ARC Review: The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma

ARC Review: The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma
Book 2 in Triologia Victoriana
Book provided by Edelweiss and Atria Books
Release date: September 4, 2012

AH’s Review – 5 Skulls – A

HG Wells, time travel, aliens, oh my!

The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma is a fascinating read. The author is a master storyteller, taking the theme of HG Well’s War of the Worlds and expanding upon that story to create a more frightening tale. What if “Martians” really did land on Earth? What if they really had those deadly tripod machines? What if the “Martians” really did take over Earth following HG Wells’ story?

The beauty of this book is the many connecting plots and intricate subplots. The reader must remain alert as to not miss any of the relevant details (and there are many). I loved hitting those “a-ha” moments as I read the book. The Map of the Sky is certainly filled with lots of surprises.

The Map of the Sky is a long book. Some parts were slower than others, while other parts just flew by. Depending on your tastes, some parts were more enjoyable than others. It’s hard to classify this book. It’s science fiction, historical, a horror story (yes, there is gore), a survival story, a post-apocalyptic story, and it even has romance.

The story is told in several parts. We first meet HG Wells peeved at the thought of meeting his nemesis, Serviss. Serviss takes Wells to see the actual body of a Martian. This visit sets off a chain of events leading to an alien invasion of the earth, “War of the Worlds” style.

The story flashes back to the discovery of the Martian. In 1830, the ill-fated ship, the Annawan is stuck in the Antarctic ice. The crew watches as the Martian spaceship crash lands on the ice. Queue the Aliens music. Be prepared for a surprise or two. Oh, this part gets a little gory. Nope, really gory. These “Martians” are vicious predators.

Another part of the book talks about the actual map of the sky and how it came into being. This map was passed down from mother to daughter. The last recipient Emma plays a role in this book. And what a strange and touching love story it becomes.

The time travel element was cleverly done, although thinking of the possibilities made my head hurt. I noticed that this book was marketed as steampunk. I didn’t catch too many steampunk elements, I saw it more as a historical novel with a few fancy inventions. Maybe I was too horrified by the aliens.

I liked how the narrator broke into the story every once in a while to give a new perspective on the scenes. This gave an added authenticity to the narrative.

The Map of the Sky is a one of kind book. It will entertain and surprise you. I’m going back to read the author’s first book The Map of Time.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Atria books for a review copy of this book.

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