The Mapmakers Trilogy
#6943.92 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2014–2016 Reading commitment Medium S. E. Grove Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
The Mapmakers Trilogy is a young adult fantasy series by S. E. Grove, published by Viking from 2014 to 2016. It is set in an alternate 1890s America, a century after the Great Disruption of 1799 split the world into regions that live in different eras, some in the past and some in the future. Sophia Tims, niece of the cartologer Shadrack Elli, travels with the refugee Theo to find her kidnapped uncle and later her missing parents. The maps in this world are made of glass, metal and wood and often need magic to read. The Glass Sentence is followed by The Golden Specific and The Crimson Skew, which together complete the story.
Historical fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Mapmakers Trilogy S. E. Grove
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Glass Sentence | 2014 | 1 | core | 3.83 (7,515 ratings) |
 | The Golden Specific | 2015 | 2 | core | 4.11 (2,456 ratings) |
 | The Crimson Skew | 2016 | 3 | core | 4.05 (1,666 ratings) |
Sophia Tims searches an alternate 1890s America, split into different eras, for her kidnapped uncle and missing parents.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Mapmakers Trilogy? The Mapmakers Trilogy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Mapmakers Trilogy? Publication order, starting with The Glass Sentence. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Mapmakers Trilogy finished? Complete (2014–2016).
- How much reading does The Mapmakers Trilogy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is The Mapmakers Trilogy ranked? #694 in this site's official ranking, based on 11,637 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #694?
Ranked #694 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.92 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (11,637 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #693, Silverlock (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 12k ratings · Ranks #694 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Glass Sentence (2014)
- The Golden Specific (2015)
- The Crimson Skew (2016)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Mapmakers Trilogy and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Tales of the Otori Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.06
- Dragon Sword and Wind Child Mythic fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.02
- His Fair Assassin Historical fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.98
- Krigeren Historical fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.98
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.92 across 11,637 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 31 universes; 3 candidates ruled out; open items closed accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Penguin Random House series page Tier 2
- Publishers Weekly author feature Tier 2
- BookBrowse author biography Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = The Glass Sentence (2014), The Golden Specific (2015) and The Crimson Skew (2016).