"The Skin Map" by Stephen R. Lawhead

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Stephen R. Lawhead, The Skin Map: A Bright Empires Novel. Thomas Nelson, 2010. 403pgs.

Disclosure: This book was provided by Thomas Nelson for review purposes.

The Skin Map begins the story of Kit Livingstone's odd travels.  His great-grandfather appears to him and tells him that all throughout Britian are 'ley-lines' which allow individuals to travel through both time and space.  Kit is then invited to join in the quest to find the skin map, a parchment made from the skin of a man who learned much about these ley-lines, mapped them, and tatooed that information onto his body.  Naturally, Kit and his great-grandfather are not the only ones looking for this map, so the race is on.

I have read Lawhead before and enjoyed his work.  This book was no different.  It was suspenseful and engaging, and with Lawhead's typical ability to write characters that are human and easy to relate to.  The idea behind this story is interesting, and I found Lawhead's descriptions of the various ages/places visited to be quite well done.  Lawhead also does very well in writing the confusion and displacement his characters experience in an easy-to-sympathize with manner.  Unfortunately, in this particular book, you should not be surprised if you yourself become somewhat confused or displaced.  His chapters jump erratically in terms of the character focus, place, and time with very few cues to inform the reader of where they are. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I will look forward to the next one in the series.  4 of 5 Stars, Conditionally Recommended (do you like historical fiction/fantasy?).

Comments

kering said…
You read SO MANY books! I am inspired to tackle my pile... right after I vacuum the layer of dust off :( Hehe. But really, I am so inspired :P:)
8:39 PM
Andrew said…
thanks :)
12:36 AM
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