MAPMAKERS AND THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN

In this sequel, newly minted mapmaker Alidade charts unfamiliar mountainous territory to further break the Night Coats’ frightful reign and bring about harmony across the land.

Following their struggles to free the Valley from the Night Coats, Alidade; her best friend, Lewis; and Blue, a magical creature known as a Memri, voyage to the far-off Mountain in a quest to revive other Memris. Atop the Mountain, the explorers meet Cado Stride, a fellow child of the Mountainfolk. To evade the Night Coats, who have annexed the Mountain, Cado’s people hide in an immense cavern, severed from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves. With a mysterious disease now afflicting the Mountainfolk, Cado enlists Alidade’s mapmaking abilities—and some surprising new powers—to summon the Memri of the Mountains. Meanwhile, the infamous Night Ward tasks Constable Atwater with hunting Alidade and her friends in order to halt the emerging mapmaker’s efforts. In their fevered pursuit, the Night Coats can’t help but leave a trail of destruction. A grander journey than Mapmakers and the Lost Magic (2022), this second entry improves on the strong opener, boasting better worldbuilding and much tighter stakes. An expanded cast of amiable heroes (including the hilariously impish Memri of the Mountains), Castillo’s wonderfully rustic artwork, and a renewed emphasis on ardent camaraderie round out this nicely woven installment.

An adventure well worth joining.