The Map of Time
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''The Map of Time'' (first published in Spanish in 2008 as ''El mapa del tiempo'' and in 2011 in English translation) is a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
novel by Spanish writer Félix J. Palma. The novel is written from the point of view of the narrator and follows three interwoven story lines. The book has been called "part mystery, part fantasy, and part historical fiction". The book is the first part of his "Trilogía Victoriana". The second book, ''The Map of the Sky'' (featuring Wells's ''
The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
''), was released in late 2012. The third, ''The Map of Chaos'', was released in Spanish on October 16, 2014, and in English translation on June 30, 2015.


Development

Palma said of the development that the story could not be written from a single point of view nor by a narrator who followed only one character. It required an omnipresent narrator who could tell all of the stories together.


Plot

The story follows three interwoven plots: *The story of Andrew Harrington, a man who fell desperately in love with "Marie Jeanette Kelly" (or " Mary Kelly"), one of the victims of
Jack The Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...
. Harrington falls into a deep depression after discovering Kelly's body, and turns to alcohol and eventually opium to cope with the grief. He eventually decides to commit suicide, but is interrupted by his cousin Charles, who begs him to come with him to meet a man who claims he can travel in time. *The story of Claire Haggerty, a "New Woman" and feminist who is deeply unhappy with her life. She is supposed to choose a husband, but most of her suitors are only interested in her finances or in the continuation of their family line. Haggerty stumbles upon "Murray's Time Travel", and meets Captain Derek Shackleton, the man who leads the human race in the battle against the machines in the year 2000. *The final section of the story focuses on HG Wells himself, as he tries to discern if the fourth dimension is actually something that can be broken through, or if it is just a storytelling mechanism in stories (like the ones he writes). He discovers the "Map Of Time" in a house in London (that is reputedly haunted), he discovers that time is not a plaything - and his actions could have serious repercussions.


Reception

''The Map of Time'' won the 2008 Ateneo de Sevilla XL Prize, and was mostly well received. AVClub.com said the book is "packed with flowery language, and it features a playful narrator who's concerned with keeping the reader's attention as he bounces from character to character." ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' praised the book but remarked, "Fans of serious science fiction may find the story too metafictional. (Others may object that it’s clogged with too many adjectives.)" ''The
Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...
'' said that a passage in the book (during which H. G. Wells criticizes some writing) is similar to problems with Palma's writing, "inevitably produc ngboredom in the reader, or if not, then a profound aversion to what he is reading", but also stated, "Palma demonstrates a real skill at storytelling, especially character development and narrative suspense."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Map of Time 2008 novels 2008 science fiction novels Spanish speculative fiction novels Novels about time travel Cultural depictions of Jack the Ripper Cultural depictions of H. G. Wells