The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma: book notes

The Map of Time is a novel about the appeal of changing the past, and the stories that make such a hope seem possible. Félix J. Palma brings H. G. Wells into a Victorian setting where invention, desire and deception overlap.

This introduction uses the publisher's description and opening sample. It leaves the plot's later turns for the book.

What kind of story is it?

The novel follows linked stories involving love, danger and the promise of time travel. Wells is a character in the fiction, rather than just a name in the background. Simon & Schuster describes the premise and provides an excerpt.

In that opening, Andrew Harrington takes a gun from his father's collection and travels through London. The narrator pauses to speak directly to the reader about why his actions matter. The sample therefore offers two things to assess: a dark situation and a storyteller willing to interrupt it.

That voice is part of the reading choice. Try a few pages before deciding whether you enjoy a narrator who stands between you and the events.

Who might choose it?

This is a possible fit for readers who enjoy historical fantasy, stories within stories and an uncertain boundary between a trick and a marvel. Readers seeking a simple account of how a time machine works should sample it first.

The opening involves suicidal intent, and the publisher's description includes murder. Victorian surroundings do not make this a cozy reading choice.

Reading order and discussion

The publisher lists The Map of Time as the first book of The Map of Time Trilogy, followed by The Map of the Sky and The Map of Chaos. Start here if you want the series order.

For a reading group, keep these questions open:

• What would a character hope to repair by going back in time?
• How does a narrator's confidence affect your own belief?
• What changes when a real writer becomes a character in someone else's story?

That last question also offers a route to The Secret History of Costaguana, which brings Joseph Conrad into its fictional premise.

Publisher, author and library

Atria Books lists an ebook published June 28, 2011 and a paperback published June 5, 2012. The paperback page provides the sample and ISBN 9781439167410; WorldCat can help locate that edition in libraries. Palma's author page lists his books.

If you take knitting breaks between chapters, the scarf project section is a place to choose your next piece. Compare needles for a first project before buying supplies. More titles are on our reading page.