The Map of Moments: A Novel of the Hidden Cities [Paperback]

Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon hit their stride in the second book of their Hidden Cities series. As of this writing, there are going to be at least four novels, hopefully more because they do a bang up job of presenting each city and dousing it in eeriness.

The first book, MIND THE GAP, is set in London. THE MAP OF MOMENTS is set in New Orleans only a short time after Hurricane Katrina wiped out the city. The news coverage of that event was so stark that images still haunt most of us. I distinctly remember pictures of bodies floating in the water and alligators swimming into the city. My wife and I had been there before the hurricane, so it was really strange to see New Orleans in such a state of disarray.

The authors play on that history without going over the top. Those horrible events run as a constant undertone throughout the book, but Golden and Lebbon never take advantage of that horror. Instead, they use the threads of magic and dark anticipation that have always been linked to New Orleans to weave their own mythos and chills.

I enjoyed the atmosphere the novel tremendously. Even in the daylight, the book feels dark and moody. Every house and every place of business seems to offer a threat. Max Corbett, the protagonist of the book, won my sympathies as soon as he stepped onto the page and I discovered he'd come back to New Orleans to bury the woman he loved.

The story turns more tragic immediately when I found out Gabrielle had cheated on Max, and he still didn't understand why. That confusion over how he's supposed to feel about Gabrielle's death is terrific and really had me hanging. But before I could figure out how I really felt about that, before Max could figure it out for himself, things got really strange.

In an almost Twilight Zone kind of moment at the cemetery where only Max and two other people showed up to say their goodbyes, an old man named Ray corners Max and offers him a chance to save Gabrielle. I loved how Max was deserted at the cemetery and had to accept a ride from Ray. Once that happened, I knew he was on a course with destiny and darkness.

That's just the beginning of Max's journey. He's given a magical potion and a magical map to track down "moments" from New Orleans's history. All of these ventures into the past lend Max magic that he's supposed to be able to use to save Gabrielle. Even though he doesn't believe that can be done, he feels he has to try. The first "moment" feels like a drunken vision and he isn't sure whether he actually experienced it.

However, the men chasing him are real. And they want to prevent him from using the map. As dangerous as the "moments" are, remaining in New Orleans is just as dangerous.

Golden and Lebbon do a masterful job of presenting the chase and the discovery of the darkness lurking in New Orleans's history. I ended up reading much of the book at night when the house was quiet, and I think that really lent itself to the overall experience. So if you can get somewhere quiet, with darkness all around, except for your reading lamp, The Map of Moments is a wonderfully creepy experience down streets littered with dead and dark things.

The Hidden Cities series are tellings about the soul of a particular city; the previous book was London and this one is New Orleans. Golden and Lebbon are innovative writers on their own, and together they create a brilliant, dark, supernatural quest story that keeps you hooked.

See some of the cookie cutter reviews for the plot summary, instead, I'll get into the reasons I liked it. The novel isn't heavy on character development or interaction ... and you won't really care. It's consciously done, as everyone in this book is an enigma, even to themselves, and unravelling that is part of the journey. The main character here is really the city, and the authors do a fantastic job of portraying the darkness and seamy aura that was certainly there before Katrina, and is even more pervasive afterward. I liked this one even more than Mind the Gap, and maybe that's because I've spent time in New Orleans and not in London. It's not often I think a book captures the true feeling of a place while still telling an entertaining story; this one does. In short, highly recommended.

Map of Moments was kind of the opposite of Eve of Darkness. After a hundred pages or so, I was almost ready to put it down and forget about it. The main character spends most of the first quarter of the book meandering around New Orleans with little happening to keep the reader's interest. But...hang in there just a bit longer. When it does take off, it does so at breakneck speed and ends up being one haunting dark fantasy novel.

Max Corbett has returned to New Orleans a few months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, for the funeral of his former lover, Gabrielle. Max is shocked to find that only mourner at the funeral is Gabrielle's cousin, Corinne. Gaby had apparently had a huge falling out with her family, but what could have been so horrible that they would not even attend her funeral? It's the first of many mysteries that max will find himself trying to resolve. He meets a man who tells him he could save Gaby's life by sending her a message in time to warn her. Max thinks the man is just a crazy old nut, naturally, but the man gives him a strange map. Not a map of locations, a Map of Moments...periods in time throughout New Orleans' history. Max carefully follows the map and is transported through time to witness frightening sacrificial ceremonies. What does this have to do with saving Gabrielle? Things turn from strange to terrifying as Corinne is brutally murdered and the cops think Max is responsible.

Map of Moments gives the reader an excursion into the arcane history of New Orleans and the influences of the many cultures. The deliberate pace of the first hundred pages or so merely sets the table for the rest of the book. The post-Katrina New Orleans is still being rebuilt and the atmosphere of Max's isolation, as many of the areas of the city are still nearly empty, is one of the overriding traits in the book. Slow start but the payoff is worth it.

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