The Map of Chaos

April 20, 2015
The action of the wondrous final volume in Spanish author Palma’s speculative thriller trilogy (which began with The Map of Time) unfolds in several Victorian eras in parallel universes, beginning with esteemed biologist Herbert George Wells’s attempt to create a virus that will allow the residents of his doomed steampunk world to escape to another realm free of threat. The scene shifts to the triumphant conclusion of the investigation of a werewolf by Insp. Cornelius Clayton, rising star in Scotland Yard’s mysterious Special Branch. But it soon flits away again to follow a second H.G. Wells, who is embroiled with his loving wife, Jane, in a romantic comedy involving another couple, Montgomery Gilmore and Emma Harlow. Arthur Conan Doyle joins this quartet on a series of adventures that turn ever darker. Palma displays a deft hand with this diverse group of characters and genres, blending them effortlessly into a fantastic yarn. Agent: Tom Colchie, Colchie Agency.

May 15, 2015
Palma delivers some of his best work in the third and final installment in the Map trilogy. Cornelius Clayton, new detective with the Special Branch unit at Scotland Yard, is in for a faith-shaking experience when he joins the team investigating the case of beautiful Valerie de Bompard. Further events further deepen the mystery. First, Clayton is called to authenticate the proceedings of an instance of that increasingly popular pastime in late-nineteenth-century Britain, the seance. Then, recurring character H. G. Wells and his friends are attending a seance of their own when figures from his books begin making real-life appearances. Unbeknownst to them, Clayton, Wells, and a rich cast of characters, both historical and imagined, have become caught up in a battle that spans time and space, and the fate of the earth hangs in the balance. This sprawling, fantastical adventure, sprinkled with factual events and literary figures, is sure to delight Palma devotees but will also read well as a stand-alone for fans of steampunk and the intersection of historical fiction and sf.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)