10 Fantasy Books With Maps Of Imaginary Lands You’ll Want To Visit

Travel to magical lands and across the pages with the best fantasy books with maps to show you the way.

Do you have any famous maps from fantasy books hanging on your walls or that make for the perfect throw blanket? Here at The Uncorked Librarian, we love to geek out with map and cartography books. If you enjoy books that take place in magical lands, you might just be craving those unique maps of fantasy worlds. You know, the ones filled with imaginary cities that are ornately decorated with mythical beasts, compasses, and family trees. These are just a few of our favorites.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

In order to finally destroy the dark lord Sauron and bring about an age of peace in Middle Earth, his most powerful creation – the One Ring – must be destroyed. Of all those who could accomplish this task, the responsibility falls to one of the unlikeliest of beings: Frodo Baggins, a hobbit from The Shire. Aided by a collection of warriors and friends, Frodo must embark on a quest to Mount Doom, the only place where the One Ring can be destroyed.

The Lord of the Rings is arguably the world’s top fantasy story, and it has some of the most famous fantasy maps to match its caliber. In fact, these maps were drawn by author J.R.R. Tolkien himself. By applying the same realism and thorough world-building as he gave to the text, Tolkien created some of the best fantasy world maps in a very distinctive style.

Read The Lord of the Rings: Amazon | Goodreads

Redwall: A Tale From Redwall by Brian Jacques

Illustrated by Gary Chalk

The Redwall series is a fantastic option for all ages – but especially young fantasy readers. Each book of the series – and there are MANY – has a different map. Set in a world of anthropomorphic animals with the first centered around the peace mice who live at Redwall Abbey, we follow Matthias, a young monk in training who dreams of being a warrior and adventurer.

One day, the mice find Redwall Abbey surrounded and about to be attacked by Cluny the Scourge and his army. It seems young Matthias might get his wish sooner than intended because now he is aided by visions from Martin the Warrior – the founder of Redwall Abbey – to find his hidden sword.

Read Redwall: Amazon | Goodreads

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lyn Tan

As the eponymous daughter of the Moon Goddess, Xingyin has lived her life in secret, lest her existence provokes the wrath of the Celestial Emperor. But when she develops magical abilities, her presence on the moon becomes known, and she must flee from the protection of her mother and hide amongst the citizens of the Celestial Kingdom. There, she can learn the skills she needs to finally rescue her imprisoned mother and perhaps prepare for the imminent outbreak of divine war.

This elaborate and ornate story is heavily based on Chinese mythology, and so its accompanying maps of fantasy worlds are always going to be just as stylized. Taking inspiration from the more standardized maps of the 80s and 90s, the addition of pleasing shapes and soft lines in the design means that this fable has one of the best fantasy maps of recent times. Daughter of the Moon Goddess is one of my top books of 2022.

Read Daughter of the Moon Goddess: Amazon | Goodreads

Dragon Wing by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

For those who live in Arianus, the Realm of Sky, any stability they know is about to come to an end. An assassin has been hired to kidnap and murder the King’s son; an assassin under the employ of the King himself!

Meanwhile, a revolution is building in the world of the Dwarves, who are tired of toiling away while others reap the rewards of their labor. And an evil wizard moves his plans for total domination ever closer while those who might stop him are seemingly powerless to do so.

Dragon Wing is the first in a series of 7 books called the Death Gate Cycle, with this story kicking things off by playing with “standard” fantasy tropes in a very creative way. You also get multiple fantasy book maps in various styles to help you out. To give an example of the creativity in these books, one of these maps depicts a side-on view of Arianus – a vertical realm populated by floating islands!

Read Dragon Wing: Amazon | Goodreads

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

The Bone Witch trilogy follows Tea, a teen who discovers she can bring people back from the dead when she accidentally does just that to her brother, Fox. Despite her entire family being ashas (witches) prior to this, Tea didn’t even know she had powers as she hadn’t demonstrated any unique abilities.

But being able to control the dead – a bone witch – sets her apart from the rest of the ashas and causes them to fear and reject her. Fortunately for Tea, another powerful bone witch named Mykaela of the Hollows just happens to be in town when she resurrects Fox and offers to help train her. But to do this, she must take her far away.

The Bone Witch is set in the Eight Kingdoms, and readers travel with Tea, Fox, and Mykaela across them as Tea learns about her powers. All three books in the trilogy share the same two fantasy maps, which show the High Kingdoms – a land spread out over several islands.

Read The Bone Witch: Amazon | Goodreads | More great books with witches

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

For African-inspired fantasy book maps, Raybearer is a must. Raybearer introduces us to Tarisai, a young girl who is able to see other people’s life stories merely by touching them – though her own life remains hidden. Seemingly because of this, she is raised in isolation by a mother known only as The Lady, who remains distant from Tarisai.

But one day The Lady sends Tarisai to compete to be one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11, though her true intent in sending Tarisai is much more sinister. Aware of The Lady’s true intentions, Tarisai resents being used as a paw but is also bound by magic to fulfill The Lady’s wish.

Within this African-inspired duology, the maps provided are some of the most fun. In the first book, readers are treated to a map of the Aritsar Empire, which includes fun illustrations of various animals and important commodities. While the map in the second book might not have cute animals, it is a great city map, detailing the capital city of Oluwan – an integral part of the series.

Read Raybearer: Amazon | Goodreads

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The realm of Westeros has lived in a golden age of summer for a long time. Perhaps too long, according to the members of House Stark, who live at Winterfell in the north. In this ominous atmosphere, King Robert Baratheon arrives to ask Eddard “Ned” Stark to be his new trusted advisor following the death of the previous one in mysterious circumstances.

Though he does not wish to do so, Ned accepts and is soon drawn into a world of political intrigue, dirty dealings, and surreptitious actions. The court of the King is a dangerous place, for he who plays the game of thrones must win, or die…

Thanks to its popularization from the infamous TV show, it’s easy to forget that A Game of Thrones is, first and foremost, a successful book series, with some great accompanying maps. All the territories of the many “noble” houses are on display here, which becomes very useful as the series progresses, complete with all the usual rugged details fantasy maps from books have to offer.

Read A Game Of Thrones: Amazon | Goodreads | More iconic books from the ’90s

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

The Elantians came, the Elantians saw, and the Elantians conquered. They also killed Lan’s mother, for good measure. Now Lan spends her days scavenging the streets of the now-colonized Haak’gong and her nights singing for her new overlords. Lan isn’t even her original name; the Elantians saw to that too.

But into Lan’s life comes Zen – a magician from the Last Kingdom, whose legendary magic must be kept secret. Together, they will embark on a journey of self-discovery that will decide the course of history, using ancient magic thought long lost to time.

Fantasy book maps don’t often come as detailed, extravagant, and beautiful as they do in this Chinese mythology-inspired epic series. Even the borders of the double-spread map are overflowing with rich patterns, creatures, and symbols! Song of Silver, Flame Like Night will satisfy even the most detail-hungry fiction geographer like me.

Read Song of Silver, Flame Like Night: Amazon | Goodreads

We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Both books in this YA fantasy duology open with a beautiful map of the Kingdom of Arawiya, a middle-eastern inspired world. These intricate maps introduce you to the Six Sisters of Old and let you know that you’re in for a host of sea creatures and treacherous terrains.

The Arabian-inspired architecture of the cities will pull you right into the world. And if that doesn’t, both main protagonists’ opening lines will definitely intrigue you: “People lived because she killed.”

This is how we’re introduced to one of our main protagonists; Zafira, a hunter who has disguised herself as a man in order to feed her people. Meanwhile, Nasir’s introduction is “People died because he lived,” as he has become an aristocratic assassin for his father; the tyrannical sultan. Now, they are both on a mission to retrieve an item that might help their side in the impending war.

Using these gorgeous maps of fantasy worlds, I loved following Zafira and Nasir on their journeys, waiting with bated breath to see where they intersect and who will succeed first!

Read We Hunt The Flame: Amazon | Goodreads

Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah

Having managed to engineer a broken system that keeps them permanently at the top of society, the ruling Landers live in luxury while islanders like Koral and her family struggle to survive. Never is this more noticeable than during the Glory Race; a deadly chariot competition for upper-class citizens only where the winner receives glory and riches.

With her family starving, and no money for her ailing sister’s medication, Koral does the unthinkable and cheats her way into the Glory Race. But the Landers aren’t going to let her get away with stealing their thunder…

For monster lovers, there’s a whole menagerie of creatures on this largely nautical map. Add to that some 3-dimensional land masses in exciting shapes and decorative borders, and you’ve got some of the most charming fantasy books with maps on this list.

Read Monsters Born and Made: Amazon | Goodreads

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