AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Map of the Sky
Title: The Map of the Sky
Author: Felix J. Palma
Audiobook Narrator: James Langton
Series: Trilogía Victoriana Book 2)
The following review has unavoidable spoilers for the outcome of the The Map of Time. There are no real spoilers for The Map of the Sky.
After writing the groundbreaking novel, The War of the Worlds, HG Wells has once again been contacted by an amateur author with hopes on selling similar works. Remembering the unfortunate results of panning Gilliam Murray’s works, Wells decides to go with a softer approach, an event that leads him to the corpse of a very real alien. Meanwhile, the wealthy Emma Harlow has grown tired of the parade of eligible bachelors begging for her hand. None infuriate her more than the persistent millionaire Montgomery Gilmore. In hopes of humiliating him, Emma agrees to marry him, but only if he can recreate the Martian invasion Wells wrote about in The War of the Worlds. Gilmore accepts her challenge, but no one will be able to predict the results.
I read The Map of Time about a year ago and found myself rather torn on the results. Although I did ultimately enjoy the novel, I also found it quite tedious at times. As a result, I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to read the sequel, The Map of the Sky, but became drawn in upon finding the audiobook for sale. The Map of the Sky does get to the action a little sooner, but the result is pretty much the same of The Map of Time. At times, The Map of the Sky is absolutely brilliant, filled with utterly nail biting, and horrific scenes. At other times, it drags and drags.
Part of the big appeal of The Map of the Time was the role of hoaxes. While reading the book, you didn’t know until the end if you were truly reading a science fiction novel about time travel, or if all of the speculative elements of the book were a big hoax. Now that the reader knows that they are reading a science fiction trilogy, Palma attacks the nove'ls speculative elements far more overtly. While the The Map of Time was an interesting mix of science fiction and historical fiction, The Map of the Sky adds another genre into the mix, horror. There are moments, especially in the third act, that are really dark. This unnerved me at first, given how the first book had no horror elements at all, but I eventually I grew to accept that these scenes were really effectively terrifying. When you compare it to The Map of Time, there is a surprising amount of action in this book as well, especially in the second act, which I would love to see portrayed on the big screen. Yet, in between the claustrophobically tense moments of the first act, the bombastic action of the second, and the stark horror of the third, there are these long, slow moments I wish had been cut out of the book. This is most obvious at the end of the first act, where the author goes on long after the storyline has wrapped up. I almost quit the book right there.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: This is my first audiobook by James Langton, which is kind of surprising given that he’s narrated a wide catalog of work. I found myself very impressed with his gift for creating voices. He’s not half bad with American accents as well. Often with British narrators, they have an unappealing nasal flatness to their American accents, which Langton manages to sidestep here. Langton’s work on The Map of the Sky is quite impressive.
Final Thoughts: If you’ve read and enjoyed The Map of Time, it’s worth continuing the series on to The Map of the Sky. Palma may not always know when to start or end a storyline, but he does some really brilliant things here that make the novel worth your patience. I will finish this trilogy once the final book is translated into English. Three and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Fables, vol 12: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham
Author: Felix J. Palma
Audiobook Narrator: James Langton
Series: Trilogía Victoriana Book 2)
The following review has unavoidable spoilers for the outcome of the The Map of Time. There are no real spoilers for The Map of the Sky.
After writing the groundbreaking novel, The War of the Worlds, HG Wells has once again been contacted by an amateur author with hopes on selling similar works. Remembering the unfortunate results of panning Gilliam Murray’s works, Wells decides to go with a softer approach, an event that leads him to the corpse of a very real alien. Meanwhile, the wealthy Emma Harlow has grown tired of the parade of eligible bachelors begging for her hand. None infuriate her more than the persistent millionaire Montgomery Gilmore. In hopes of humiliating him, Emma agrees to marry him, but only if he can recreate the Martian invasion Wells wrote about in The War of the Worlds. Gilmore accepts her challenge, but no one will be able to predict the results.
I read The Map of Time about a year ago and found myself rather torn on the results. Although I did ultimately enjoy the novel, I also found it quite tedious at times. As a result, I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to read the sequel, The Map of the Sky, but became drawn in upon finding the audiobook for sale. The Map of the Sky does get to the action a little sooner, but the result is pretty much the same of The Map of Time. At times, The Map of the Sky is absolutely brilliant, filled with utterly nail biting, and horrific scenes. At other times, it drags and drags.
Part of the big appeal of The Map of the Time was the role of hoaxes. While reading the book, you didn’t know until the end if you were truly reading a science fiction novel about time travel, or if all of the speculative elements of the book were a big hoax. Now that the reader knows that they are reading a science fiction trilogy, Palma attacks the nove'ls speculative elements far more overtly. While the The Map of Time was an interesting mix of science fiction and historical fiction, The Map of the Sky adds another genre into the mix, horror. There are moments, especially in the third act, that are really dark. This unnerved me at first, given how the first book had no horror elements at all, but I eventually I grew to accept that these scenes were really effectively terrifying. When you compare it to The Map of Time, there is a surprising amount of action in this book as well, especially in the second act, which I would love to see portrayed on the big screen. Yet, in between the claustrophobically tense moments of the first act, the bombastic action of the second, and the stark horror of the third, there are these long, slow moments I wish had been cut out of the book. This is most obvious at the end of the first act, where the author goes on long after the storyline has wrapped up. I almost quit the book right there.
Thoughts on the Audiobook: This is my first audiobook by James Langton, which is kind of surprising given that he’s narrated a wide catalog of work. I found myself very impressed with his gift for creating voices. He’s not half bad with American accents as well. Often with British narrators, they have an unappealing nasal flatness to their American accents, which Langton manages to sidestep here. Langton’s work on The Map of the Sky is quite impressive.
Final Thoughts: If you’ve read and enjoyed The Map of Time, it’s worth continuing the series on to The Map of the Sky. Palma may not always know when to start or end a storyline, but he does some really brilliant things here that make the novel worth your patience. I will finish this trilogy once the final book is translated into English. Three and a Half Stars
Next I will be reviewing Fables, vol 12: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham