{"id":1620,"date":"2016-04-20T18:59:54","date_gmt":"2016-04-20T22:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?page_id=1620"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:07:09","slug":"fantasy-maps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/fantasy-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

F<\/span>or the past few years<\/span>, I’ve been working somewhat diffidently on a research project that combines two obsessions: science fiction and fantasy, and maps. The end result of this project will be a few semi-scholarly articles, and convention presentations, as well as materials on this website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m interested in the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the history of map design in fantasy and science fiction literature<\/b>: where does the classic fantasy novel map \u201clook\u201d come from, and how has it changed over time? (My working hypothesis is that current fantasy maps are the direct descendents of the work of children\u2019s book illustrators like Pauline Baynes<\/a> and E. H. Shepard<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, a comparison of fantasy maps to their real-world equivalents<\/b>: what, for example, do medieval maps look like compared to fantasy maps of a roughly analogous period? (So far, it seems that they have almost nothing in common with one another; a medieval map would probably be unrecognizable to a modern fantasy reader.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And third, the use of maps within the stories themselves<\/b>: as treasure maps, as portals, as symbols, as metaphors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This page serves as the central hub for my studies. It\u2019s constantly updated and revised as I Learn New Things. I\u2019ll also post updates on The Map Room<\/strong>: see the fantasy maps<\/a> tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Articles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n