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 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.

For more information on Felix J. Palma, check out his website. My copy of The Map of Time was an Advanced Reader Copy, provided free of charge.