Why my book explains so little

I almost did it. Almost threw in a world map. It exists, along with an encyclopedia of places, people, concepts, and timelines. It is tempting to simply share it all. I sometimes do indeed slip into longer expositions. Writers care about their creation. Still, the unsaid always eclipses the stated.

Calamaea: Journey to Raal is marked by restraint of perspective. Set at the periphery of the inhabited world, the journey spans thousands of kilometers, invites awe, and disorients by design. And yet, in the grand scheme, it is a movement between nearby dots. Dramatic up-close. Not uniquely arduous. Not at all without precedents.

The story stays close to the lives of the characters. Characters who do not move and shake the world at will, but who are caught up in events they scarcely understand – in the shadow of empires.

A world map is out. A regional map would either tease or give away. The story of the journey mirrors Reeve's experience: a desperate leap into chaos. Unavoidable, yet formidably discouraging. A true last resort. The alternative is death.

This is where it begins.