{"id":1806156,"date":"2022-03-02T09:35:04","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1806156"},"modified":"2022-03-31T09:06:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T13:06:41","slug":"new-article-from-me-maps-in-science-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/new-article-from-me-maps-in-science-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"New Article from Me: ‘Maps in Science Fiction’"},"content":{"rendered":"

My article \u201cMaps in Science Fiction<\/strong>,\u201d which attempts a taxonomy of the maps that appear in science fiction novels, stories and media, has just been published in the February 2022 issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maps are a central part of our experience of the fantasy genre: \u201cNo Tour of Fantasyland is complete without one,\u201d wrote Diana Wynne Jones in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland<\/em>; fantasy maps \u201care only much noticed when they\u2019re absent,\u201d notes The Encyclopedia of Fantasy<\/em>. It\u2019s easy to forget that maps are also found in science fiction. They don\u2019t turn up as frequently, nor are they expected to, and we don\u2019t talk about them or think about them nearly as often. But they do exist. I\u2019ve been writing about fantasy maps for years, and even I didn\u2019t give science fiction maps the same consideration at least until 2014, when during a presentation about fantasy maps at Readercon, I had to extemporize in response to a question about science fiction maps. My off-the-cuff response led me to look into where and how maps are used in science fiction and from there to write this article on the subject.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This article took a while to come to fruition. I put out a call for examples of science fiction maps and pitched the idea to the NYRSF<\/abbr><\/em>\u2019s editor back in July 2014\u2014and then life got thoroughly and fundamentally in the way. It was still thoroughly and fundamentally in the way when I finally, finally finished it and sent it off to NYRSF<\/abbr><\/em> in the summer of 2020. Life was thoroughly and fundamentally in the way at their end, too\u2014thanks, pandemic!\u2014so it\u2019s taken until now to see print at last. I\u2019m glad it has: science fiction maps don\u2019t get a fraction of the attention fantasy maps do, and I think I might have come up with some useful frameworks in this piece.<\/p>\n

From the examples explored here, we can discern several functions science fiction maps can perform on behalf of both text and reader. Maps may have a thematic<\/em> purpose as in the case of maps of Pern or Majipoor in that their style signals a science fantasy environment, the use of fantasy reading protocols, and a text of likely interest to fantasy readers. They may have a storytelling<\/em> purpose as with the maps from Dune<\/em>, the Steerswoman series, and the Mars trilogy: the maps separate the known from the unknown, the transformed from the untouched, the colonized from the indigenous. Or they may have a conceptual<\/em> purpose by giving the reader a big-picture understanding of structures, solar systems, networks, or empires.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I will post the complete text of the article later. In the meantime, if the teasers above have left you unwilling to wait even a little bit, you can buy the NYRSF<\/abbr><\/em> issue here<\/a>; it costs just $2.99 in the usual electronic formats.<\/p>\n

Update<\/em>: You can read the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My article \u201cMaps in Science Fiction,\u201d which attempts a taxonomy of the maps that appear in science fiction novels, stories and media, has just been published in the February 2022 issue of The New York… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,960],"tags":[31,644,645],"class_list":["post-1806156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-maps-and-literature","category-my-stuff","tag-fantasy-maps","tag-science-fiction","tag-science-fiction-maps","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1806593,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/maps-and-literature-updates-two-exhibitions-and-an-article\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":0},"title":"Maps and Literature Updates: Two Exhibitions and an Article","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"31 March 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"The Osher\u2019s fantasy map exhibition, North of Nowhere, West of the Moon: Myth, Fiction, and Fantasy in Maps, is now online\u2014though a number of the exhibition\u2019s maps are unavailable to view, I\u2019m guessing for copyright reasons (previously). Last month, MapLab\u2019s Laura Bliss interviewed the Huntington\u2019s curator of literary collections, Karla\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1787906,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/10\/a-fantasy-maps-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":1},"title":"A Fantasy Maps Update","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"15 October 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"It\u2019s been a while since my last post. That\u2019s because I spent most of last week with my head down, working on a presentation about fantasy maps for a science fiction\/fantasy convention that took place over the weekend. The presentation was called \u201cThe Territory Is Not the Map: Exploring the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1812811,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/02\/an-sf-fantasy-map-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":2},"title":"An SF\/Fantasy Map Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"21 February 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"In December Tor.com revealed the map for Martha Wells\u2019s upcoming fantasy novel, Witch King, which comes out in May. The post includes both Rhys Davies\u2019s map and Wells\u2019s initial sketch: compare and contrast. Amazon (Canada\/UK) | Bookshop How often do Star Trek tie-in novels come with maps? John Jackson Miller\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3876,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/02\/fantasy-maps-exhibit-at-texas-am-library\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":3},"title":"Fantasy Maps Exhibit at Texas A&M Library","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 February 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"An exhibition of fantasy maps,\u00a0Worlds Imagined: The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection, opens Friday at\u00a0Texas A&M University\u2019s Cushing Memorial Library and Archives. \"The maps included are part of an ongoing effort by [Texas A&M's] Maps and GIS [Library] and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection to develop a shared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1787577,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/08\/mapping-deep-space-nines-bajor\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":4},"title":"Mapping Deep Space Nine’s Bajor","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 August 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Fantasy worlds have established maps. Science fictional worlds not so much: what maps exist of imaginary planets are often fan imaginings rather than \u201cofficial\u201d work. One exception is the planet Bajor, a key location in the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Its map was created by DS9 writer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Imaginary Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Imaginary Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/imaginary-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/bajor-whitehead-1024x651.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/bajor-whitehead-1024x651.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/bajor-whitehead-1024x651.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/bajor-whitehead-1024x651.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5242,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2011\/09\/maps-in-sf-and-fantasy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806156,"position":5},"title":"Maps in Science Fiction and Fantasy","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"23 September 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"I mentioned this on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter yesterday, but I didn't mention it here: I've created a project page for my research into the use of maps in fantasy and science fiction, and it's now more or less complete enough to share with you. So far all it has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806156"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1806592,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806156\/revisions\/1806592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}