Mapwalkers books in order

The Mapwalkers trilogy is a portal fantasy series following Sienna Farren, who discovers her family is bound to the Ministry of Maps, a secret agency that maintains the border between the real world and a dangerous parallel realm called the Borderlands.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Map of Shadows 2017 J.F. Penn Buy
2 Map of Plagues 2019 J.F. Penn Buy
3 Map of the Impossible 2020 J.F. Penn Buy

The Mapwalkers series begins when Sienna Farren inherits her grandfather’s map shop in Bath and discovers that maps in this world are more than navigational tools. Her family has long served the Ministry of Maps, a secret organization responsible for maintaining the boundary between everyday reality and the Borderlands, a parallel world where shadow cartographers seek to extend their reach into human territory.

Across three books, Sienna and the Mapwalker team travel through maps as a form of transport, moving between the known world and the shifting, dangerous terrain of the Borderlands. Map of Shadows establishes the world and introduces the threat. Map of Plagues sends the team racing across historical cities after a fragment of a deadly map is recovered from a medieval plague pit. Map of the Impossible brings the series to a close with natural disasters and a mutant army converging on both worlds.

Penn described the series as inspired by her love of old maps and the idea that the blank spaces on historical charts might represent something real. For readers who have enjoyed the ARKANE books, the Mapwalkers trilogy offers a different kind of adventure, built on wonder rather than thriller tension, though it retains the same pace and the same interest in real history and geography.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Mapwalkers series?

There are three books in the Mapwalkers series, published between 2017 and 2020.

What is the first book in the Mapwalkers series?

The first book in the Mapwalkers series is Map of Shadows, published in 2017.

Is the Mapwalkers series suitable for adult readers or is it aimed at younger audiences?

The Mapwalkers trilogy is written for adult readers, though its adventurous tone and accessible style mean it suits older teens as well. The series is set partly in Bath, England, a city J.F. Penn knows well, and it shares the fast-paced adventure structure of her ARKANE thrillers while shifting the genre to portal fantasy.

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