I’m somewhat of a map geek, I suppose. Just this past weekend, I got separated from my loved ones at a flea market when I stopped at a booth featuring historical maps of California and the West… and must have entered a time portal, because when I looked up, fifteen minutes had gone by and my family was nowhere in sight.

But beyond maps of real-life places, I’m especially fond of maps of the worlds I visit in books. It’s just SO COOL to see the author’s world laid out visually, and I tend to get lost in them. I really do want to know the best way to get from the Shire to Mordor, with a detour to Gondor along the way. And just where is Pentos in relation to Westeros? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Side note: One of my big beefs about reading on my Kindle is how annoying it is to try to flip back and forth to check the map every time a new place is mentioned in a book. I’ll take the “stick a finger in the page” method any day.]

I came across this map today, which puts a whole slew of fictional lands into the same world. Neat, right? So apparently Oz is just north of Middle Earth. Who knew?

Here are a few maps of some of my favorite places to visit:

Alera, from Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series. If you haven’t read these yet, stop whatever you’re doing and read these immediately!

I just did a quick Google search for maps of Westeros, and discovered that every fan and his brother has a map. There are interactive maps, topographical maps, maps with caricatures of the main characters, maps with all the house sigils… you name it, it’s out there. Here’s one that gives the basics of Westeros, although it doesn’t include the lands beyond the sea:

Westeros, from the worlds of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Next up, always a classic:

Middle Earth. Again, it seems that there are endless variations of this one available out there on the interwebs.

And for a newer classic:

Fillory, from The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Of course, no round-up of fictional lands would be complete without:

Narnia!

What I want to know now is: Now that I have the map, how do I get there? Do I need a passport? Can I find cheap flights on Orbitz?

What fictional worlds would you love to explore?