The Unmapped Lands

by Theresa Couchman

Alanna Rye may be straightforward to the point of rudeness and more than a little short-tempered, but what she lacks in grace, she makes up for with the ability to turn her enemies into small rodents. As a witch of uncommon power, she’s used to dealing with unusual situations, from surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness to spending time as a bear, and when a demon in an expensive suit strolls into her apartment one autumn afternoon, she doesn’t bat an eye. Corralling the occasional stray emissary of Hell is all in a day’s work.

But when a friend accidentally opens a portal to a parallel universe, balance must be restored to not one, but two worlds, and the challenge may be more than even Alanna can handle. She must travel to the farthest reaches of an alien realm and try to set things right—all the while keeping an eye on the demon Joe, who has no choice but to come along for the ride.

With a frank, funny protagonist and an unforgettable cast of characters that includes a bitter magician, a weepy psychic, and a very capable rat, The Unmapped Lands is the perfect modern fantasy tale for readers in search of a new adventure.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2011

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Unmapped Lands is a wonderfully imagined adventure, full of well-rounded and distinct characters. There is gentle humour and great pathos, mixing well into a story of hope and determination, which urges you to follow the protagonist, Al, and her motley sidekicks on their journey.
Although the beginning is a little loosely-knit, I would urge readers to bear with the first couple of chapters: they are akin to the slow ascent to the top of the first drop on a rollercoaster ride. They may seem to be going nowhere in particular, or even know where they are taking you, but when you get to that first summit, boy are you in for a ride!
I am refraining from giving any real details of characters or plot on the grounds that I would not wish to spoil the singular connection that every reader makes with the story the writer tells. Each reading experience is a separate contract between the reader and the writer: what the reader reads into each character and situation in the novel will be coloured by their own life experiences, and I am in no position to resolve that for anyone else.
What I will say is this: I have thoroughly enjoyed this first book from Theresa Couchman. Many first novels come nowhere near the expectations of seasoned readers such as myself – this has surpassed them with flying colours. I wish Ms Couchman the very best of luck with her future writing endeavours, but I have a feeling that luck will have no place there – her talent will surely see her career flourish.
I have to say that I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Many thanks to them, and to Theresa Couchman, for a wonderful read.

[Nicholas Tulach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say that i really wanted to like this book. I was biased in favor of it from the start since i think Theresa is hilarious. I was hoping her wit on Twitter would translate to this novel. And it did in the first few pages. Witches, demons, and magical menstration—weird and sometimes funny stuff.

But the writing just lost me. Some of this is personal taste: i prefer more active characters in an adventure tale like this seemed to be. Instead, it felt like the characters were constantly preparing for things to happen rather than actually doing interesting stuff. I also didn't care for the first person perspective, but that was another personal taste issue.

Unfortunately, i had to stop reading before the end because the ebook version i had was missing an unknown quantity of text about 2/3 of the way through. This is a self-published book and unfortunately from time to time, self-published books do not meet the standards of rigorous editing and proofreading that trade published books typically meet. Plenty of other minor mistakes in this book, but missing text broke me from the scene entirely and was the final straw.

I think Theresa's writing has potential, so i'll stick with her for the future. Hopefully she has already learned from this book and will improve her craft and publishing process if she continues to self publish in the future.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, however i felt somethings were a little redundent and repeatitive in the beginning. I felt the characters to be believiable, and relatable. It left me wondering if there would be another follow up book, i would like to read more.

[Devin Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read once I got past the silliness of it. There's a very minor amount of language and suggestive themes that might make the more conservative person uncomfortable, but all in all it was lighthearted and entertaining.

[Lucius · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Part One. Very good.

[Mutantreptile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know why this took me so long to read when it was such an fun read.

[Claudia Recinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wildly wonderful and imaginative! Witty and intelligent. The prose jumps off the page and grabs you. The Unmapped Lands is an outside-the-box and thoroughly entertaining read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Chief!

[Alpha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, but a little too "fantastic" (in the fantasy sense of the word) for my liking.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. The main character slipped away a bit from my imagination by the end. The ending was a little anticlimactic. I liked the characters, ideas, and unusual perspective, though.

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ragtag bunch of misfits in a bizarro world.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative and imaginative characters and plot that draws on fantasy and adventure tropes. It fizzles out in the last third of the story. Good writing but at times the dialogue gets too snarky.

[Flower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book, very imaginative story. Great ending!