State Preferences

I live in South Carolina. I have family both here and in North Carolina. I'd like to stay relatively close. Most of my green states were based strictly on their cold climates.

Good map / Bad map

1.) Bad map of The Six Duchies from The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (click map to expand)

2.) Good map of Westeros from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (click map to expand)

I chose the map of Westeros (#2) from Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series as an example of a good map and the map of The Six Duchies (#1) from Hobb's Farseer Trilogy as an example of a bad map. Clicking either map will open a seperate window with a better view. Map #1 shows very little detail. Map #2 does a better job of conveying the location of forests, hills, and mountains. The rivers in map #2 and the coastal regions appear in more detail. Map #2 also includes major north/south and east/west roads, while map #1 does not show any travel routes. The second map also includes the names and locations of all cities, towns and landmarks. While reading the books from the Song of Ice and Fire series, I often referenced the map to see where cities lay in relation to other locations visited in the story. Aside from the location of a handful of major towns, the map from The Farseer Trilogy simply didn't offer enough detail to be useful. Perhaps not coincidentally, I enjoyed the Martin series much more than the Hobb series.

Map #1 from: http://crooty.deviantart.com/art/Robin-Hobb-Map-10431866

Map #2 from: http://www.coldones.eu/images/maps/westeros_complete.jpg