The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma (2008)
Irritatingly misleading
Book cover blurb
Set in Victorian London with characters real and imagined, The Map of Time is a page-turner that boasts a triple play of intertwined plots in which a sceptical H. G. Wells is called upon to investigate purported incidents of time travel and to save lives and literary classics, including Dracula and The Time Machine, from being wiped from existence.
What happens if we change history? Félix J. Palma explores this question in The Map of Time, weaving a historical fantasy as imaginative as it is exciting—a story full of love and adventure that transports readers to a haunting setting in Victorian London for their own taste of time travel.
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My Review
It's taken me an entire day to sit myself down in front of the PC to write this review, and I still haven't got a clue just how to approach this thing. I've never felt this conflicted about my feelings for a novel before. It wasn't so much a love-hate thing, it was more an irritated-to-hell but have to keep reading thing. Every time I'd finish a reading session, I'd discuss my experience with my wife. Actually, I'd waffle for ages while she put up with it until I "wound down." But I realised very early on that every topic of discussion concerned an irritation I had with the story.
It's hard to talk about this book without giving plot points away, which I try not to do in my reviews. To put it in a nutshell, I felt conned! I bought this book, actually I bought the trilogy, based on the blurb for The Map of Time. Ok, ok, yes, I bought them for the cool covers too. I was promised I'd be time travelling with H. G. Wells and my mind was abuzz with the possibilities of such a premise.
Imagine my disappointment as at multiple turns throughout the story I was titillated with time travel, only for it to be revealed that, no, actually that was a hoax, we haven't travelled in time yet, you better keep reading. I lost count of the number of times this happened.
Ironically this book starts beautifully, with deep tragic heartache that you can genuinely feel for an incredibly interesting character. And the author did a good job at making his writing fit the Victorian era the story is based in. Not perfect, but good. However, this was translated into English so it's hard to know if the few quirks that didn't quite work were a result of that.
I also found the author's depiction of H. G. Wells's character rather offensive. His personality revealed a distasteful and self-important individual. Had this been a fictional character I would have simply found him interesting, but since this was a real person, H. G. Wells no less, I felt Palma went too far.
If I hadn't been misled by the blurb, and been told honestly what to expect within these pages, this review would be very different and probably would have had me teetering on the brink of giving it a five-star rating.
But now I know what to expect I'm sure my experience with the next two books in the trilogy will be far more enjoyable.
My copy of this novel
Atria Books hardback edition.
Published in 2011
609 pages
ISBN 9781439167397