The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma. 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 skeptical 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?

When you get to Part Three of this novel and the author says to make sure your attention doesn't stray from the page even for an instant because there is an amazing discovery to be had and it will be well worth the effort -- he is sooooo right! I have realized that the reason I love to read -- I was going to say fantasy & time travel, but I won't limit it to those genres -- is because I am astounded by the way an author can develop several different stories and wind them all together throughout his/her book to come up with an amazing ending. This is what Felix Palma does in "The Map of Time". And his fabrications are so plausible (to borrow that word from the H.G. Wells in his story) that I was tempted to actually look up an account of H.G. Wells' life to see what happened to him after he wrote "The Time Machine"! As I read the first section of the novel, I wondered what it all meant and how the horrific crimes of Jack the Ripper were going to be connected to H.G. Wells. Just when I was about to get depressed about it, suddenly there was a plot twist and we were in H.G. Wells' kitchen. There is so much to this novel...so many surprises. I think this novel will appeal especially to writers of fiction or people that wish they were writers. You get to see inside the writer's mind as he develops a story. Palma pops in and offers narration and information that he can see because "he can see everything". I liked the way we could be in H.G. Wells' thoughts as he figured things out. The love story in the middle was sweet, but the third section was my favorite because it was so fantastic and even in that section were twists and turns. The ending was perfection. I hope I haven't given too much away -- I don't think I could because there is so much to take in. Palma is a genius and his novel is worth the time taken to read all 600+ pages.




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