I requested this not knowing it was third in a series, so you know what had to be done. I got to binge them all!

I don't want to give too much away, as this is the third and last in the series. Essentially, we are following Alidade and Lewis on their adventures to take their freedom back from the oppressive Night Coats. They do this by making maps of their home (Valley, Mountain, Plains) that bring back the Memris of their lands.

These books are adventurous with many lessons about courage, friendship, and hope. This was such a fun series! I think lots of middle school readers would enjoy reading them.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start by saying, I haven’t read the first two books from this series. But somehow that didn’t ruin the experience for me at all. There were a few things that I know would be better explained if I had read the first two books, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was so cute and so fun! So full of magic and adventure and adorable characters and good moral lessons for both kids and adults. Absolutely recommend this book! And now I need to read the other books in this series asap!

I made the mistake of not realizing this is book 3 of a series when I requested it! Nevertheless, it was pretty easy to pick up the story and parse out what I had missed in the first two installments. I won't review too much on the story, because I'm probably missing something and don't want to do any injustice.

The world building and magic are really cool! I love the connection between the mapmakers and their familiars, and the land. The adventure is sometimes tense but mostly kindhearted, even the banter with enemies is more playful than cruel. I do want to read the first two to really see and understand one characters' political awakening happens.

Overall message is very positive; people connecting with the environment, persevering due to friendship, and encouraging curiosity and resourcefulness in the reader.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

At the conclusion of MAPMAKERS AND THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN, besties Alidade and Lewis had just split up: Alidade surrendered herself to the Night Coats, in the hopes that she might learn more about them; and Lewis, with the help of Cado and his new Memri, Peak, set off in search of more Mapmakers.

When Alidade and Constable Frances Atwater arrive at Nox City, chaos is looming. Night Ward Wolfhart is missing and his underlings are trying to find him before word gets out. Naturally, Alidade sneaks off to do some investigating of her own. With the Constable in tow, Alidade finds hidden doors that lead to dark, threatening, thorn-filled worlds. The secrets they discover threaten to undo everything - including Atwater's faith in the system. (Insert "Are we the baddies?" gif here.)

Meanwhile, in the Plains, Lewis and Cado find a scattered farming community on the brink of disaster. Ominous black weeds - reminiscent of Flickers - are choking all the crops. When Peak accidentally falls on one, he's knocked out cold. Luckily, an aspiring Mapmaker named Ripley Range knows just how to revive the Memri. She invites the gang back to her home - which is also the Mapmaker's Plains lodge. The entire Range family are Mapmakers - or more like translators, as they'd call it - and they've slowly been mapping the expansive Plains as a team. A scribbled out section called the Barrenlands catches Lewis's eye; ever the optimist, he runs off in the middle of the night to prove that it's an area worth mapping (and saving). What he finds there is wondrous.

MAPMAKERS AND THE FLICKERING FORTRESS is a fitting conclusion to the Mapmakers trilogy. Chittock and Castillo continue to broaden Alidade and Lewis's world beyond the Valley, and the ending even introduces Mapmakers from all over the globe (crossing my fingers for a spin-off). The big reveal about the Night Coats is pretty great and hints at political corruption and hypocrisy happening IRL. And of course, I absolutely adore the environmentally friendly themes found in the Mapmakers series; the plot line with the thought-to-be-extinct pheasants is just lovely. Ditto: Alidade's conversation with the thorny trees. Plus we get to see Blue smile!

Looks like a great story with good art. Should really make it clear that it is part of a series though so that other readers don't accidentally pick up the third book first. Like me. Getting the other ones from my library now so I can read this series in order.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this graphic novel.

I didn't realize this was the third book in a trilogy when I requested it. I got the previous entries from the library and I'm glad I did because this does not work as a standalone.

Flickering Fortress was probably my favorite of the series, too. Our heroes come together to solve the main conflict while still leaving the world open for more stories. This whole series has such a positive message about friendship, acceptance, and staying true to yourself. The artwork is cute with great character designs and a good mix of detailed and simplified backgrounds that match the character artwork.

I would recommend this series for middle school students

Fun story! Excellent graphics! A great end to the trilogy! My 10yo also really enjoyed this graphic novel!

A delightful conclusion to a delightful trilogy! "Mapmakers and the Flickering Fortress" has many surprises in store for Alidade, Lewis, Cado, and for the readers as well. Many questions are answered, though there may be a few left that readers may prefer answers to. Despite that, readers will be filled with wonder, hope, and joy just as our characters are in this story. This entire series is an essential addition to middle grade graphic novel collections everywhere. Truly a delight!

This graphic novel was a lot of fun to read. I had never read anything by this author before, but I will definitely be looking out for more of their works in the future. I can't wait to add it to my library's collection.

I really adore this book. The characters are so cute and well developed (and I love the concept art and details included at the end). The environments are equally as engaging and beautiful. The story was exciting and well paced. I love the muted colors and all the tiny details. So well done. The words and font are a little hard to read for some of my students, but it could be great for a different demographic.

I'm going to be 100% honest and say that I did not fully read the description and relied only on the title so I did not realize that this book is the third in its series. I did not read the other two before it so the story greatly confused me. Still, I enjoyed what I did glean from it and the characters/world is fun. The illustrations are also very nice. (They're what drew me in the first place.)