The Map of Time and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading The Map of Time on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Map of Time: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Felix J Palma
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)

List Price: $7.99
Price: $7.19 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $0.80 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Tuesday, May 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $3.79  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $12.41  
Mass Market Paperback $7.19  
Audio, CD --  
Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged $26.95 or Free with Audible 30-day free trial
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

June 26, 2012
Characters real and imaginary come vividly to life in this whimsical 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?

Félix J. Palma explores this provocative question, weaving a historical fantasy as imaginative as it is exciting—a story full of love and adventure that transports readers from a haunting setting in Victorian London to a magical reality.


Frequently Bought Together

The Map of Time: A Novel + The Map of the Sky: A Novel
Price for both: $25.30

Buy the selected items together
  • The Map of the Sky: A Novel $18.11


Editorial Reviews

Review

“Strange and wonderful. Magical and smart. Félix J. Palma has done more than written a wonderful novel, he’s concocted a supernatural tour de force. Time travel, tragic love, murder and mystery all combine in what is nothing short of a surprising, satisfying and mesmerizing read.” – M.J. Rose, International Bestseller

"The Map of Time recalls the science fiction of Wells and Verne, and then turns the early masters on their heads. A brilliant and breathtaking trip through metafictional time." --Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author of Leviathan

"Palma makes his U.S. debut with the brilliant first in a trilogy, an intriguing thriller that explores the ramifications of time travel in three intersecting narratives." -- starred Publishers Weekly review

"Readers who embark on the journey...will be richly rewarded. --starred Booklist review

"Lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail make this prize-winning novel an enthralling read." --starred Library Journal Review

The Map of Time is a singularly inventive, luscious story with a core of pure, unsettling weirdness. With unnerving grace and disturbing fantasy, it effortlessly straddles that impossible line between being decidedly familiar, and yet absolutely new.” --Cherie Priest, author of Boneshaker

"Palma is a master of ingenious plotting." --Kirkus Reviews



"A big, genre-bending delight." --The Washington Post

"Palma uses the basic ingredients of steampunk — fantasy, mystery, ripping adventure and Victorian-era high-tech — to marvelous effect. " --Seattle Times

"'Intellectual thriller' is not an oxymoron in this case. Eccentric, informed. Time travel, H.G. Wells, Jack the Ripper, robots, romance, changing history, destroying classic literature. Spot on narration. Good clean fun." --Tulsa World

About the Author

Félix J. Palma has earned more than a hundred awards for his short stories. The Map of Time is his first book to be published in the United States.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 720 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (June 26, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1451683030
  • ISBN-13: 978-1451683035
  • Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

They are short stories about really inconsequential characters. Melisande  |  37 reviewers made a similar statement
I have a thing about finishing books, and by the time I get 500 pages in it feels silly to just quit. Historical Fiction Frenzy  |  33 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 83 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Memorable & Engrossing Read June 8, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
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.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
61 of 69 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a favorite, but maybe you will like it more. June 26, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Original and Imaginative July 27, 2011
Format:Hardcover
I was given a copy of this book by a friend and I am so thrilled it came into my life. It was wildly imaginative and creative! I could recommend it to readers with varying tastes. It offers historical and science fiction, magical realism, and has a remarkable gothic atmosphere. The storytelling is whimsical yet pragmatic (I know that's contradictory, but you have to read it to see what I mean) and I enjoyed the self-aware, all-knowing narrator. There are often digressions, stories within the main narrative that quite effectively add layers and depth to the book as a whole.

H.G. Wells was perfectly suitable in his role as life saver, mollify-er, and would-be time traveler. He gets himself embroiled in various plots, one of which involves Jack the Ripper. The schemes and hoaxes abound and nothing is as it really seems, and yet everything is connected. Not only does the author present this "Butterfly Effect" paradigm, but then he throws in the idea of space/time continuum. There are so many fun "Ah-Hah!" moments and others that made me want to shake my finger at Palma and say, "Ooh, boy, you really got me there." This was a wonderfully clever and thoughtful novel that will resonate with me for a long time. Bravo!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I Have Ever Read
This is a wonderful book that leads you on many journeys through the lives and perspectives of unique characters that in the end tie into one climactic ending. Read more
Published 4 days ago by mamamc
2.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book and Yet I Couldn't HELP But to Put It Down
This book is impecably written and edited, and yet I hated it. It's so annoying when a book has a great, unique plot and yet you just can't stand it. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Pedagonia
1.0 out of 5 stars Not really science fiction
I'm disappointed by the number of reviews that admit they stopped one-third of the way in, both because I don't believe it's a proper "review" if you don't finish the book and... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Raven's Writing Desk
3.0 out of 5 stars Time after Time
Keep in mind that I have only read the first section of the book--up to the point where the two women are about to embark on their voyage to the future. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Joe H.
4.0 out of 5 stars A New Take On Time Travel and A "Spectacle" Of A Novel
First, I am glad I read this book. I bought it for a recent vacation and it was a fun, fast easy read. It kept me engaged and entertained from start to finish. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Chris Frank
4.0 out of 5 stars Zoom out from street view to satellite view
This book's title is particularly apt. Reading the story feels like playing around with Google Maps. Read more
Published 11 days ago by B. Frey
4.0 out of 5 stars A very very interesting book
At first it appears to a series of only vaguely related short stories but by the middle the various stories began to wrap around each other in a terribly complex but mind. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Dr. Paul A. Rhoads
3.0 out of 5 stars Special Edition
I will update when I have completed the novel. Just wanted to let you know the special edition is actually two books--the map of time, and the turn of the screw. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Sam
4.0 out of 5 stars Makes you think
I really enjoyed this book. It covered a lot of things that we think about when just musing or pondering idly. Things that go throughout heads when we lie down and try to sleep. Read more
Published 16 days ago by beryl e cost
3.0 out of 5 stars A great concept!
As I followed Andrew through his trials of losing the woman he loved and then attempting to get her back through time travel I was rooting for him. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Janice Sims
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category