Book Review: The Map of Time, by Felix J. Palma

Title:  The Map of Time
Author:  Felix J. Palma
Genre:  Science Fiction
Rating:  2 out of 5 attempts to change the past

The Map of Time, by Felix J. Palma, is one of the more recent novels to be welcomed into the genre of time travel. I love anything that has to do with time travel, so I quickly picked this one up to read during the summer. The front cover says that it is “a brilliant and breathtaking trip”, unfortunately, this reviewer doesn’t believe that the Map lives up to the hype.

The Map of Time is broken up into three parts, each one telling a different time-travel-themed tale. These stories are interconnected, however. Characters and events from each affect the others in unforeseen ways. The first part recounts the journey of Andrew Harrington, who begins the tale in the throes of depression, and resorts to traveling through time to right the wrongs of his past. The second part deals with a love story between the well-to-do Clair Haggerty and the brave Captain Shackleton which breaks through the time-space-continuum and defies all laws of physics. The third relates the exploits of H.G. Wells (real-life author of The Time Machine) as he tackles the ramifications of traveling through time.

This format, though successful for other books, did not work for me. The events outlined in the exciting plot synopsis that is printed in the jacket (something we all consider when searching for great books, am I right?) are mysteriously nowhere to be seen for the first 500 pages of the book. I felt as though I was forced to wade through characters and plots that I didn’t really care about – just to reach something that I believe resembled the novel that I paid for. Unfortunately, by that point, the remainder of this “novel” was only fifty pages or so.

Along the way, the characters that we meet do little to hold our interest. They seem flat, bland, and all together devoid of life. They all seem to be whining or complaining about one thing or another, and they didn’t inspire anything resembling empathy in this reader’s skeptical heart.

Palma’s choice to set his novel in Victorian London also had me underwhelmed. 19th century England is such a lush and colorful setting, but the author neglects to use it to his advantage. For the most part, any of the plot points could have happened in any time period. For a novel that is supposed to be about time and time travel, one would have hoped that the actual time period would have played more of a role. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

All of this could have been forgiven, however, if the plot was solid and intriguing. When reading a novel about time travel, I want the story to be lush and multilayered, in which all possible repercussions of traveling through time are considered. Palma, however, gives only a passing glance at the intricacies of time travel, and seems to only focus on random aspects that suit his needs at the time. Truly, most of the plot points felt contrived and ultimately unnecessary. Characters often make extreme (and illogical) jumps of logic, only to move the story forward.  Palma's supposed plot twists, as opposed to being exciting, are merely disappointing, and change the novel from bad to worse.

With so many excellent science fiction and time travel novels out there, I find it hard to dig up much I liked about The Map of Time. Perhaps the only bright spot is the character of H.G. Wells. He has a part in each of the three stories, and is ultimately the protagonist of the whole mess. However, when added to the rest of the novel, his inclusion seems only to serve as a desperate grab at a bit of “science fiction notoriety”, which Palma seriously lacks.

2 out of 5 attempts to change the past.

100 Followers and Summer Update!

Hi folks, I know that it has been an embarrassingly long time since my last update, but I just wanted to thank all of you for supporting Lions and Men during one of the busiest times of my life.  I am very humbled knowing that 100 people now are interested in what I can bring to the blog-o-sphere, sparse though it may be as of late.

My first year of vet school went very well, and I am taking the summer off to do some volunteer work and to get back into reading.  And, along those lines...

Look forward to a week devoted entirely to my sci-fi favorite, time travel, by the end of the summer.  It will feature reviews of works both old and new (The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma, to be precise), as well as a bunch of other fun time travel stuff!

I look forward to talking to you all in.... THE FUTURE!

Book Review: The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Way of Kings
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 magical swords

The Way of Kings (or just Kings from now on) is the first novel in a planned ten book series written by Brandon Sanderson. A ton of hype surrounded this book before release, and many hoped (myself included) that it would be the beginning of “our” generation’s great fantasy series. How does it stack up against the monolithic authors that we have come to rate all others upon (I’m looking at you, Tolkien, Rowling, and Lewis)? Let’s find out...

Kings, at its heart, is a story of war. There is plenty of bloodshed on the battlefield, but conflict is also buried deep in the hearts of the main characters of the novel. The story follows the lives of three people as they struggle to survive in the desolated continent of Roshar.

They are...

Kaladin: A young man who was trained as a surgeon, and then became one of the best spearmen in Alethkar’s army. For unknown reasons, we now find him branded as a slave and a murderer sent to rot and die in a work camp for the same men that he protected. Memories of past failure and death haunt Kaladin, and he must overcome them if he is to escape the clutches of the tyrants who rule him.

Dalinar: A Highprince of Alethkar, uncle to the reigning king, and commander of a tenth of the nation’s troops. Rumors run wild through the camps that this once brutal war chief has lost the taste for battle, and has slowly been losing his mind. Dalinar walks a difficult line between the man others need him to be and the man who he promised himself he would become.

Shallan: A young woman who has traveled to a far-away kingdom in order to become a pupil of Jasnah, one of the wisest women in the world, and sister to the king. Shallan would do anything to achieve this goal; to fail would signal the fall of her entire family.

Kings focuses mainly on the nation of Alethkar, as it seeks vengeance on a seemingly endless number of foes for the murder of the previous king. The Highprinces, instead of uniting to crush the foe – squabble and compete with one another. Alethkar used to be a symbol of honor and pride, but it has quickly descended into chaos.

Sprinkled among the chapters are various “interludes” – short tales focusing on different characters and different regions of Roshar – meant both to break up the story and to give some hints at the broader plot of the series as a whole. Some of these are very exciting (especially those about the brutal assassin who can bend gravity to his will), but others seem only to slow down the pace of the novel. After all, it is likely that we will never hear from these “interlude” characters again, so it is hard to care about them or their situations.

The main characters, though much more solid, do not feel as three dimensional as Sanderson’s other creations. You can be sure that all three of the characters...

1. Are hiding a terrible secret from their colleagues
2. Are “rife” with a simple internal conflict
3. Change from one viewpoint to a second (opposite) viewpoint multiple times throughout the novel

Sound familiar? These elements are part of every character (ever), but Sanderson doesn’t seem to take that extra time to really add something MORE to the mix in order to make them shine. I still cared about the characters, but they weren’t as colorful as those from other Sanderson novels.

This may be in part to the vast amount of time that Sanderson spends building his world – and let me tell you, this is a monolithic undertaking. Sanderson’s love for the unique is stamped throughout Roshar. It seems he has thought of everything, including...

Class structure and sociology – Those who are born with light colored eyes are naturally born to rule and hold higher places in society than those with dark eyes.

Economics – Money is in the form of small glass spheres that hold a gem stone. The type and size of the stone marks different denominations.

Religion – The most popular religion of our characters is Vorinism, a teaching rife with past failure and political implications

Gender roles – Males focus on war and politics and are often illiterate. Females read, write, and create art. Therefore, in order to be powerful, men and women must work as a team to account for the others’ weaknesses. There are even masculine and feminine foods.

Technology – Mankind has invented a variety of contraptions called fabrials, which use the power of gemstones to do many functions, from heating a room to turning stone into food.

Mythology – Countless stories and myths including The Almighty, his ten Heralds, evil Voidbringers, and the once majestic Knights Radiant who turned their back on mankind in their hour of need.

Geography and biology – The land of Roshar is constantly assaulted by disastrous storms that can rip people apart in an instant. As such, life has adapted. People live in small stone houses on the leeward side of large rock formations, plants such as blades of grass are able to retract themselves into the ground at the first sign of a threat, and animals are covered with large chitinous plates to protect them.

Nothing has been left out of Sanerdon’s world, and it is very satisfying to read about all of the little pieces that other authors tend to ignore.

Of course, the icing on the cake (as always) is Sandersons use of magic. In this novel, magic tends to be left to the myths and legends of Roshar. In fact, what magic the people do use is in the form of relics that have survived, namely powerful Blades and Plate armor that grants their owners superhuman strength and agility. All of these magical objects seem to feed off of Stormlight, a mysterious luminescence that is infused into gemstones whenever a storm passes. Unlike in Sanderson’s other novels, magic in Kings is mysterious even to those who wield it, so there is never a perfectly clear explanation of its workings. Indeed, I imagine a large portion of the series will be devoted to uncovering the secrets behind the magic of the land.

Being the first novel in a ten book series, Kings is meant mainly to introduce the main characters and the world that they live in. The pace is often slow and with a few exciting exceptions, not much actually happens in the book. This is understandable for a first book in a large series, but it can feel a bit tedious when that book is about 1000 pages long. Having said that, Kings is still a fun and exciting read, one just needs to have a good amount of “reading stamina” to get through it in one piece.  Those that do finish it will be rewarded:  the last few chapters in particular are like a punch in the stomach, and make you wish the novel was twice as long.

In all, The Way of Kings is a great start to what looks to be a lasting series.  Due to the unique and detailed world that Sanderson paints, Kings comes highly recommended.

4 out of 5 magical swords!

Behind the Scenes of HBO's Game of Thrones

Good day to you all!  I am very excited this evening because it means that HBO's new series based on George R. R. Martin's The Game of Thrones is one more day closer!  HBO has been showing the trailer more frequently, and they recently aired a short "Behind the Scenes" featurette about the first season.  Exciting!  Check it out!

Inside Game of Thrones

Picture the Dead Giveaway Results

First, as always, I would like to send out a big thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway.

And the winner of a signed copy of Picture the Dead, by Adele Griffin ans Lisa Brown, is...

sharon54220!

Congratulations!

Giveaway: Picture the Dead (signed), by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

 Hi folks!  I've got a great giveaway for you...  Picture the Dead, by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown.  From the book sleeve:

"After losing her parents and her brother, falling in love with Will was Jennie Lovell's last opportunity for happiness.  But then she lost him too...  

As Jennie tries to mend the pieces of her broken life, she feels an eerie presence from something otherworldly...  something that won't let her leave the past behind.  

Acclaimed author adele Griffin and bestselling author Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted, and death is not always the end."

I was lucky enough to have both of the authors sign this copy for me, and it would make a great addition to any mystery/scifi/romance reader's bookshelf.

This giveaway is for one signed, hardcover copy of Picture the Dead, by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown.  The giveaway will run from 11/28/2010 to 12/12/2010.  The winner will be announced on 12/13/2010.  Please, United States entrants only.  The following is a list of how you can enter the giveaway and increase your chances of winning!

+1 Entry - Comment on this post and include your e-mail address (required to enter)
+3 Entries - Become a follower, or tell me if you already are a follower
+1 Entry (each) - Link to this post in a tweet, blog post, blog sidebar, facebook status, or smoke signals.  Be sure you leave a link to your publicity in your comment on this post (or include a photo of any applicable smoke signals)

Good luck everyone!

UPDATE, and a new book-related network

Hi folks, I know that I haven't been blogging lately, but there is a very good reason for that.  It's not that I haven't been reading much, but the types of books I have been reading has changed considerably.  You see, vet school has started, and I have been left with precious little time/energy to read for pleasure.  I've been feeling guilty for not posting reviews for a while, so I figured I would take a study break to review some of my more recent reads.  Without further adiue...

Title:  Textbook of Veterinary Physiological Chemistry
Author:  Larry R. Engelking
Genre:  Romance

A new-age take on a classic tale of eternal love and compassion.  Acetate is the upper class girl trying to make it on her own in the big city.  Carboxybiotin is the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks who is trying to hide from his past.  Will they ever be able to reconcile their differences and make sweet, sweet malonate?  Not if Acetate's well-to-do father, Propionate, has anything to to with it.  He knows those young fatty acids only have one thing on their mind:  condensation.

Title:  Guide to the Dissection of the Dog
Author:  Evans de Lahuta
Genre:  Cop Drama

In a world where the hip bone's connected to the leg bone, and the leg bone's connected to the knee bone, Officer Neuron patrols the streets of the Central Nervous System superhighway.  One day, he comes upon a notorious synapse dealing in dopamine and gamma aminobutyric acid.  It's up to our protagonist to bring him down, and get back to his muscle at home in time for contraction.