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London, 1896. Andrew Harrington's lover Marie Kelly was murdered by Jack the Ripper and he longs to turn back the clock and save her. Meanwhile, Claire Haggerty, forever being matched with men her family considers suitable, yearns for a time when she can be free to love whom she chooses. As their quests converge, it becomes clear that time is the problem--to escape it or to change it. Hidden in the attic of popular author--and noted scientific speculator--H.G. Wells is a machine that might show more offer them the hope they need! show lessTags
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BookshelfMonstrosity The Anubis Gates and The Map of Time blur the line between Science Fiction and Fantasy, presenting intricately plotted time travel stories with a hint of Mystery that feature appearances by 19th-century literary figures alongside more fantastical elements.
brianc6 A wonderful story of time travel and the 19th century.
Member Reviews
This is going to be a tough review to write.
I can tell you how The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma begins. I could possibly even tell you what the Map of Time is. But most everything else I would want to tell you, I can’t tell you. It would spoil something. And this is the sort of book where you really don’t want the plot twists spoiled.
First thing I loved about this novel: the Narrator. This is not just any omniscient narrator — this one has a charming voice and a lovely way to tell a story.
“Assuming you stay until the end of this tale, some of you will no doubt think that I chose the wrong thread with which to begin spinning my yarn, and that for accuracy’s sake I should have respected chronological order and begun with Miss show more Haggerty’s story. It is possible, but there are stories that cannot begin at their beginning, and perhaps this is one of them.”
Andrew Harrington is a troubled young man and he is about to do something profoundly stupid. Fate is going to intervene and push him in an entirely different direction and it is an amazing, complicated and surprising journey. Set in Victorian England, H.G. Wells has just published The Time Machine and a little store-front business called Murray’s Time Travel has opened in London. Andrew and his cousin, Charles, hope to use their services to avert a tragedy.
The story spirals and explodes from there. We go forward in time, back in time, and sometimes we move in a relatively straight line. We’ve got The Time Machine and Dracula. We’ve automatons, amateur assassins, star-crossed lovers, greed and betrayal. There is violence and mayhem and true love — even a little sex. It is full of famous characters — H.G. Wells, Joseph Merrick, Jack the Ripper and Bram Stoker — and they all play a part.
“Yes, I know that when I began this tale I promised there would be a fabulous time machine, and there will be, there will even be intrepid explorers and fierce native tribes — a must in any adventure story.”
I wish I could tell you more about it! Unfortunately, anything I might tell you is bound to spoil some surprise that’s waiting for you in the winding paths of these pages. It’s a story that held my attention for 600+ pages and that is no small feat. I loved the way the story unfolded and I found myself wondering as we meandered along just how Palma would bring the tendrils of this story all together in the end, and I was not disappointed. It’s a terrific read and one I highly recommend. show less
I can tell you how The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma begins. I could possibly even tell you what the Map of Time is. But most everything else I would want to tell you, I can’t tell you. It would spoil something. And this is the sort of book where you really don’t want the plot twists spoiled.
First thing I loved about this novel: the Narrator. This is not just any omniscient narrator — this one has a charming voice and a lovely way to tell a story.
“Assuming you stay until the end of this tale, some of you will no doubt think that I chose the wrong thread with which to begin spinning my yarn, and that for accuracy’s sake I should have respected chronological order and begun with Miss show more Haggerty’s story. It is possible, but there are stories that cannot begin at their beginning, and perhaps this is one of them.”
Andrew Harrington is a troubled young man and he is about to do something profoundly stupid. Fate is going to intervene and push him in an entirely different direction and it is an amazing, complicated and surprising journey. Set in Victorian England, H.G. Wells has just published The Time Machine and a little store-front business called Murray’s Time Travel has opened in London. Andrew and his cousin, Charles, hope to use their services to avert a tragedy.
The story spirals and explodes from there. We go forward in time, back in time, and sometimes we move in a relatively straight line. We’ve got The Time Machine and Dracula. We’ve automatons, amateur assassins, star-crossed lovers, greed and betrayal. There is violence and mayhem and true love — even a little sex. It is full of famous characters — H.G. Wells, Joseph Merrick, Jack the Ripper and Bram Stoker — and they all play a part.
“Yes, I know that when I began this tale I promised there would be a fabulous time machine, and there will be, there will even be intrepid explorers and fierce native tribes — a must in any adventure story.”
I wish I could tell you more about it! Unfortunately, anything I might tell you is bound to spoil some surprise that’s waiting for you in the winding paths of these pages. It’s a story that held my attention for 600+ pages and that is no small feat. I loved the way the story unfolded and I found myself wondering as we meandered along just how Palma would bring the tendrils of this story all together in the end, and I was not disappointed. It’s a terrific read and one I highly recommend. show less
A Rollercoaster Read
I approached this trilogy in an unusual manner because I assumed the third book was the first when I picked it up. Upon beginning the reading, I came to realize my error, but not owning the first book to the trilogy, I chose to go ahead and read through the one I did own. And it turned out that I highly enjoyed the third book enough to make me eagerly purchase the first. Sadly, the first didn't impress me as much as the final book which I unwittingly purchased initially and read. And if you have followed the backwards journey I took to come to know the ending before the beginning, then you will probably do just fine grasping the trail of logic and events that were spun to create this seriously-imaginative adventure show more that may or may not have happened in the end. I suppose I should now go read the second book since the filling is all I have left to taste. show less
I approached this trilogy in an unusual manner because I assumed the third book was the first when I picked it up. Upon beginning the reading, I came to realize my error, but not owning the first book to the trilogy, I chose to go ahead and read through the one I did own. And it turned out that I highly enjoyed the third book enough to make me eagerly purchase the first. Sadly, the first didn't impress me as much as the final book which I unwittingly purchased initially and read. And if you have followed the backwards journey I took to come to know the ending before the beginning, then you will probably do just fine grasping the trail of logic and events that were spun to create this seriously-imaginative adventure show more that may or may not have happened in the end. I suppose I should now go read the second book since the filling is all I have left to taste. show less
I got this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. It was a very long and very pretentious read about time travel...kind of.
The book is broken into three parts. In part 1 Andrew falls in love with a whore named Marie who is murdered by Jack the Ripper. After many years of depression his cousin Charles convinces him to go to a time traveling emporium to travel back in time and save her. When the time traveling company revels they can only send people to the year 2000, Andrew despairs. But the business owner suggests they talk to HG Wells. HG Wells confesses he has a time traveling machine and sends Andrew back in time to save Marie; or so Andrew thinks.
In Part 2 we follow the story of Claire who is determined to leave her world show more and travel to the year 2000 with Murray’s Travel Emporium. When in the year 2000 she meets the hero of the human race, Shackleford, and falls in love with him. What follows is twisted and sorted relationship involving a love affair that occurs backwards in time. H G Wells again ends up involved by writing love letters for one of the involved parties.
In Part 3 we follow Inspector Garrett who is convinced that Shackleford is the one murdering people in the streets with a futuristic weapon. Besides Garrett’s perspective we hear from HG Wells a lot. In the course of all of this we find out that this book has nothing to do with any of the characters we’ve met except coincidentally. The true star of this novel is HG Wells for reasons that are again twisted and fairly unbelievable.
The book is written in three parts and each part features a set of different characters...although the characters do run into each other across parts. The one continuous theme is HG Wells and time travel.
This book diverges constantly and sidetracks into random stories before finally wandering back to the main point. The language is flowery...this is the kind of book where if you miss a paragraph or two you're not really missing any of the story. In fact I think you could probably cut out half of this book and still not miss the main story.
Most of the book is not about time travel at all, but about human nature and the lying and scheming nature of humans. As you can imagine none of these characters are very admirable or easy to engage with. The pacing is very slow and it was very hard for me to finish this book.
The story takes a seriously implausible twist in the last 60 pages or so. I find it ironic that after spending so much time with Murray trying to justify the plausibility of his sci-fi novel, that the last 80 pages or so of this novel are completely unbelievable, implausible, and absolutely crap for pacing. Ah the irony of it; this book is just as pretentious, wordy, and ultimately implausible as the author sets out to say that Murray’s work is in the novel itself. Is this irony the intention of this novel?...I am not sure. But in the end I just didn’t care and if I hadn’t received this book for review, I would have stopped reading it at page 100.
Overall I did not enjoy this book. I guess if you are a huge HG Wells fan and interested in reading fiction about him you might like this. In reality though it's a pretty wordy and lengthy novel to deliver such an awkward message. show less
The book is broken into three parts. In part 1 Andrew falls in love with a whore named Marie who is murdered by Jack the Ripper. After many years of depression his cousin Charles convinces him to go to a time traveling emporium to travel back in time and save her. When the time traveling company revels they can only send people to the year 2000, Andrew despairs. But the business owner suggests they talk to HG Wells. HG Wells confesses he has a time traveling machine and sends Andrew back in time to save Marie; or so Andrew thinks.
In Part 2 we follow the story of Claire who is determined to leave her world show more and travel to the year 2000 with Murray’s Travel Emporium. When in the year 2000 she meets the hero of the human race, Shackleford, and falls in love with him. What follows is twisted and sorted relationship involving a love affair that occurs backwards in time. H G Wells again ends up involved by writing love letters for one of the involved parties.
In Part 3 we follow Inspector Garrett who is convinced that Shackleford is the one murdering people in the streets with a futuristic weapon. Besides Garrett’s perspective we hear from HG Wells a lot. In the course of all of this we find out that this book has nothing to do with any of the characters we’ve met except coincidentally. The true star of this novel is HG Wells for reasons that are again twisted and fairly unbelievable.
The book is written in three parts and each part features a set of different characters...although the characters do run into each other across parts. The one continuous theme is HG Wells and time travel.
This book diverges constantly and sidetracks into random stories before finally wandering back to the main point. The language is flowery...this is the kind of book where if you miss a paragraph or two you're not really missing any of the story. In fact I think you could probably cut out half of this book and still not miss the main story.
Most of the book is not about time travel at all, but about human nature and the lying and scheming nature of humans. As you can imagine none of these characters are very admirable or easy to engage with. The pacing is very slow and it was very hard for me to finish this book.
The story takes a seriously implausible twist in the last 60 pages or so. I find it ironic that after spending so much time with Murray trying to justify the plausibility of his sci-fi novel, that the last 80 pages or so of this novel are completely unbelievable, implausible, and absolutely crap for pacing. Ah the irony of it; this book is just as pretentious, wordy, and ultimately implausible as the author sets out to say that Murray’s work is in the novel itself. Is this irony the intention of this novel?...I am not sure. But in the end I just didn’t care and if I hadn’t received this book for review, I would have stopped reading it at page 100.
Overall I did not enjoy this book. I guess if you are a huge HG Wells fan and interested in reading fiction about him you might like this. In reality though it's a pretty wordy and lengthy novel to deliver such an awkward message. show less
Este libro es todo un homenaje a los precursores de la ciencia ficción, y a H.G. Wells en particular. Mediante todo un collage de personajes reales y de ficción, de novelas y de películas clásicas pertenecientes al fantástico y la ciencia ficción, Félix J. Palma ha construido un nuevo producto que se vale por sí mismo.
Londres, 1896. La novela empieza con Andrew Harrington escogiendo una pistola con la que suicidarse. El porqué no se puede contar, ya que se va desvelando en el transcurso de los capítulos, aunque mucho tiene que ver el sanguinario Jack. De igual modo, tenemos otro personaje, Claire Haggerty, que no siente ningún apego por la época en la que le ha tocado vivir, y que ve una posibilidad de cambiar esto cuando show more conoce la existencia de la empresa de los Murray, Viajes Temporales Murray, que, como su nombre indica, tiene como propósito los viajes al futuro, concretamente al año 2000, donde la Humanidad lucha por su supervivencia contra los Autómatas.
Félix J. Palma ha escrito la historia de tal manera que es imprescindible no saber más sobre la trama, ya que los giros inesperados hacen que la visión del lector cambie radicalmente. 'El mapa del tiempo' transcurre a modo de folletín, y encontramos continuas referencias a personajes reales e inventados, siendo el propio Wells uno de ellos, sino el más importante. La novela está excelentemente escrita, y mantiene la atención del lector hasta una última parte inmejorable. show less
Londres, 1896. La novela empieza con Andrew Harrington escogiendo una pistola con la que suicidarse. El porqué no se puede contar, ya que se va desvelando en el transcurso de los capítulos, aunque mucho tiene que ver el sanguinario Jack. De igual modo, tenemos otro personaje, Claire Haggerty, que no siente ningún apego por la época en la que le ha tocado vivir, y que ve una posibilidad de cambiar esto cuando show more conoce la existencia de la empresa de los Murray, Viajes Temporales Murray, que, como su nombre indica, tiene como propósito los viajes al futuro, concretamente al año 2000, donde la Humanidad lucha por su supervivencia contra los Autómatas.
Félix J. Palma ha escrito la historia de tal manera que es imprescindible no saber más sobre la trama, ya que los giros inesperados hacen que la visión del lector cambie radicalmente. 'El mapa del tiempo' transcurre a modo de folletín, y encontramos continuas referencias a personajes reales e inventados, siendo el propio Wells uno de ellos, sino el más importante. La novela está excelentemente escrita, y mantiene la atención del lector hasta una última parte inmejorable. show less
Félix J. Palma, the author of The Map of Time, likes to play mind games with his readership. The blurb, about a heartbroken young man and an independent young woman at the end of the Victorian age, seems to point in a certain direction, but the author turns the reader’s preconception on its head, and the book, which I had imagined to be a straightforward novel about time travel (is that even possible?), turns out to be three separate tales linked by the character of H. G. Wells, the author of The Time Machine. To give a synopsis here would be quite difficult without giving away some of the surprises, as the plot twists and turns in unexpected directions, so suffice to say that the author addresses the concepts of choice, fate and show more predestination, and explores the idea of building worlds using one’s imagination, but mainly this is a book about the restorative power of love. In the course of the book, the boundary between what is fact and fiction (in a known work of fiction) becomes blurred, keeping the reader guessing as to which is which, and a supposed secondary character - H. G. Wells - is surreptitiously elevated to the role of main protagonist. At times the author addresses the reader directly, in the guise of the omniscient narrator and with a knowing wink, and in these instances the reader can experience the author’s mischievous sense of humour at first hand. With 500+ pages the book definitely feels at least 50 pages too long, and I felt that Félix J. Palma was occasionally indulging himself when constructing elaborate backgrounds for some of the minor characters, slowing down the momentum: hence the rating of only four stars. Despite the criticism, this is an imaginative and intelligent read that whiles the away the hours surprisingly quickly, and now that I know this is only the first volume in a trilogy, I look forward to picking up the thread with The Map of the Sky. show less
Just what I needed to distract me from the summer heat. Palma has taken H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and launches from there into a wonderful premise that has the reading believing / disbelieving / believing in time travel. Palma's all-seeing narrator leads us through three intertwining stories set in Victorian England, a wonderful time period for a good genre-bender read. Palma brings the author H.G. Wells - along, to a lesser extent, Henry James and Bram Stoker - to life in his stories which is good for a potential reader of Palma' story to know. I for one, tend to enjoy stories where real historical figures are characters and I don't analyze whether or not the author gives an accurate portrayal of these individuals. Let just say show more Palma brings enough accuracy to our three literary figures for me to settle back and enjoy the story.
Fans of Wells' novel and the subsequent movie adaptations may enjoy the details that Palma brings to his story. I know I did, but it is so much more than a Time Machine story. It is a wonderful historical fiction story first and foremost but it is also a genre-bending delight. It is a historical, literary, mystery, fantasy, steampunk-styled adventure wrapped up into one page-turning package. I have read a number of novels that have taken Victorian England and adapted it to suit the author's needs, but this one is different. The story doesn't try to tamper with the known Victorian England time period. Palma leaves that firmly intact for readers to ground themselves as they follow his characters down the train of thought of possible parallel universes and the "map of time" that parallel universes may create. I really enjoyed how Palma plays with the reader, leading them along and feeding them with tantalizing information that may, or may not, be proven correct as the story progresses, kind of like a carnival's maze of mirrors where one tries to find the right way through the maze. Palma has a gift for painting a detailed picture and for crafting his characters, drawing the reader into the scene and engaging with the characters. He also knows how to pace his story: slow enough to lay the groundwork and to bring all the subtle details to the readers attention while still carrying the plot forward at a decent pace, keeping my interest from waning.
Favourite quote:
Fans of Wells' novel and the subsequent movie adaptations may enjoy the details that Palma brings to his story. I know I did, but it is so much more than a Time Machine story. It is a wonderful historical fiction story first and foremost but it is also a genre-bending delight. It is a historical, literary, mystery, fantasy, steampunk-styled adventure wrapped up into one page-turning package. I have read a number of novels that have taken Victorian England and adapted it to suit the author's needs, but this one is different. The story doesn't try to tamper with the known Victorian England time period. Palma leaves that firmly intact for readers to ground themselves as they follow his characters down the train of thought of possible parallel universes and the "map of time" that parallel universes may create. I really enjoyed how Palma plays with the reader, leading them along and feeding them with tantalizing information that may, or may not, be proven correct as the story progresses, kind of like a carnival's maze of mirrors where one tries to find the right way through the maze. Palma has a gift for painting a detailed picture and for crafting his characters, drawing the reader into the scene and engaging with the characters. He also knows how to pace his story: slow enough to lay the groundwork and to bring all the subtle details to the readers attention while still carrying the plot forward at a decent pace, keeping my interest from waning.
Favourite quote:
"True literature should rouse the reader, unsettle him, change his view of the world, give him a resolute push over the cliff of self-knowledge."If you are a fan of [The Time Machine] and H.G. Wells' novels, and if you are like me and enjoy reading stories where historical literary figures are characters in the story, this first book in a currently three-book series may appeal to you. I thoroughly enjoyed my escapism romp through Victorian England under Palma's pen and I am looking forward to reading book two in the series - The Map of the Sky. show less
In short, not spec-fic-wonder enough to really enchant me, but not quite pretentious enough to really piss me off.
It's more about the concept of time travel than the performance thereof, and at one point I pondered if really it was making the point that the brain is a time-machine, but both dwelling in the past and daydreaming about the future were things that could really mess up the present for you. But it's also about storytelling as time travel, using nested narratives (which, to be honest, is a style choice I always dislike) to illustrate the point. And it's also about mankind's willingness to believe - encapsulated in both brain and storytelling - and how it is both a great strength and a tremendous weakness.
It was fun to read. I show more found the omniscient author mostly charming (but I can see how he might be found irritating) and the Victorianesque style flowed well. The wider plot was clever and well unfurled - including a couple of hidden-in-plain-sight tells that I totally missed until they emerged as plot-significant - though I found the conceptual sum-up at the end a little bit twee (and far more literary than sci-fi; the former can flourish a clever concept at you and expect applause, but in my opinion, sci-fi is ruthless and must always pay the piper).
But in the end, it was just a bit too light-touch, a bit too smug and clever about its fourth-wall shenanigans, a bit too scaldingly blunt about its characters for me to elevate it to four-star enjoyment.
(I did finally cave to pressure and google Derek Shackleton. Somewhat amused to discover the name was familiar to me because he bowled for England.) show less
It's more about the concept of time travel than the performance thereof, and at one point I pondered if really it was making the point that the brain is a time-machine, but both dwelling in the past and daydreaming about the future were things that could really mess up the present for you. But it's also about storytelling as time travel, using nested narratives (which, to be honest, is a style choice I always dislike) to illustrate the point. And it's also about mankind's willingness to believe - encapsulated in both brain and storytelling - and how it is both a great strength and a tremendous weakness.
It was fun to read. I show more found the omniscient author mostly charming (but I can see how he might be found irritating) and the Victorianesque style flowed well. The wider plot was clever and well unfurled - including a couple of hidden-in-plain-sight tells that I totally missed until they emerged as plot-significant - though I found the conceptual sum-up at the end a little bit twee (and far more literary than sci-fi; the former can flourish a clever concept at you and expect applause, but in my opinion, sci-fi is ruthless and must always pay the piper).
But in the end, it was just a bit too light-touch, a bit too smug and clever about its fourth-wall shenanigans, a bit too scaldingly blunt about its characters for me to elevate it to four-star enjoyment.
(I did finally cave to pressure and google Derek Shackleton. Somewhat amused to discover the name was familiar to me because he bowled for England.) show less
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ThingScore 88
Though the novel occasionally moves slowly, there is so much going on that one is almost grateful for being able to take a breath, before being whisked back into the adventure. And that is what The Map of Time truly is, despite its steampunkish inclinations, and a bit of masquerading as literary science fiction: a rollicking good adventure yarn that, with a nudge and a wink and a bit of show more sleight of hand, is sure to leave delight in its wake and a smile on one’s face. And that, Dear Reader, is really all one can ask for. show less
added by passion4reading
Palma wanders in and out of genres—is his book science fiction? literary fiction? fantasy? Whatever the answer, it’s great fun to read, particularly for those with a bent for counterfactual history.
added by Shortride
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Author Information
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Map of Time
- Original title
- El mapa del tiempo
- Original publication date
- 2008
- People/Characters
- Andrew Harrington; Mary Jane Kelly; Jack the Ripper; Joseph Merrick (Elephant Man); H. G. Wells; Gilliam Murray (show all 19); Harold Barker; Charles Winslow; William Harrington; Sebastian Murray; Oliver Tremanquai; Jane; Derek Shackleton/Tom Blunt; Claire Haggerty; Lucy Nelson; Frederick Abberline; Collin Garrett; Bram Stoker; Henry James
- Important places
- Whitechapel, London, England, UK; Woking, Surrey, England, UK
- Related movies*
- The Time Machine (2002 | IMDb); From Hell (2001 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- The distinction between past, present and future is an illusion, but a very persistent one.
- Albert Einstein
Mankind's most perfectly terrifying work of art is the division of time.
- Elias Canetti
What is waiting for me in the direction I don't take?
- Jack Kerouac - First words
- Andrew Harrington would have gladly died several times over if that meant not having to choose just one piston from among his father's vast collection in the living room cabinet.
- Quotations*
- Het verschil tussen verleden, heden en toekomst is slechts
een illusie, maar wel een heel hardnekkige.
- Albert Einstein
Het meest perfecte en meest beangstigende kunstwerk van
de mens is zijn indeling van de tijd
- Elias Canetti
Wat wacht me in de richting die ik niet insla?
- Jack Kerouac - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He wondered, as if somehow he were able to see or hear me, whether at that very moment someone was not doing precisely that, and then experiencing the rush of joy every writer feels when finishing a novel, a happiness nothing else in life can bring, not sipping Scotch whiskey in the bathtub until the water gets cold, nor caressing a woman's body, nor feeling the touch on the skin of the delicious breeze heralding the arrival of summer.
- Blurbers
- Rose, M.J.; Westerfeld, Scott; Priest, Cherie
- Original language
- Spanish
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Science Fiction, Fiction and Literature, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 863.64 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Spanish fiction 20th Century 1945-2000
- LCC
- PQ6666 .A3965 .M3613 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Spanish literature Individual authors, 1961-2000
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 2,170
- Popularity
- 9,324
- Reviews
- 137
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- 14 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 40
- ASINs
- 11
