That first map was the thing that broke me too, I remember flipping back and forth like 50 times trying to figure out if the river was the border or the mountain range was, and finally just said forget it. The names were all like "Kralthan" and "Yzzmir" and I couldn't keep any of them straight in my head either. Good on you for putting it down, life's too short to force yourself through something that feels like homework. I've done the same thing with a few "classics" and never felt bad about it, honestly. A 200 page mystery sounds way more fun, at least you know where you stand with a body and a detective lol.