• The Map of the Sky

  • A Novel
  • By: Felix J. Palma
  • Narrated by: James Langton
  • Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (145 ratings)

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The Map of the Sky  By  cover art

The Map of the Sky

By: Felix J. Palma
Narrated by: James Langton
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Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of The Map of Time returns with a mesmerizing novel casting H.G. Wells in a leading role, as the extraterrestrial invasion featured in The War of the Worlds is turned into a bizarre reality.

A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells's War of the Worlds. What follows are three brilliantly interconnected plots to create a breathtaking tale of time travel and mystery, replete with cameos by a young Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Shackleton and Charles Winslow from The Map of Time.

Praised for "lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail" (Library Journal, starred review), Palma again achieves the high standard set by The Map of Time.

©2011 Felix J Palma (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"The unreal becomes real, fantasy becomes history, and the reader is thoroughly entertained by an unending parade of bafflements and surprises. This book is a complete delight." (K.W Jeter, author of Infernal Devices)

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

What a Disappointment!

Felix J. Palma's first novel, The Map of Time, was a clever, charming story full of surprises, well-written characters and a wonderful mix of history and fiction. It used H.G. Wells classic novel, The Time Machine as a launching point and Wells himself as a character.

Wells is back in this sequel, which draws upon another of his most famous novels, The War of the Worlds, for inspiration. Unfortunately, while the first book was clever and inspired, this novel was more like a bad Hollywood sequel. It tries too hard to replicate the experience of the first book and consequently feels forced and labored from start to finish. It was a 22+ hour slog. In his effort to deliver the kind of unexpected surprises he gave readers in The Map of Time, the author pushes too far, repeatedly forcing the issue. The surprises feel labored and at one point, he thoroughly betrays the reader's trust in way he probably thought was clever and playful but was, in reality, so disappointing that I almost bailed on the book immediately after finishing that chapter. In the end, maybe that would have been a good idea.

Palma is a talented writer and I'm hoping he'll put that talent to better use on his next book and leave the themes and characters of his first two behind.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Homage to H. G. Wells, time traveller

Before you listen to "The Map of the Sky," listen first to Palma's "The Map of Time." The two novels really constitute a single story -- with one more book to follow, I hear -- like the three books of Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings." The same characters from "The Map of Time" return in "The Map of the Sky," without much back-story provided; so you would miss some important plot implications if you hadn't already listened to the first part. Some of the characters in both books correspond to real-life contemporary personages -- most notably, Herbert George Wells -- doing the things that they really did ... with some slight alterations. Thus, this nascent series might be categorized as "historical science fiction." Hmmm ... a new genre? Surprisingly, Spanish author Félix Palma has made himself an authority on -- and admirer of -- H. G. Wells and Victorian England, to the extent that he writes these stories using Wells' style; and his translator, Nick Caistor, deftly preserves that style. Palma writes so comfortably about Victorian London that one feels effortlessly transported in space and time via his words. I would venture to say that not much has been "lost in translation" here. As with "The Map of Time," narrator James Langton again does an amazing job with the characters' voices, rendering everything from a female character's soft soprano, to her lover's basso profundo with apparent ease, while simultaneously handling all the subtle (and not-so-subtle) characters' regional accents. With Langton at the microphone, we always know who is speaking. He provides us with a virtual multi-cast performance. Without giving away any plot surprises, I recommend "The Map of the Sky" to anyone who enjoys contemplating the puzzles of time travel.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Realizing I am hooked

I was interested in the idea of the plot from the get go but it took a while before I realized I was hooked. I don't plan to purchase any more of Felix J. Palma's audibles but did enjoy this one.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely BORING!

don't waste your time money or effort this book is just numbing and I like HG Wells and all the stuff that goes with it

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unforgettable

I’ve read/listened to this book several times now. It is so creative and fun and thought-provoking and heartwarming and heartbreaking. It’s so intense at times that I just can’t put it down. It truly is the crowning volume of this excellent Trilogy. I absolutely love this narration as well. It is cleverly written and masterfully read. *Tiny plea here for “The Map of Chaos” to be produced as an audiobook as well at some point. Pretty please.*

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Tried too hard to be cute

What could Felix J. Palma have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Get rid of the tongue-in-cheek tone.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Map of the Sky?

I listened to the first 2 hours. Most of it could have been cut. Getting Wells drunk seemed dumb, and that seemed to be the point of the whole section.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Egad! I now know how long eternity is.

The time spent on listening to this book seemed to never end. I asked myself on 3 or 4 occasions, why am I still listening to this?

It just seems to me that this work was printed from the authors rough draft notes and bypast the editor, altogether.

I did like my introduction to James Langton and appreciated his performance but I don't know if I am able to buy another work of Felix J. Palma.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Endurance test for an okay ending

The books is broken into three seemingly interminable parts, of which the first is so unrelated to the "description" of the story that I thought I'd switched the order of the book sections. The author is definitely cleaver, but I felt like it just went on and on and on. There are light hearted scenes between a suitor and his intended and there are terrible scenes that felt like the precursor to the Matrix. Eventually everything is tied together into a more satisfying ending.

If this book becomes the next "in" thing I'll be able to say I read it, but you won't find me looking for other offerings from this author. In truth, based on the description and the reviews on the website, I was disappointed.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good narration but way too long!

I loved Palma's first book that played with truth vs. fiction. This one has some of that but it tries to do too much, and takes way too long to do it. Similar actions and events are described over and over, or the same event is described by different characters without adding anything. A shorter book would have been much more effective. Also while the overall tone of the first book was positive, some of this one is very grim. The narrator did a fine job with the various characters but the book itself was disappointing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Scary story

Where does The Map of the Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

While not my favorite story, I know The Map of the Sky is among the most memorable. The Map of Time was a light-hearted frolic compared to this dark story. Felix J. Palma weaves a horrifying "What if" tale, and James Langton's narration is spot on.

What about James Langton’s performance did you like?

Jame's Langton's voice never distracts from the character whose words he is reciting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The Map of the Sky left me feeling as though I need another "The Map of'" book.

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