notw: The Maps

[Skip]

The map in this book and the next is an amazing work of misdirection. I mean it looks like a regular fantasy map, there are places on it and some places we see in the book are clearly labeled, but others are clearly missing and not explained.

Where is the Waystone Inn? Technically the entire story takes place there; but all we know is that it is west of where Kote expected the Scrael to be. Chapter four is titled "Halfway to Newarre" and the inn is apparently in that town. The fact that it sounds like "Nowhere" is probably not happenstance. Yes, the University, Imre and Tarbean are all listed, but everything else isn't. Being able to search in ebooks makes this stuff so much easier.

Ralien gets one mention, as do Cershaen and Junpui. Tinue is mentioned as an almost apocryphal place a couple times. Renere and Arur do not appear at all. Anilin appears a couple times, (view spoiler)[ because it is the place D had a bad experience, and oddly, so did the killers Ambrose hired to kill Kvothe (Coincidence? I think not.) (hide spoiler)] Hallowfell is (view spoiler)[ where Ben left Kvothe's family. (hide spoiler)]

The wood for Kote's mounting board came from Aryen - not on the map. It took four months for the wood to get to the Waystone from there for what that's worth. From the same chapter we know there is a rebellion in Meneras, presumably in the same country as the Waystone.

It goes on and on. I was just wondering what you all thought of the map and if you had any particular thoughts about it.

[Alain]

For the most part the map was pretty useless. I thought it was odd that most of the locales where the story is set don’t appear in the map. The other thing and that might just be the fact that I was reading it on a Kindle is I could not easily distinguish between borders and rivers. I had a quick look at the Kingkiller Chronicle Wiki and the Map they have does not appear that much more detailed than the book. Is the author giving himself some leeway storywise or was is it just included as tradition since its expected from a fantasy novel?

[Dara]

The map is almost completely useless and I wonder why Rothfuss bothered including it.

[AndrewP]

It might be the publishers asked for it.

I believe that's what happened with Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth books. He stated somewhere that he didn't want a map but the publishers insisted on it. Hence the map ended up being pretty vague and not at all useful.

[Skip]

I'm torn between two thougths; one, that the Inn doesn't exist in the same place as the story Kote is telling; or two, he added a map because fantasy books have to have maps, and the lack of help it provides is just his joke.

The problem with maps that are helpful is that they can be spoilery. Look at the comments on the map in our read of The Martian. There the map is very helpful, but it harmed some people's enjoyment of the book because it gave away plot points.

[Ben]

There was a good deal of map talk including from Rothfuss during the Rulers of the Realm panel at SDCC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpBH4...

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

I didn't even get a map in my kindle edition. I seem to have one for the second book though. I assume it is the same.

[Jack]

I like that the Waystone isn't on the map because it really makes it feel small and insignificant.

[Kenley]

Agree with others...the map (at least in this volume) is useless. I found myself going to it several times while reading and was generally frustrated.