Map of Time, The [Hardcover]

Attracted by the wonderful cover (which, IMHO, perfectly conveys the time and place and mystery of the story) and intrigued by the plot blurb, The Map of Time has been on my radar for some time and I'm happy to say it did not disappoint.

The Map of Time is different. It's interesting, engrossing and rather, well - odd. Even weird. It's unlike any other book I've read and while I didn't close that handsome cover thinking - Dang! That was the best book in the history of ever! - I liked it. In fact, I liked it quite a lot.

Author Felix Palma has crafted an original and intricately-plotted novel set in Victorian London and peppered with appearances by some of the well-known persons of the day. Bram Stoker. Jack the Ripper. Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man - and yes, he WAS call John Merrick in David Lynch's 1980 film). But it's Palma's use of H.G. Wells as a central character that particularly drew me to the book and that, once reading, most captivated me. Certainly Palma's depiction of Wells in these pages has made me want to learn more about the real Wells and has prompted me download some of his novels - last read during my junior high years - to my Kindle for a re-read.

While I found Wells to be the most fascinating character in the story, he is not the only one who is well-drawn. In what I feel is one of the strongest elements of The Map of Time, several of Palma's many characters are nicely fleshed out. As a specific character's depth and complexity were gradually revealed through the course of the book, my feelings toward that character continued to evolve. And that evolution drew me deeper into the story.

Wells and the paradoxes of time travel are the strongest of the common threads Palma weaves through the three parts of The Map of Time to help to tie the whole book together. In Part One, a young man struggles to deal with the murder - by Jack the Ripper - of the woman he loved. In Part Two, a woman unhappy with the strict social conventions of the Victorian age seeks something else in another time period and in Part Three, a Scotland Yard detective comes to believe that someone from the future is responsible for a series of murders.

Palma's writing is good but somewhat uneven. Passages that I found simply wonderful sat alongside those that rambled for far too long, those that were somewhat confusing and those so cluttered with minutiae that my eyes would begin to glaze over. Though "he" didn't bother me to the degree other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator was, on occasion, annoying. But once I was sucked into the story (which happened early enough on to rope me in for the duration), I could cope with the aspects of the writing that I found less than stellar.

The Map of Time has mystery, romance, sci-fi, history and murder, all set in an atmospheric Victorian London and garnished with steampunk elements. Characterizations are strong and the interesting and intricate plot has twists galore. Despite its flaws, I found The Map of Time well worth the read. I know it will stick with me. And should the sequels I've read rumors of materialize, I'll be reading them.

Recommended.

Notes:
Translation of The Map of Time to English from the original Spanish was done by Nick Caistor.
Many of H.G. Wells novels are available free of charge for Kindle download here on Amazon.
2005's The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells is an entertaining (and attractively priced!) 4-hour miniseries that may appeal to those who enjoy The Map of Time. Stars include Tom Ward, Katy Carmichael and Nicholas Rowe.

First, let me say that I did not personally like this novel very much, but that doesn't mean that every reader will feel that way. Consequently I will try to simply review what you will find if you chose to read the novel. This is one of those novels which are very hard to review because almost anything said about it has the potential to spoil the story. I will try to be very careful.

The novel takes place in 1888, in London, with the first section taking place primarily in the Whitechaple district. After deciding to commit suicide Andrew Harrington is given the opportunity to utilize Murray's Time Travel to go back eight years to change one specific thing which has haunted him and made him wish to end his time on this earth. Ultimately he has to seek the help of writer H. G. Wells to try to accomplish his goal.

The second portion of the novel focuses on a young woman of that time who is extremely dissatisfied with her life because of the many restrictions put on her simply because she is a woman. Her dream is to utilize Murray's Time Travel to go forward in time where she will be able to use any talents and intellect she has to make a better world. Once again love plays the predominant part in this story and it is once again up to H. G. Wells to reconcile the past with the future.

The third section puts the emphasis on Wells himself and how the time travel phenomenon has an impact on his past, present and future.

This novel is written in the style where the narrator can't keep himself from commenting to the reader on what is going on in the story. I actually don't mind that usually, but I certainly don't think I've ever read a novel before when it was utilized so often. This narrator was often found popping up to tell me that he could see everything and be everywhere at once so he would fill me in on what had just happened, either on or off the page. It really lost it's appeal quite quickly and became an irritant to me. All three of these novella type segments are intertwined, basically with the presence of H. G. Wells, but also with Murray's Time Travel and with other characters who appear throughout. This had a tendency to lead to a high degree of repetition. I don't like that much repetition in a novel. It makes me feel as if the author doesn't trust that I am intelligent enough to grasp what they are saying the first time which irritates me. A circle! And, by the way, this novel is also a circle. Did it matter where it began? Not for me. My personal favorite section was the middle because that seemed to be much more along the lines of a fully completed story.

Ultimately I decided to assign the novel a three star rating because I did enjoy the second section and it is really quite an inventive book. I just wish I could erase the mental picture in my mind of the author possibly sitting out on a sun drenched patio, drinking a glass of wine, and smiling at how gullible readers can be. Have we been gulled? I certainly felt at times that I was. To my mind, if any kudo's are deserved for this novel they should go to Nick Caistor who translated it. Whew! What a task this must have been.

I'm a fan of sci-fi tales, particularly the time-travelling variety. Temporal paradoxes, alternate realities and the grand web of time thrill me in much the same way catnip excites my cat. When offered a chance to preview The Map of Time, I literally jumped at it. I mean, just look at that gorgeous cover!

Set in Victorian London, the story mixes together elements of science fiction, historical fiction, romance and a dash of mystery. Instead of one cohesive tale, Felix J. Palma offers three interconnected stories, each featuring H. G. Wells.

The writing is occasionally brilliant and because this has been translated into English, I won't quibble about the random clunky sentence. I will say that, at times, the author gets a bit longwinded, providing details that are superfluous to the already long and convoluted plot. Also, throughout the book, the author directly addresses the reader. Personally, I liked the technique. But I can understand why others might find it annoying as it does bring the narrative flow to a screeching halt.

I really wanted to love this quirky book. But I didn't

The story started out rather grimly with a young man contemplating suicide and, to be honest, things don't get much cheerier. There are some pretty grisly descriptions of what Jack the Ripper did to his victims.

There's also a lot of nonsense about a tram that can take people to the year 2000 and a very silly romance. About page 400 I realised that I didn't like any of the characters and didn't care in the least what happened to them. I skimmed the remaining 200 pages, but didn't see anything that made me want to resume reading.

Overall, this book was a massive disappointment. If I had a time machine, I'd go back and tell myself not to bother with it.

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