reluctant reader to peruse and open them up to a new world of books and words.
