One of the things I love about journey tales is all the different places they can take the reader. For example, my own novel, Enoch’s Device, begins at the monastery of Derry in Ireland, but the journey soon takes my protagonist to France (and the cities of Paris and Poitiers), and finally into the heart of Moorish Spain and the city of Córdoba. And like most good journey tales, I provided a map. Here it is.
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| The map of Tenth-Century Europe in Enoch’s Device |
Long before writing Enoch’s Device, I was always a fan of the maps that accompanied my favorite journey tales, whether it was Tolkien’s map showing Bilbo’s journey from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain, or David Eddings’ map of the kingdoms of the West and the Angaraks in The Belgariad. I’ve grown especially fond of the much-needed maps of Westeros in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (talk about a series that takes a reader different places; without the maps, it could be hard to follow!), and I love the fact that the HBO series uses an animated map in the opening credits of Game of Thrones. While only some of Bernard Cornwell’s stories are journey tales, many of his novels have maps, and some are quite beautiful. In fact, the map at the beginning of Agincourt is one of my favorites.
I’m sure I’ve left out other good examples. But if you have a favorite journey tale with a great map, post a comment and let me know!